Council rezone vote paves manner for DTC office-to-residential conversion

The Denver Town Council unanimously authorized a rezoning request on Monday that paves the best way for an office-to-residential conversion within the town’s southeast.

Developer Shea Houses desires to show a vacant four-story, 124,000-square-foot workplace development at 4340 S. Monaco St. into 143 income-restricted flats. However the rezoning wanted for the challenge have been hostile through the mayor of Cherry Hills Village, which sits around the boulevard from the website online.

“Whilst you get a 13-0 vote from Town Council, you recognize you’re doing one thing proper,” mentioned Peter Culshaw, govt vice chairman of Shea Houses.

It’s the primary proposed residential conversion for Shea, which is essentially energetic within the DTC.

“I believe we’re excited to supply 143 great properties for people to are living in which can be reasonably priced,” Culshaw mentioned. “I believe it fits the desire. The town has an enormous want, the state has an enormous want, and it’s cool to be doing our bit.”

Others on the assembly agreed.

“It’s splendidly positioned close to trails and inexperienced area, and one of the crucial good stuff about this challenge is the provision of three- and four-bedroom devices, the very best dimension for households,” Luchia Brown, a volunteer with pro-housing construction crew YIMBY Denver, mentioned on the assembly.

She was once certainly one of seven who spoke in make stronger of the object at Monday’s council assembly. No person spoke in opposition.

The proposal was once showing in entrance of the council for a 2nd time. Shea’s utility had gotten just about totally in the course of the rezoning procedure when, in June, town discovered it had made a mistake. It forgot to inform one of the most development’s neighbors what was once going down.

3 homes in Cherry Hills hadn’t been notified of the rezoning, regardless of being inside of 200 ft of the valuables. Denver’s zoning code calls for that every one homes inside of that distance be notified, despite the fact that the parcel falls outdoor Denver’s borders.

Katy Brown, the mayor of Cherry Hills Village, filed a letter to town opposing the rezoning, essentially bringing up the loss of correct notification. But if the object was once offered in entrance of Denver’s Making plans Board a 2nd time remaining month, it was once transparent that her opposition prolonged past that.

“We have now very critical issues that you simply’re stranding low-income households on an island between I-25, a four-lane arterial, and not using a get entry to to hospital treatment, no get entry to to grocery retail outlets and no get entry to to transit,” Brown mentioned on the assembly remaining month.

Representatives from Shea have since spoken to Brown, and Culshaw has chatted with the mayor of within reach Greenwood Village, which additionally expressed worry in regards to the notification failure. A public the town corridor was once held remaining month for the Cherry Hills citizens who ignored an previous assembly. Mayor Brown was once in attendance, Culshaw mentioned.

However at Monday’s assembly, the opposition was once introduced again up.

“I’ve heard most of the NIMBY feedback from some other folks within the house and leaders in different towns,” mentioned former Councilwoman Kendra Black, who in the past represented the district the place the valuables sits. “Their opposition is simply foolish.”

The ones feedback have been echoed through the district’s present consultant, Councilwoman Diana Romero Campbell.