A rendering of Clear Creek Transit Village in Adams County.
A New Orleans-based company, the TOD Group, on Monday said it is in discussion with unnamed national builders to construct up to 1,125 apartments, townhomes and condos, as well as 250,000 square feet of commercial space, on a 21.8-acre development just north of Denver.
Last week the Adams County Board of Commissioners gave unanimous approval to the Clear Creek Transit Village west of Federal Boulevard near West 60th Avenue, just north of Interstate 76 in Adams County. Its western boundary is near Lowell Boulevard.
It is being touted as a model for transit-oriented developments nationwide. Because of its location along Clear Creek and its proximity to Lake Sangreco and the Jim Baker Reservoir, it is being marketed as “Wild Colorado Five Minutes from Downtown Denver.”
The TOD Group bought the property in 2009. The land is less than a quarter mile from the RTD Fastracks Gold Line, which will run from the Denver Union Station to Wheat Ridge.
“The Clear Creek Transit Village will offer the best of both worlds, with a combination of urban and natural amenities,” said John Renne, managing director of The TOD Group. “It will have a mix of restaurants, retailers, apartments and condos, emphasizing both walkability and access to public transit.”
The southern boundary of the project is along Clear Creek, providing access to hundreds of miles of bicycle trails, according to the TOD Group. Recreational activities also will include walking, running, kayaking, tubing and fishing.
A drawing of what the development might look like from Federal Boulevard.
The community will be seven minutes, or 3.5 miles rom downtown Denver by rail when the Gold Line opens in 2016. In addition to I-76, it is closed to I-70 and I-25.
“We’re confident that the Clear Creek Transit Village will be a great fit for new residents and the existing neighborhoods in the area,” Renne said. “We met repeatedly with neighbors and listened to their input, which is reflected in the plan. The vast majority of them became strong supporters of the approved plan.”
A 2011 survey by Oedipus Inc. of 392 residents and businesses within a one-and-half-mile radius of the project found that 93 percent supported its approval. Earlier in the year, 435 residents and businesses expressed formal support to Adams County, although a grassroots group called Concerned Citizens for Compatible Development opposed it.
The plan was also endorsed by organizations including Regis University, Adams County Economic Development, the Metro North Chamber of Commerce, the Goat Hill Neighborhood organization, and many businesses along Federal Boulevard.
New buildings on the site are expected to have a construction value of between $160 million to $170 million by 2020, according to an analysis completed for Adams County.
The analysis, by Economic Strategies LLC of Parker, also estimated 1,970 to 2,812 people eventually would live in the community.
“The Clear Creek Transit is an excellent example of current TOD planning and design that will benefit Adams County, improve property values in an underperforming area, and provide a nexus of smart planned growth for the region as part of the RTD Gold Line,” according to the analysis.
The developer said it will “borrow tenets from successful mixed-use developments such as the Central Platte Valley in Denver, Belmar in Lakewood, Stapleton and the Villagio at Inverness in the Inverness Business Park, south of the Denver Tech Center along the southeast corridor.
Have a story idea or real estate tip? Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com. InsideRealEstateNews.com is sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee and 8z Real Estate. To read more articles by John Rebchook, subscribe to the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
This is amazing to me.
This Clear Creek Transit Village will compete head on with Midtown.
Both are in one of the worst school districts in the state — Adams County 50
Both are on really crappy streets — Pecos and Federal.
Both are in UNincorporated Adams County so you could have an oil refinery move in next door. And, both are currently surround by crap.
Someone is way smarter than me or way stupider.
We will have to wait and see.
wow, I agree, this is another really rough site, something will get built here, but if it’s done before 2020 it won’t be this density
Here is a link (copied below) to TOD Group’s project page. The vision document has a with a very misplaced station location. You may recall that they petitioned RTD to change the location of the station to be on their property at the last minute and RTD declined to take them up on their offer. The document also references Adams County Clear Creek Valley Master Plan that precludes oil refineries. But, I agree, it is a pretty unpleasant area right now.
http://www.thetodgroup.com/Projects.php
I wish them all the best. It looks like a nice project and Van Meter Williams Pollack, LLP is a top notch planning firm.
I am guessing that Concerned Citizens for Compatible Development opposed it because they wanted a rendering plant to be built there.
A “New Orleans based company” building in Colorado strikes me as odd.
I beleive the Midtown development is in Mapleton School District, or at least that’s what they have been saying at the hearings.
However 7 story buildings at this location would be interesting to say the least. Westminster also has a TOD in the works at 71st and Federal as well…seems like alot of redevelopment in the area if it ever happens.
You are correct.
Mapleton for Midtown. There is a small “bump out” of Mapleton right at the SW corner of 68th and Pecos.
Adams 50 for Clear Creek Transit Village.
Mapleton ranges from F-B with a C- average.
Adams 50 (aka Westminster 50) ranges from F-B with a D- average.