Six developers with plans for a mix of the modern and
historic-looking buildings were introduced to a packed room at the
Nov. 21 meeting of the Woodland Park Downtown Development
Authority.
“We have worked long and hard to get to this stage,” said Joe
Napoleon, the city’s planning director.
He then introduced Kip Unruh, owner of Main Street Properties
based in Kansas City, Mo., who showed slides of his concepts for
the buildings marked five and seven on the DDA’s map of the 10-acre
former Saddle Club redevelopment site.
Because his buildings are on both sides of the street, Unruh’s
idea calls for development of the building site as a small-town or
village-like street. As with most of the other ideas presented that
morning, Unruh’s buildings will be designed for a mix of uses,
including retail and residential in the form of loft apartments or
condominiums. Buildings will have a variety of layout designs,
heights and architectural styles.
“I want buildings that looks as if they were built over time,”
Unruh said. “Traditional buildings with flat fronts, modern
historical, arched windows, balconies and heavy on the
details.”
He added that some of the buildings may look like traditional
homes turned into businesses.
Napoleon read a statement by Lynn Colligan of The Village of
Woodland Park, who was in the audience. Colligan stated that he
wanted to revitalize the historic presence of Woodland Park, making
it interesting for both locals and visitors. His tenants would
include retailers, restaurateurs, artists and others but with an
eye on enhancing the city’s already existing businesses. Colligan’s
building will be located on the plaza and will have vertical
features.
Like Colligan, Arden Weatherford, representing Howard Block LLC,
lives in Woodland Park. He envisions a place he can bring the
kids.
‘I want a friendly downtown,” he said, adding that he also plans
a mix of commercial and residential. “The more people living in
downtown the better. Without residents it would be nothing more
than a shopping mall.”
Napoleon presented the ideas submitted by Rocky Mountain
Lifestyle Center. The developer envisions two scenarios for a
building that possibly will feature an old-mine theme, either
retail on the first floor, a health club on the second floor and
residential on the third floor or a sports club on the first two
floors and offices on the third floor.
Tim Leigh of Hoff & Leigh will be building a Hampton Inn
with 75 hotel rooms and suites, indoor and outdoor pools, a spa and
conference rooms.
Leigh said the Inn would cater to leisure and commercial
travelers as well as conference traffic. He said the key to success
is in creating demand for the product. Toward that end he is
talking to Paul Walker, director of the movie “13 Below,” about a
new-media film festival as a place where Internet and other media
producers can show off their films. The festival could begin as
early as sometime in 2008.
He alluded to a hotel feasibility study conducted by Robert S.
Benton & Associates. The study presented later in the meeting
said the city has untapped potential, especially when it comes to
commercial and conference business. Benton halted the study until
the city can conduct an analysis of the clients that could be
brought in by the performing arts pavilion also planned for the
plaza area of the development.
The final developer is Allen Brown of Brown Enterprises in
Woodland Park, who also was in the audience but didn’t make a
presentation of his ideas for two buildings.
Because of the planned development, the DDA has once again
revised its site map for the re-development area. The new map shows
a smaller plaza area with more room for 14-foot wide sidewalks,
patios, courtyards and street scape. Parking also was
reconfigured.
The DDA is responsible for developing the plaza and pavilion,
along with street scape and art-on-the-street projects.
In an interview later that day, Napoleon said the development
will have about 50 residential units during the first
phase.
Financing for the DDA’s portion of the re-development is still
in the discussion phase, but will be tax-increment based. The land
under each building will belong to the developers. The DDA will
trade the land for capital improvements to infrastructure and other
public improvements.
“Keeping the land and the buildings in the hands of developers
increases taxes, which the DDA can use to promote businesses in
other areas of the downtown,” Napoleon said.
As for the timeline, Napoleon said, “Our contracts with the
developers should be closed on in March or April. We could begin
grading and creating pad sites in late spring and construction
could begin quickly with possible openings of some buildings as
early as spring of 2008.”
He said one of the challenges is to make sure everyone – six
developers and the DDA – can work together on the site at the same
time without stumbling over each other.