Wednesday, September 05, 2007

It's a matter of 'fax
Massive Fitzsimons redevelopment spreading outward from campus

By J.C. O'Connell
The Aurora Sentinel

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

 

Shannon Davidson/The Aurora Sentinel   Bill Snyder with Marks Electric works on the lighting for a future FedEx Kinkos at the Shoppes at Fitzsimmons complex Aug. 31.

AURORA | Across from the bioscience and medical mecca emerging on the Fitzsimons campus, things are looking worse than ever - and it's actually an improvement.

Most of the shabby motels and restaurants that have populated the south side of the commercial strip for decades are now fenced off and boarded up, meaning they are one step closer to being knocked down to make way for new development according to city officials.

The Fitzsimons campus has undergone a metamorphosis in the last few years from an abandoned Army hospital to a prominent medical center and home to the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, and soon, The Children's Hospital and a likely site for a new Veterans' Administration Hospital.

"People asked (about the neighborhood's fate) for the last 10 years," said Councilwoman Debbie Wallace, who represents the area. "Now, you can tell them the work is really being done."

But local leaders and neighborhood advocates had long worried that the renaissance on campus wouldn't spill across the street to help rejuvenate Aurora's historical northern neighborhoods.

"In the next three to five years this is going to be just as dramatic a change as you saw on the north side (of East Colfax Avenue)," said Diane Truwe, the city's director of development services.

Almost all the property along the south side of Colfax, between Interstate 225 and Peoria Street, is owned by developers or someone who wants to partner with a developer, Truwe said.

"I'm really happy for the south side ... It's time for a change and it's reaching for the positive side," Wallace said.

Wallace said she enjoys seeing the buildings boarded up and torn down because it's one step closer to transforming Colfax back into the bustling district that surrounded Fitzsimons during its heyday.

Wallace thinks the Hilton Garden Inn, planned for the former site of the Heaven on Earth Inn just off of I-225, will really begin to turn around the neighborhood.

The proposed six-acre project is currently being reviewed by the city and would also replace a currently boarded up bowling alley.

Directly to the west, Icon Investment Group bought the Fitzsimons Mobile Home Park at East 13th Avenue and Victor Street and plans to build a high-density mix of retail and residential units that would include a hotel with a conference center, according to the city.

Across from the historic Fitzsimmons Hospital, the Dunes Motel and Yummy Yummy Tasty Thai Food site has closed, with most of their windows covered, ready for demolition.

The owner of 15 acres at Colfax and Ursula Street where the Dunes and Yummy Yummy's shells sit has hired marketing and planning consultants to explore potential uses for the property.

There are square holes along the roof of the Blue Spruce Motel from Aurora firefighters last month using the dilapidated building to practice cutting ventilation holes as part of the department's ongoing training.

The motel and plot of land, directly across from the University of Colorado Hospital, have been bought by a group of investors who plan to build medical offices on the property, according to the city.

The corner of Colfax and Peoria will also see dramatic changes in the next few years.

On the southeast corner of the intersection, directly across from the campus, Bush Development plans to build retail space for restaurants, an office supply store, a drive-thru coffee shop and an outdoor eating area that will include a fountain.

Construction was supposed to start in July and finish in the first half of 2008, according to the company's website, but the project plans are still working their way through the city's planning process.

"Anything would be improvement now, as far as I'm concerned," said Dynette Brown, as she stood outside the Plasma Services blood bank, which will eventually be torn down along with a Family Dollar and Checker Auto Parts, to make way for the Bush project.

"It needs it ... this area is going to have to come up more or less," said her friend Warren Brown as he survey the intersection.

Mt. Nebo, a mixed-used development resembling Lakewood's Belmar is planned for 19 acres near Colfax and Peoria to cater to the Fitzsimons crowd.

The Dutch Mill Mobile Home Park, on the northeast corner of Oswego Street and Colfax, was cleared out last year and construction on a Brent's Place is planned for this fall.

Brent's Place plans to construct a four-story building with 18 apartments for children and their families to use while children undergo cancer treatment at nearby Children's and Fitzsimons hospitals.

One of the early developments on Colfax south side, is the Shoppes at Fitzsimons, a 2.5-acre retail development at the corner of Potomac Street that should lease its final tenant in the near future.

It's currently the home to a Caribou Coffee and various restaurants such as Anthony's Pizza and Pasta and a Chipotle, catering mostly to hospital employees at it's location.

And Fitzsimons' on-campus population continues to grow.

There are 7,000 employees on the campus, but the city expects that number to more than double by 2008.