The latest on the Kensington plan for the corner of Arapahoe and 287

Update from the last neighborhood meeting on May 18th

May 21, 2023

Here’s the latest report on the potential development at Arapahoe and 287. If you are not familiar with this project here’s all you need to know to catch up.

Here is a link to the audio recording of the meeting which accompanies slides.

I am including both versions to make it easier for you to compare. I have added numbers to the second version that allow me to point out changes I think you should know about.

I will give some details for the numbered areas below

They said this is what they heard from the community

A reminder, in version one it was stated there were 677 multifamily units. In version two it was stated there are 601 rental apartments. At the meeting we were told there will be a mix of studio, 1 and 2 bedroom units. I do have to point out that we were told they brought the number down by 100, from 700 to 600 until a woman in the room pointed out that there were 677 not 700 in the first plan, so a decrease of 76 not 100.

The five story buildings are gone. There is only one four story building in the center of the development.

The green space/parks have been reconfigured. The center strip with apartments around it touted as the best thing since sliced bread, and the social heart of the site, is gone. Shout out to Lori on Nextdoor who named it G-String Park. RIP G-String Park.

#1

We were told they are trying to soften the area along Arapahoe for the folks who live in Stonehenge to the north. There is a forty foot landscape buffer here. This screenshot shows the view from Arapahoe over the site. They say the four story apartment building in the center of the site will not be seen. This graphic also gives us a good view of the breakout of the land uses in the plan and how they are grouped.

#2 and #7

These areas were connected in the first version.

#2 is the storm water detention pond that so many people cherish as a place for wildlife, especially birds. I have been speaking up about this from the beginning, with backup from others in the room. Many of you submitted written comments that included a mention.

#7 is where a park was planned.

In my background post, Everything you ever wanted to know about the proposed development at 287 and Arapahoe I described a twist as part of the Global Agreement (GA) with Erie. At some point Erie annexed the corner where the detention pond is, about 3.5 acres. Erie currently owns that land.

As part of the GA, Lafayette agreed to let Erie build a water tank on this property if they can come to an agreement with whoever develops the land. This would most likely be done as a land swap. Erie would trade the corner 3.5 acres for a similar sized parcel on the south west corner of the property. That would have the right elevation they need for the water tank which they would connect under 287 to tie into their water system. That corner was called Water Tank Park in the first version although it showed no water tank, just a nice green space. (can you hear me laughing? Let’s go sit in the shade of the water tank)

The plan was that Erie would de-annex that corner if the land swap happened and then it could be annexed into Lafayette along with the rest of the parcel.

Well folks that is off the table. Erie has found another location for the water tank. And presto chango the Water Tank Park is gone and replaced with apartment buildings. RIP Water Tank Park. The green space has moved to other areas in the development. Here’s what they propose:

They seem to have gotten the message that this area is important to the community for wildlife habitat. Here’s what the first mention of this area said:

“The Northeast Corner features a stormwater detention area that is being preserved. Kensington is currently evaluating if it is more conducive to the overall plan and not cost prohibitive to fill this stormwater area and replace with underground storm detention which could allow for additional sales tax generating users. There is potential to include walking paths, landscaped improvements, and signage to create a larger gateway identity from this corner.”

Then public input was given on the development. That glorious idea (snort) changed when we saw an updated plan, it then turned into a human focused area with walking paths etc. I told them they still had it wrong, that people were asking that it be preserved for the wildlife.

Well it’s evolved again. I hope they got the message. Now they want to keep the detention pond as a natural area. They say over time it will degrade. Their plan is to improve this area by ensuring it will get a water supply for the wildlife.

I asked if they planned to purchase that land from Erie and they said they were currently having conversations. It seems to be part of the plan to acquire it.

You can see they have added a .75 acre amenity area to the south of the detention pond. This is where they plan to have human activities such as a place for kids to play.

#3

This is where they propose to put the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stop. Yes, I know, it’s right next to the wildlife area. Sigh. I pointed that out.

#4

The four story building. They seem to be interested in having some affordable, possibly deed restricted units here. They will most likely have to give the city something in exchange for the increase in height because our current comp plan says three story max height for this land use which you might recall is adaptable commercial. Keep in mind that during the development code update currently in motion this will be scrutinized, so stay tuned. There is a potential for a height exception if there is something the city wants, and affordable units could be it.

#5

When pointing out the features of the development this lot was mentioned as a good location for a natural grocer. Nothing was suggested other than that. Someone in the audience yelled out Trader Joe’s. Another person said a sit down restaurant, not fast food, would be good.

#6

If you look at the two plans you can see that in the second version the size of that big red block has increased, it’s now 148,144, that’s large. We were told they have a lot of commercial interest in the site and that a Target type retailer is looking. Keep in mind we were not told it was Target only that type of store. It seems as though they have a tenant in the works because that square footage is very specific.

For comparison I Googled a few stores to get a sense of scale.

Trader Joe's averages around 15,000 sq ft

Home Depot stores are around 105,000 sq ft

Whole Foods are around 25,000 to 50,000 sq ft

Costco stores average around 146,000 sq ft

Target sizes range from several thousand to over 200,000 sq ft

Walmart Supercenters average 187,000 sq ft