Project Status  October 10, 2008

Shea Properties has been working closely with the City of Denver and Colorado Boulevard Healthcare District Board of Directors to further enhance the development plans for the 9th and Colorado campus. Additionally, Shea has been meeting with neighborhood groups and business organizations to further enrich the master plan (General Development Plan) for the site.   Shea Properties is hosting a variety of public meetings to unveil the new development plans for the site.  Both the final submittal of the GDP and the corresponding Rezoning Application were submitted to the City in early August and are currently being reviewed.  Denver City Council will hold committee meetings and public hearings on the plans late this fall. 

Shea has been active in searching for retail partners, by talking with a mix of national and local retailers.  A small format grocer is expected to serve as one of the anchors for the site, with hotels, for sale and rental housing, parks, plazas, retail, office, and restaurants filling the remainder.  An urban, active pedestrian friendly neighborhood will emerge. 

Shea Properties will receive vacant possession of the site from the University of Colorado Health and Science Center (UCHSC) on February 1, 2009, with construction commencing immediately on Phase 1 of the project.  Phase I will primarily be north of 9th Avenue from Colorado to Bellaire. 

Click here for a PDF overview of the rezoning application recently submitted to the City and County of Denver.

The overall vision for this development is to create a walkable, dynamic environment that is an assemblage of residential, retail, office and hotel adjacent to a thriving residential and medical community. It is a truly mixed use environment that draws people in and is very connected to the surroundings.

The rich architectural history of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus includes a range of buildings dating almost the entire 20th century. This development will create a new architecture expected to evolve over the next decade.  The intention is to create spaces and character that ties the site together and compliments the surrounding community.

There are three distinct zones on the project.  North of 9th is the first phase which retains the existing parking structure to serve the new development.  This first phase will be a high activity center that may have anchor entertainment services, retail, restaurants and some office and residential.  The plan is to create a vital image along Colorado Boulevard that is permeable enough to see through to the new Albion Street extension one block to the east.

The second zone is south of E. 9th Avenue and between Colorado Boulevard and the new Ash Street.  This zone is dominated by retail uses at the street level with walkable pedestrian corridors and plazas.  The rich urban environment is complimented by preserving the existing eight-story Research Building and transforming it to a hotel or condo and by converting the four-story Skaggs Pharmacy School to retail and office. This zone will continue the new dynamic image along Colorado Boulevard and extend onto E. 8th Avenue.  To support the development in this zone, parking will be along the streets and underground or in structures that are discretely integrated into mixed use buildings.

The third and final zone, between the new Ash Street and Clermont south of E. 9th Avenue will transition towards residential use. The design provides both towers and four-story residential buildings within this zone. These residential units will help populate the site and be a great activator for the adjacent mixed-use development. To honor and celebrate the historic quality of the campus, the former Nurses Dormitory and adjacent landscaped quadrangle will be preserved and integrated into the new development.  We envision that this historic landscape will serve as the “heart” of the campus and become an important community open space.

Our vision for the redevelopment of this significant campus is to create a special place in Denver that will provide a memorable experience for the user and become a true asset for the community.

Additional Project Status Information:

Master Plan to the Colorado State Legislature
In accordance with Section 7 of HB 03-1256, the University of Colorado is required to develop a master plan for the development, sale, and use of the Campus at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard and the University of Colorado hospital. The University of Colorado, in conjunction with Shea as the preferred developer/master developer, presented a master plan to the Colorado State Legislature that focused on all of the elements required by statute on June 30, 2004.

Purchase Agreement between Shea and the UCHSC
On June 30, 2006, Shea and the UCHSC signed the purchase agreement for the purchase of the Campus. The UCHSC anticipates vacating the site by mid-2008 and Shea will close on a portion of the property in December 2008. Twelve months following the first closing, Shea will contractually take down the remaining portion of land once the final remediation of the buildings by the UCHSC is complete.

General Development Plan (GDP)
In the Fall of 2005, Shea submitted its Pre-Application for the General Development Plan to the City and County of Denver. Shea and the City have since had conceptual plan discussions and work session regarding the GDP. Shea is currently working with the City on the Historic Structure Assessments that were completed on seven buildings on the Campus per the GDP requirements and the Citys request.

Changes as of August 8, 2008:

• Addition of the height diagram 5B
• Addition of sheets 8B, 8C, 8D, E8 (deals with the existing edge conditions, ROW, and trees and turn lanes)
• Addition of sheet 9A (street grading)

Link to new version of GDP, submitted August 8, 2008