December 16, 2015-January 5, 2016 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 19AA
University of Denver
W
ith impressive ren-
derings and com-
parisons to Denver’s
River North district, the city of
Westminster foresees a bustling
urban, walkable, mixed-use
haven for creatives and profes-
sionals at Westminster Station.
Just don’t expect a change over-
night.
Set to open mid-2016, the RTD
FasTracks Northwest Rail B Line,
at Westminster Station construc-
tion is well underway. The crews
accessing the site through the
soon-to-exist extensionofHooker
Street (to be named Westminster
Station Drive) must first navigate
a mixed stock of 1960s and 1970s
office, industrial and multifamily
buildings south of 72nd Avenue
and west of Federal Boulevard.
No other neighborhood in
south Westminster better exem-
plifies the city’s desire for “revi-
talization” than this one. A con-
tinuation of the urban renewal
efforts of the late 1980s, the city’s
South Westminster Revitaliza-
tion Program has invested over
$250 million in improvements
to the surrounding area through
redevelopment, historic preser-
vation, improved parks and rec-
reation, and improvements to
infrastructure.
Westminster has been busy
and doesn’t look to be settling
down anytime soon as commut-
er trains will begin arriving in
town within a year. While fund-
ing for the rest of the Northwest
rail line is still in the works,
Westminster will be the end-of-
the-line stop, an 11-minute ride
from Denver. The city has close
to $50 mil-
lion already
in place for
We s t m i n -
ster Station’s
Plaza, with a
500-stall park-
ing garage
facility, new
roads
and
i n f r a s t r u c -
ture, and a
40-acre park
and
open
space area.
One
can
assume a con-
siderable effort is focused on the
potential to redevelop the area’s
lower-quality and outdated
building stock with the antici-
pated market changes attributed
to the transit stop. However,
at their recent planning open
house, the city said it anticipates
a steady, market-driven, 10- to
20-year transition.
The slower, market-driven
outlook may be warranted as
the area begins to present a chal-
lenge to new development when
performing a current market
analysis. Developers will find
stagnant rents and occupancy
trends at a time when construc-
tion costs are peaking. Couple
this with the still undeclared
transit-oriented district zoning
code and you have all the ingre-
dients for a slowed transition.
Current property owners
and risk-taking investors likely
will be the first to show move-
ment toward redevelopment in
the area surrounding the sta-
tion. Comparisons to other RTD
transit-oriented development
locations highlight the different,
unique conditions contributing
to the success of each respective
project. Of these factors, loca-
tions like RiNo have benefitted
from pre-existing, nearby robust
markets and higher average
incomes, many aspects that cur-
rently are not prevalent in this
area of Westminster.
The combined efforts of devel-
opers and the city to successfully
transform the area into an attrac-
tive destination are essential to
the capitalization of this site. At
a time when the Denver mar-
ket is hot with rising rents and
new construction, those making
early moves may not be sur-
prised when the people exiting
those trains are seeking afford-
able alternatives.
s
O
ver the past year,
new developments
across Denver were
announced almost daily. Union
Station has plans for the last
undeveloped parcel, while the
River North neighborhood has
plans for a transit-oriented devel-
opment next to the commuter rail
station at 38th and Blake streets.
The next market ready to burst
is the Federal Boulevard corri-
dor from 52nd Avenue to 72nd
Avenue. The 2.5-mile stretch will
be bounded by two stops of the
commuter rail. The Gold Line, or
G Line, to Wheat Ridge will have
a stop at 60th and Federal, and
the B line will have a stop at 72nd
and Federal. Both are expected to
be operational by the end of 2016.
Currently, the tenants in the
area range from car dealerships
and mechanics to strip clubs and
adult entertainment stores. But
as the saying goes, “One person’s
trash is another one’s treasure.”
The stretch of road has tremen-
dous opportunity to become the
next RiNo in terms of invest-
ments and surging value.
The Westminster station is
receiving a face-lift to add a
vibrant mixed-use community
with a community park and con-
nections to ample park trails.
The rail is nearly complete and
the parking garage work is in
progress to give way to new
opportunities for mixed-use
development. As you head south
on Federal Boulevard, the road
improvements are noticeable.
The Federal bridge over Little
Dry Creek is being replaced and
there are new pedestrian-friend-
ly medians along Federal from
52nd to 64th Avenue.
The G line
will
bring
eight stations
from Union
Station
to
Wheat Ridge,
i n c l u d i n g
one at 60th
and Federal.
Just south of
this station a
master-plan
commun i t y
is in progress
to turn the
old
Mary-
crest Cam-
pus into Aria
Denver. The community will
feature apartments, townhomes,
co-housing spaces for multigen-
erational families, retail and some
office space, all within a mile of a
light-rail station and a half-mile
from Regis University. The urban
infill project will be one of the
largest in Denver and could set
the standard for the rest of the
corridor.
The north end of Federal is
part of the city of Westminster’s
Urban Renewal Areas, which
focuses on improving pedestri-
an mobility, light-rail access and
infrastructure. These improve-
ments have the intent to attract
private investment into the area
and fuel a transformation similar
to what occurred with the stretch
of Brighton Boulevard.
The Denver Urban Renewal
Authority helped finance part
of the Marycrest redeveloped to
spark more interest in the area.
With the light rail and Regis
University, it’s a prime location
for something similar to what
happened near the University of
Denver, which has several new
development projects within a
half-mile of campus.
All of the Denver metro area’s
real estate markets continue to be
attractive to investors, but with
Union Station being fully devel-
oped and RiNo maintaining its
artistic brand, the next location
ready to spark is the Federal cor-
ridor. Although it is covered with
pawnshops, mechanics and adult
stores, the corridor has the poten-
tial to become a great transit-
oriented community. A light-rail
stop at either end, a university to
the south and a new mixed-use
district to the north all contribute
to a great recipe brewing along
Federal. Cruising down Federal
Boulevardmight have an entirely
new meaning several years from
now.
s
Jeremy Spira
Student, University
of Denver Master’s
Program. Spira is a
leasing associate at
KEW Realty.
Carlos Villar
Senior, University
of Denver. Villar
is an intern at the
Anna & John J
Sie International
Relations Complex.
