Colorado Real Estate Journal -
A prime parcel targeted as a premier transit-oriented development could also be home to the first hotel in Arvada. “We have 110,000 people living in Arvada and we have been trying to get a hotel here for over 10 years,” said Maureen Phair, executive director of the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority. “We have done five hotel studies over the years,” she said, “and they show that Arvada could support two hotels, one on Kipling and the other on Wadsworth, at the southern end of Arvada near Interstate 70.” In late February, AURA, with two partners, sought requests for qualifications, or RFQs, to develop a 8.79-acre site adjacent to Olde Town Arvada at Wadsworth Boulevard. The RFQ can be found at www.oldetowntod.org. The parcel is bordered by Wadsworth, West 56th and Grandview avenues. The land is owned by three public entities – AURA, the city of Arvada and RTD. The city purchased some of the land from a gun club, which closed near the end of 2012, Phair said. The three entities will then issue a request for proposals, or RFP, in early April. They hope to select a developer of the property owned by the three entities in late 2013 or early 2014. “This is one of the best sites in the entire metro area for a TOD (transit-oriented development),” Phair said. “It is right next to Olde Town Arvada, which is an authentic, eclectic old town. It is the real thing, filled with great restaurants, live music venues and multifamily housing.” In fact, Phair said that Olde Town Arvada has become so trendy and popular “that we have a parking problem downtown.” In addition to being walking distance to Arvada’s version of LoDo, the parcel is along Wadsworth Boulevard. “It fronts Wadsworth and Wadsworth has 60,000 cars a day passing it,” Phair said. “It is huge.” Of course, by definition, a TOD is close to public transportation and that is the third component of the parcel. “It is on the main stop of the Gold Line,” she said. The Gold Line light-rail station is part of RTD’s FasTracks. The Gold Line is scheduled to open in 2016. “The value of the Gold Line station is tremendous,” Phair said. “Once it is up and running, you will be able to get to Denver Union Station in 12 to 15 minutes.” She said RTD designated the Gold Line station in Arvada as one of its four pilot programs for TODs. “Really, it is the star of the program,” Phair said. “Phil Washington, the executive director of RTD, is a real big proponent of creating transit-oriented developments, where people don’t have to drive,” she said, and early on recognized the potential of the Arvada parcel as a TOD. Phair expects quite a few local firms, as well as national ones, to submit their qualifications. The details of what they envision for the site and how it should be financed are components of the next step, the RFP. The public-private development likely will take advantage of tax increment financing, for example. Yet, even at this early stage, there is a wish list for how the land will be used, as well as requirements. “It does have to have 400 parking spaces; that is a requirement of RTD,” Phair said. RTD already has surface parking on the site. While RTD does not stipulate that a parking structure be required, neither the city nor AURA wants a sea of asphalt for parking. “We don’t want the whole site taken up by surface parking,” Phair said. “That is not the highest and best use, in our opinion.” The question, she said, is whether there will be one or two buildings for parking. The parking needs to be ready for the opening of the Gold Line and she assumes that will be built before anything else. She said she also expects that multifamily housing will be part of the new development. “We expect that this site will be very dense,” Phair said. “It will be the densest development in Arvada. It can have buildings from six to eight stories in height.” Renters in the buildings will have fantastic views, she said. “The parcel kind of rises to a hill and you have these incredible views of all of the Front Range mountains,” Phair said. “You can also see downtown Denver’s skyline from the site,” she said. Phair also said the site probably will have a retail component. “The area could really use a grocery store,” she said, even though the site is not far from a Costco. She said Costco, with its bulk shopping, doesn’t serve the needs of consumers wanting to pick up just a few, small items. And, of course, there is the need for a hotel. “We think this site can support a limited-service hotel of about 125 rooms,” Phair said. “We would expect it would be something like a Courtyard by Marriott, a Hilton Garden or a Hampton Inn & Suites on the site. But we will have to wait to see what will be proposed, of course.”