Colorado Real Estate Journal -
With impressive renderings and comparisons to Denver’s River North district, the city of Westminster foresees a bustling urban, walkable, mixed-use haven for creatives and professionals at Westminster Station. Just don’t expect a change overnight. Set to open mid-2016, the RTD FasTracks Northwest Rail B Line, at Westminster Station construction is well underway. The crews accessing the site through the soon-to-exist extension of Hooker Street (to be named Westminster Station Drive) must first navigate a mixed stock of 1960's and 1970's office, industrial and multifamily buildings south of 72nd Avenue and west of Federal Boulevard. No other neighborhood in south Westminster better exemplifies the city’s desire for “revitalization” than this one. A continuation of the urban renewal efforts of the late 1980's, the city’s South Westminster Revitalization Program has invested over $250 million in improvements to the surrounding area through redevelopment, historic preservation, improved parks and recreation, and improvements to infrastructure. Westminster has been busy and doesn’t look to be settling down anytime soon as commuter trains will begin arriving in town within a year. While funding 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 million already in place for Westminster Station’s Plaza, with a 500-stall parking garage facility, new roads and infrastructure, and a 40-acre park and open space area. One can assume a considerable effort is focused on the potential to redevelop the area’s lower-quality and outdated building stock with the anticipated market changes attributed to the transit stop.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 challenge to new development when performing a current market analysis. Developers will find stagnant rents and occupancy trends at a time when construction costs are peaking. Couple this with the still undeclared transit-oriented district zoning code and you have all the ingredients for a slowed transition. Current property owners and risk-taking investors likely will be the first to show movement toward redevelopment in the area surrounding the station. Comparisons to other RTD transit-oriented development locations highlight the different, unique conditions contributing to the success of each respective project. Of these factors, locations like RiNo have benefitted from pre-existing, nearby robust markets and higher average incomes, many aspects that currently are not prevalent in this area of Westminster. The combined efforts of developers and the city to successfully transform the area into an attractive destination are essential to the capitalization of this site. At a time when the Denver market is hot with rising rents and new construction, those making early moves may not be surprised when the people exiting those trains are seeking affordable alternatives.