Revitalizing Arapahoe Square

The Arapahoe Square page of the DURA website is updated on an on-going basis. First time visitors to the page may want to start at the bottom of the page.

Proposed Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Plan (5/18/11)

Following 18 months of public outreach and input, Denver City Council is scheduled to approve the Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan (NEDN Plan) following a public hearing on May 23. The NEDN Plan creates a vision for the future of northeast downtown Denver neighborhoods, including Arapahoe Square, and identifies a variety of potential tools for helping to revitalize the area.

With the small area planning for the Arapahoe Square neighborhood complete, DURA is now in a position to move forward with the creation of an urban redevelopment area for Arapahoe Square. An urban redevelopment area is created when the DURA Board and Denver City Council approve an urban redevelopment plan. DURA has drafted an Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Plan (Arapahoe Square URP). The Arapahoe Square URP seeks to further the goals identified in Denver’s comprehensive plans, including but not limited to:

Denver Comprehensive Plan 2000

Promote quality infill development (page 39 & 59)
Provide tax incentives to encourage sustainable development (page 41 & 99)
Encourage mixed-use, transit oriented development (page 60)
Support mixed-income housing development (page 117 & 118)
High density residential units around downtown (page 135)
Use public-private partnerships to facilitate development (page 136)

Blueprint Denver

Identifies majority of Arapahoe Square as ‘Area of Change’
Channel growth to areas of change; redevelopment is beneficial

2007 Downtown Area Plan

Redevelop Arapahoe Square as a Transformative Project

Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan

Transformative Projects recommended: 21^st Street, Curtis St, study options for Broadway, study streetcar for Central Corridor, Transit Oriented Development, new park, social services strategies
Neighborhood strategy for Arapahoe Square:
- ‘The primary goal for Arapahoe Square is, quite simply, to catalyze development.’
- High & moderate intensity, transitioning to neighborhoods
- Adaptive reuse and historic preservation, where appropriate
- Economic and housing diversity
- Creation of an Urban Renewal Area
- Improve access to healthy transportation and healthy food
- Investment in parks and stormwater management technology
- Redevelopment of surface parking lots

The Arapahoe Square URP also sets goals and objectives for the proposed Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Area, which are taken directly from the planning documents referenced above, in combination with the primary objective of urban renewal, the elimination of blight and blighting conditions. Below is a summary of the goals and objectives taken from the Arapahoe Square URP:

Eliminate blight
Encourage high and moderate density development, where appropriate
Encourage residential, retail and commercial development
More effectively use underdeveloped land in the area
Protect and enhance historical structures, promote building reuse where appropriate
Encourage development patterns that reduce auto demand, encourage pedestrian activity, and provide for a more environmentally sustainable city

The plan will authorize the creation of the Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Area and the use of tax increment financing (TIF) to provide financial assistance to projects which would further the goals and objectives of the Arapahoe Square URP. The plan does not include any specific projects at this time. The following map outlines the boundaries of the proposed Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Area:

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The approval process for the proposed Arapahoe Square URP includes a public hearing by City Council on Monday, June 27^th at 5:30PM. In addition, DURA will be presenting to Registered Neighborhood Organizations about the proposed plan as follows:

Denver Civic Ventures, Inc
Ballpark Neighborhood Association
Curtis Park Neighbors - June 2^nd at Hope Communities, 2543 California Street at 7pm
Five Points Business District – June 4 at 9:00 a.m. at the District Office (2440 Washington St.)

For additional information on the proposed Arapahoe Square Urban Redevelopment Plan, please email arapahoesquare@renewdenver.org.

Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan Update & Arapahoe Square Blight Study Revision (5/17/11)

The City’s Community Planning & Development Department (CPD) has finalized the Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan (NEDN Plan). The NEDN Plan received Planning Board approval on May 4^th and City Council is scheduled to consider the NEDN Plan for approval at a public hearing on May 23^rd. The final NEDN Plan and outreach information relating to the NEDN Plan can be found on CPD’s website.

The NEDN Plan makes neighborhood specific recommendations for both Arapahoe Square and the Welton Corridor, including the creation of an urban renewal area for both neighborhoods. In light of the recommendation that a second urban renewal area be considered for the Welton Corridor, DURA has revisited the boundaries of the proposed Arapahoe Square urban redevelopment area which initially included a portion of the Welton Corridor.

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In order to accommodate a potential urban renewal area for the Welton Corridor, and the forthcoming blight study, DURA has truncated the Arapahoe Square Blight Study area at the southeast to California Street. The final Arapahoe Square Blight Study boundaries and summarized findings from that study can be seen in the figure below. In total, 60% of the blocks within the revised study area had four or more blight factors identified on each block, and a total of 413 incidents of blight were found across the 26-block study area.

Arapahoe Square planning effort studies options for neighborhood (3/1/2011)

The third meeting of the Northeast Downtown Neighborhood Plan (NDNP) was held by the City’s Community Planning & Development Department (CPD) on February 10^th, providing highlights from the planning efforts for both Arapahoe Square and the Welton Corridor, along with the rest of the NDNP study area. Further information and updates on the City’s NDNP can be found at their website. CPD intends to hold a final public meeting for the NDNP in early April and to seek City Council adoption of the NDNP in May. Please utilize the City’s website link above for more details.

In order to study the Arapahoe Square area, CPD held a week-long planning charrette in early January, focusing on numerous issues including the predominance of surface parking lots, safety, mobility and access, open space and parks, and social services. During the charrette numerous public meetings were held, along with study sessions involving various City agencies and neighborhood property owners and residents.

Proposed solutions from the charrette include possible changes to Broadway, creation of a pedestrian-oriented 21^st Street, modification of the light rail along Welton into a shared-lane streetcar system, proposed building designs to address the social service needs in the neighborhood, and discussions on building densities and future open space opportunities. Notes and presentations from this planning charrette can be found on the City’s Arapahoe Square webpage.

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With a process in place to complete the NDNP by May of this year, DURA is beginning the process of drafting an Urban Redevelopment Plan, in order to create an Urban Renewal Area for Arapahoe Square later this year. DURA will provide more details and a timeline for this process at the fourth public meeting for the NDNP, to be held in early April. Please continue to check back at this site and through the City’s Northeast Downtown Neighborhood Plan page for details on the next public meeting.

City Planning Process for Arapahoe Square Underway (9/13/2010)

On July 20^th, the City and County of Denver’s Planning Department held a well attended second public meeting to review Guiding Principles for the Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan. Key principles included: increased connectivity, enhancing the public realm, supporting existing retail corridors, creating a development friendly atmosphere, improving access to open space, protecting the neighborhood fabric, and capitalizing on transit, among others. Other presentations included a market overview of the area and a health impact assessment.

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As part of the overall planning effort for Northeast Downtown, the City is also planning a series of meetings to look specifically at Arapahoe Square, the challenges it presents, and a vision for its revitalization over the coming twenty years. This focused look at Arapahoe Square is expected to take place throughout the fall and result in a small area plan for consideration by Denver City Council in the spring of 2011. While DURA originally intended to begin the process of creating an urban renewal area for Arapahoe Square in time to be completed by year end 2010, it now makes sense to allow theses additional planning efforts time to be completed so that the urban renewal plan can benefit from / be directed by their findings. As a result, DURA is currently planning to wait until after the New Year to begin the process for creating an Arapahoe Square Urban Renewal Area.

For more information on the City’s planning efforts and the next northeast Downtown public meeting, scheduled for later this fall, please visit the City’s website.

Arapahoe Square Preliminary Blight Findings (03/08/10)

Matrix Design Group completed the fieldwork for the Arapahoe Square Blight Study in February. Matrix is still collecting data on the study area; however their preliminary analysis found 10 of the 11 blight factors identified in state statute are present in the area. State statute requires four or more factors to be present in order to make a determination of blight and Matrix found that more than two-thirds of the block in the study area met or exceed this threshold, with some blocks exhibiting as many as eight. The only block not exhibiting any blight factors was the city owned park at California Street and Park Avenue.

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Based on these findings Matrix concluded that should DURA and the City decide to move ahead with the creation of an urban renewal area for Arapahoe Square, the area would meet the statutory requirement. Answering this threshold question is the first step in the process to implementing a revitalization strategy for the area as called for in the 2007 Downtown Area Plan. The next step is development of a small area plan, which is to be developed as part of the Northeast Downtown Planning effort. The City's Community Planning and Development department is scheduled to begin at a community meeting scheduled for March 11 at 6:00 p.m. at the EXDO Event Center located at 1399 35th Street. More information on the Northeast Downtown Planning effort can be found at www.denvergov.org/northeastdowntown. Click on the map above to view the preliminary blight findings.

Arapahoe Square Property Owners Meeting (11/19/09)

DURA held a meeting with property owners in the Arapahoe Square neighborhood on November 10 at the Denver Ventures school to provide information regarding the proposed Arapahoe Square Urban Renewal Area and associated blight study. The meeting agenda included presentations by the Downtown Denver Partnership on the 2007 Downtown Denver Area Plan and its recommendations for the Arapahoe Square neighborhood, by DURA on the urban renewal process, by Matrix Design on the blight assessment process, and the City's Community Planning and Development Department on the upcoming Northeast Downtown Small Area Planning Process. Copies of the presentation can be downloaded below:

2007 Downtown Area Plan Presentation

Arapahoe Square Urban Renewal Overview Presentation

Blight Study Presentation

Northeast Downtown Neighborhoods Plan Presentation

A list of questions asked at the meeting and the responses to them can be downloaded below:

Arapahoe Square Meeting Q&A

Revitalizing Arapahoe Square (11/2/09)

Denver's recently completed 2007 Downtown Area Plan identifies the Arapahoe Square neighborhood as an underutilized area that provides tremendous opportunity for redevelopment and revitalization. In an effort to help facilitate revitalization of Arapahoe Square, the City and County of Denver and the Downtown Denver Partnership have included the area in their upcoming small area planning process for Northeast Downtown and have asked DURA to consider establishment of an Urban Redevelopment Area for the neighborhood.

The City's Northeast Downtown planning effort is expected to get underway before the end of the year and take approximately one year to complete. More information about that process and opportunities for community input can be found at: http://www.denvergov.org/planning/PlansinProgress/tabid/431858/Default.aspx.

The first step in determining the feasibility of setting an URA for Arapahoe Square is to determine if the area is blighted. DURA has contracted with a consultant to perform a blight study and area property owners have been notified. For a map of the study area, please see below.

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The study is expected to be completed by the end of the year. If it is determined that the area is blighted, DURA must determine if an URA is to be created through the adoption of an Urban Redevelopment Plan to help affect revitalization of the area. Additional public meetings will be held for input on the redevelopment plan and the redevelopment plan must be approved by the DURA Board of Commissioners and the Denver City Council.

For answers to specific questions about the potential Arapahoe Square URA or to be added to DURA's distribution list for any public meetings on Arapahoe Square either email arapahoesquare@renewdenver.org or call 303-606-4828 and leave a message.

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