Transit Oriented Development
The Urban Land Conservancy purchased this two-acre parcel of land along west Denver’s FasTracks light rail corridor. ULC will be the master developer of the site that will include the new west Denver library, a mixed-use workforce housing development with Del Norte Neighborhood Development, and a commercial building. This acquisition will provide enormous opportunity for additional transit oriented development (TOD) along west Colfax and the future Knox and Decatur light rail stations.
ULC purchased a portion of the 6.4-acre Festival Plaza from Shanghai Land Investment, L.L.C. for $2,140,000 using Denver’s transit oriented development (TOD) Fund, set up specifically for acquiring land near existing or future light rail stops and high frequency bus routes. The TOD Fund is financed in part by the City and County of Denver and Enterprise Communities Partners, who also administer the Fund. ULC President Aaron Miripol says “We see this site as a strategic gateway to the west Colfax Denver community, the mix of uses in this development will bring great economic benefit to the area which is essential to the revitalization of the neighborhood.”
The City and County of Denver plans to purchase approximately 0.8 acres of this two-acre parcel as the site for the west Denver library. Denver’s City Librarian Shirley Amore says, “This is a perfect site for the new library. We are looking forward to working with the Urban Land Conservancy, our architect, Studiotrope, and the surrounding neighborhoods to design and build a library that will transform not only the entrance to west Colfax but also the broader community.”
4 comments
What is the current status of this project? It seemed like work had begun and then it just stopped.
Any update would be appreciated.
Eric Johnson
Neighbor
Hi Eric, thanks for inquiring!
This is a complex redevelopment site – and the work you saw being done was “earth work” to further the infrastructure necessary for the new library and housing construction. We are expecting the next stage of infrastructure and construction of the library to begin in late spring this year. We are working very hard on this project despite a lack of activity on the site!
I am excited to see that work has started back up on the library site. I can see where the the library, commercial space, and the affordable residential will be located by the rendering. What is going to happen with the existing strip mall to the east of the library? Is there a plan for that space or possibly a remodel in the future?
Thank you,
Thank you for your comment. There are no immediate plan for redevelopment of the strip mall (we do not own that property) but the opening of the new Mi Pueblo grocery store in that shopping center should spark additional renovation/development!
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