[ad_1]
Opponents of proposed housing and commercial development on the former Park Hill golf course property in northeast Denver remain skeptical that the development firm that owns the land will deliver on promises to build hundreds of units of affordable housing and an expansive public park there.
On Friday afternoon, the developer, Westside Investment Partners, announced it has reached a tentative legal agreement with the city that would bind it to specific promises including building at least 550 permanently income-restricted housing units on the 155-acre plot.
“We have heard loud and clear that the community wants more than promises, they want commitment, they want guarantees,” Kenneth Ho, a principal with Westside, told The Denver Post on Friday, “and that’s what this agreement does.”
The complete agreement, all 122 pages, has been added to the agenda for the City Council’s land use committee meeting on Tuesday. The agreement, should the City Council vote to approve it, would be tied to the land even if Westside were to sell it in the future, Ho said.
In a summary shared by Westside Friday, the developer is committing not just to broad goals such as building 300 “entry-level” homes on the property, but also specific projects.
Among those would be an affordable senior living apartment building with at least 60 units. Rents there would be affordable on average to people making less than 50% of the area’s median income. A 150-plus-unit affordable family housing building would also be required under the agreement. Average rents there would be affordable to people making less than 55% of the area’s median income. The summary can be viewed on Westside’s website Yesforparksandhomes.com.
When it comes to parks and open space, the agreement calls for the immediate transfer of 80 acres of contiguous land to the city for a regional park should city voters approve an anticipated ballot measure this April that would lift the conservation easement that prohibits commercial and housing development on the land.
Ultimately, more than 100 acres of the property would be given to the city as parks space, Ho said. If voters were to reject the ballot measure, the agreement would be void.
The development agreement, a rezoning request and the possible April ballot question are all expected to be discussed at Tuesday morning’s land use committee hearing. Should those items pass out of committee, a public hearing before the entire council is scheduled for Jan. 23.
On Monday, the City Council voted 10-3 to adopt a small area plan for the property following a contentious public hearing. That document, now part of the city’s comprehensive plan, sets an overarching vision for redevelopment.
Opponents believe that rather than be redeveloped with housing and commercial space, the entire 155-acre parcel should be preserved for parks and recreation.
[ad_2]
Source link