{"id":1516,"date":"2012-07-19T14:04:59","date_gmt":"2012-07-19T20:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/?p=1516"},"modified":"2012-10-14T07:08:57","modified_gmt":"2012-10-14T13:08:57","slug":"developing-9th-and-colorado-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/?p=1516","title":{"rendered":"Some Ideas for Developing 9th and Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Citizen opposition to developer plans for a Walmart store at 9th<\/sup> and Colorado<\/a>\u00a0in Denver is galvanizing, as evidenced by the appearance of a WordPress website<\/a> and Facebook page<\/a>.\u00a0 The major concerns continue to be Walmart\u2019s alleged misfit with the \u201cspirit\u201d and \u201csoul\u201d of the local neighborhood, as well as worries about increased main and side street traffic (though, as noted here<\/a>, the local traffic produced by Walmart will likely pale in comparison to that produced by the Trader Joe\u2019s<\/a> speciality market planned for the corner of 8th<\/sup> and Colorado).\u00a0 A large number of residents seem fully prepared to see Fuqua Development walk away from the project in hopes of getting a better deal with another developer.\u00a0 Even some local pundits have gone out of their way to urge a do-over.\u00a0 The Denver Post<\/em>\u2019s Susan Barnes-Gelt asserts the following in a recent column<\/a> about buildings that should be demolished in Denver:<\/p>\n

\u2026there’s a large, unbuilt project that should be euthanized before it breathes. Fuqua Development paid some $35 million for the 28-acre University of Colorado Hospital site at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Though the location is top-notch, costs of demolition and infrastructure are substantial \u2014 perhaps not justifying the developer’s land cost. The project is gridlocked at the intersection of greed and desperation. Don’t ask taxpayers to rescue a bad deal with public subsidy.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alternatively, if the location is indeed \u201ctop notch\u201d\u00a0another option is to use citizen concerns as leverage for improving<\/em> the overall plan. \u00a0A limited survey of Hale neighbors<\/a>\u00a0revealed that 51% of 41 respondents want to proceed with site development even though they have serious misgivings about Walmart’s presence. \u00a0A Congress Park survey<\/a> disclosed that 42% of 245 respondents would not oppose a Walmart “if it were a more upscale or urban store,” which I think is what we’re talking about. The 245 respondents represent less than 3% of the over-age 18 population of Congress Park. \u00a0A Mayfair neighbors survey<\/a> indicates that over 90% of respondents either “oppose” or “strongly oppose” a Walmart, but I could find no accounting of the total number of people responding nor results for the question asking if the respondent would oppose a Walmart if it were an “upscale, urban store.” \u00a0Jeff Fuqua is on record<\/a> as wanting a \u201cvibrant, high quality, mixed-use project\u201d and as looking forward to \u201cworking with neighborhood groups, citizens and city officials on this important development.\u201d In another interview<\/a> he promises a place that will look more like the [upscale] Belmar<\/a> development in Lakewood than Denver\u2019s [rather more downscale] Stapleton neighborhood.\u201d\u00a0 <\/strong>Fuqua has said enough at the public meetings that I\u2019ve attended over the past year to indicate that he has an interest in finding \u00a0common ground with residents. And while he\u2019s obviously interested in making money I\u2019m not sure I sense the \u201cgreed and desperation\u201d asserted by Barnes-Gelt.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Commenting<\/a> on a\u00a0feature story\u00a0about Walmart’s urban strategy<\/a> in a recent issue of\u00a0Governing Magazine<\/em><\/a> Mark Funkhouser<\/a>, a former Kansas City mayor and current director of the Governing Institute<\/a>, explains why negotiation and compromise might be worth a try:<\/p>\n

\u2026 after having saturated the rural and suburban markets, Walmart needs the cities. The company plays hardball, and city leaders \u00a0should do the same. Don’t offer tax incentives. Don’t compromise on urban design\u2026Monitor the treatment of workers and be prepared to respond to abuses. Aggressive enforcement of wage and hours laws, along with a “living wage” ordinance, can level the playing field for other businesses in the city and militate against the Walmart effect<\/a>. And finally, it’s worth noting that Walmart stores are unionized in every country outside of North America. The company adapts to local circumstances.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Commenting in The\u00a0Denver Post<\/em>\u00a0about the contentious public meeting held on June 26, letter writer Richard Wood<\/a> (July 2 edition of The Post<\/em>) likewise riffs on the corporate adaptability theme:<\/p>\n

I hope that residents and those interested in development at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard will avoid knee-jerk reactions to the name Walmart, and wait to consider the proposal on its merits and as part of the whole package.\u00a0 Walmart, like McDonald\u2019s, has shown the ability to adapt to local needs, as in Aspen, where an unobtrusive McDonald\u2019s provides a much-needed low-priced eating alternative. Not everyone in Aspen is a Saudi prince or a Hollywood star, and not everyone in the Ninth and Colorado area can afford to shop at Neiman Marcus and Whole Foods.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As noted in here<\/a>, local neighborhood census data suggest the existence of a demographic that will shop at Walmart. \u00a0The Congress Park survey results<\/a> indicate that 73% of respondents have shopped at Walmart, though not frequently and not regularly. \u00a0The majority of local neighborhood users would likely get to the 9th and Colorado store by walking instead of driving.\u00a0 Indeed, no one has yet pointed out that even though there are other Walmarts in the greater metro area, to reach them from 9th<\/sup> and Colorado or anywhere else in the central city you pretty much have to drive.\u00a0 Thus, as Ryan Holeywell notes in the Governing Magazine<\/em> feature story<\/a> mentioned above,\u00a0<\/strong>in-town big box stores can be fully consistent with the philosophy of \u201csmart growth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call me na\u00efve, but if citizens and politicians are vigilant even a corporate monster like Walmart might be redeemable as concerns its business practices. \u00a0Its corporate philanthropy is, at times, commendable<\/a>. \u00a0Thus, I\u2019m not sure that tax incentives and subsidies should be off the bargaining table if residents are keen to get something done now and if Walmart is genuinely committed to becoming a reliable partner in good, inclusive place-making. \u00a0To that end, on this blog I’ve floated some particular place-making suggestions for 9th<\/sup> and Colorado that would seem to be consistent with the site’s General Development Plan<\/a> (GDP) and\u00a0Urban Design Standards and Guidelines<\/a>, and that if implemented\u00a0might take some of the sting out of Walmart’s presence. These suggestions include the following:<\/p>\n

House the Big Box retailer in a Signature Building<\/a><\/strong><\/em>: Something that (a) breaks from the \u201cNeo-Modern\u201d or what Belmar dubs the \u201cAmerican Mercantile<\/a>\u201d style that characterizes way too many of these developments and (b) respects the medical history of the site. Some particular forms are suggested here<\/a>. \u00a0 These would better meet the Design Guidelines’ call for “notable architecture” that creates “a unique character” for the site (pages 34-35). \u00a0The building should be capable of accommodating other possible uses if the market<\/em> decides that a Walmart doesn\u2019t work in this area. \u00a0An abandoned Walmart in McAllen, Texas<\/a>, for example, was transformed into a wonderful public library.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Walmart Building Transformed: McAllen, Texas, Public Library<\/p><\/div>\n

Install a pedestrian walkway and bikeway over Colorado Boulevard at 9th Avenue that connects the site to Congress Park<\/a><\/strong><\/em>: As suggested\u00a0here<\/a>,\u00a0this would be good for kids and other living things interested in accessing the site from the west. This feature\u00a0would also go a long way toward meeting the project’s \u201cCore Urban Design Values\u201d (as expressed on pages 2-3 of the Design Guidelines) of providing \u201ca rich and varied network of vehicle and pedestrian routes into and through the Site that connect to surrounding local streets and bicycle routes,<\/em>\u201d and creating \u201ca walkable, pedestrian-friendly environment that invites repeat visits from near and far<\/em>.\u201d \u00a0The Design Guidelines would appear to allow the flexibility to install such a feature.<\/p>\n

Save and develop the 1965 Research Bridge<\/a> over 9th Avenue:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0The General Development Plan<\/a> identified this feature as “a strong iconic element that…provides a singular reminder” of the former Health Sciences Center. \u00a0The original developer <\/strong>Shea Properties<\/a> <\/strong>intended to preserve <\/strong>this historical feature and turn it into rental housing.\u00a0 Sembler opted for demolition. \u00a0Is Fuqua willing to reconsider?\u00a0 As suggested here<\/a>, the form of the hospital and its iconic bridge suggest a commitment to \u201cgreen\u201d building before it became fashionable.\u00a0 In keeping with an urban health and sustainability theme–and as a way to further reinforce the Design Guidelines’ call to create a “unique identity” for the site (pages 13 and 56)–why not rescue this element of the Shea plan and turn the bridge into affordable<\/em> housing? \u00a0The currently planned housing<\/a>\u00a0all qualifies as \u201cluxury.” \u00a0Shea intended 10% of the housing in its plan to be affordable. \u00a0Of course, if just hearing the word Walmart is enough to get some local neighbors fretting about the “kind of person” who shops there there’s no telling what the combination of Walmart and \u201caffordable housing\u201d might do.<\/p>\n

Re-configure the existing design to more fully enclose the Historic Quadrangle<\/strong><\/em>:\u00a0 As discussed here<\/a>, The Quad fronting the historic Nurses Dorm is\u00a0 intended to be the site\u2019s beating heart. \u00a0Yet the existing plan has it bordered on one whole side by a parking deck.\u00a0 Full enclosure unencumbered by parking is an element shared by many of the great public plazas and squares of the world. \u00a0The planned development at 9th and Colorado has been described as \u201cNew Urban\u201d in spirit. However, it might benefit even more from a conscious effort to add a touch of \u201cOld Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

These suggestions are fully consistent with the themes of Blueprint Denver<\/a>, especially where they meet that plan’s recommendations for historic preservation\/adaptive reuse of existing buildings, multi-modal (i.e., pedestrian and bicycle-friendly) streets, and affordable housing. They are consistent with the goals of Denver Comprehensive Plan 2000<\/a>, especially where they address that plan’s call for “expanded housing options for Denver’s changing population” and “enhanced opportunities for people in need to work and participate fully in community life.” \u00a0It seems to me that the physical features described above can easily co-exist with a Walmart in constituting a “Town Center” (page 43 of the Blueprint Denver plan<\/a>), and that Walmart itself could be instrumental in helping to achieve the goals of both plans. I\u2019m sure the neighborhood associations are filled with people capable of imagining other adjustments and concessions that could be sought as a quid pro quo<\/em> for working with Walmart.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see if neighbors offer up anything other than \u201chell no\u201d at the next meeting of Colorado Boulevard Healthcare District Board that’s scheduled for Thursday, August 2 at 4:00 in the Molly Blank Center of National Jewish Hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Citizen opposition to developer plans for a Walmart store at 9th and Colorado\u00a0in Denver is galvanizing, as evidenced by the appearance of a WordPress website and Facebook page.\u00a0 The major concerns continue to be Walmart\u2019s alleged misfit with the \u201cspirit\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9th-and-colorado"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1H2bI-os","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1516"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2156,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516\/revisions\/2156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.interculturalurbanism.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}