PPRC   

Platt Park Residents' Coalition
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GATES PROPERTY REDEVELOPMENT

You may have heard that Gates has sold its property West of Broadway to a developer, Cherokee, who cleans up and develops contaminated properties.
Now Gates is has rezoned the Gates East Campus property (bordered by I25, Broadway, Arizona, & Logan) and plans to sell it to a developer. (See maps below for new zoning). In December 2004, Gates finally admitted they have tested their property and that there is TCE and toxic metal contamination on the East Campus. Gates says they intend to clean up the site.

The massive rezoning development Gates has proposed will double Platt Park's population. The Gates East Campus Rezoning Proposal will place 55 foot and 110 foot tall buildings in the blocks between Arizona and Mississippi (current R-2 zoning only allows 35 feet). The property North of Mississippi will be zoned for 110 feet buildings! It is estimated that the Gates East Campus Rezoning Proposal will increase traffic to an extra 80,000 trips a day - while Broadway is already near its capacity. The additional traffic will strain the area infrastructure and area amenities (parks, grocery stores, schools), and will result in an increase in air and noise pollution.

PLATT PARK RESIDENTS' COALITION

The Platt Park Residents' Coalition (PPRC) was formed to monitor the Cherokee and Gates East Campus redevelopment, keep residents and other interested people informed of the process, and to give residents effected by this massive development a voice in the process. PPRC is concerned about the Gates East Campus Rezoning Proposal and the Cherokee Developments for the following reasons:

* Cherokee is already zoned for high density with 4000 residences and several million square feet of office, shopping, service, entertainment venues, and restaurants. Gates East Campus Rezoning Proposal would allow an additional 1500 residences, and 859,000 square feet of office and retail.
* The population of Platt Park will double from 5500 to 10,000 - 12,000 in an area equal to only 26 city blocks; an average of 460 people per block along with their vehicles.
* Gates East Campus Rezoning Proposal will place 4-5 story (55 feet) and 9-10 story (110 feet) buildings adjacent to 30-35 foot turn-of-the-century bungalows, and will place 9-10 story (110 feet) buildings at the 1100 S Broadway block and the property north of Mississippi.
* Proposed Building Heights will be out of character with existing structures on South Broadway, in the Platt Park Neighborhood, and the surrounding neighborhoods.
* Total increase in traffic each day would be close to 80,000, the equivalent to 3 lanes of I-25 for a 24-hour period. Broadway and Logan are already running at 80% of their capacity. Excess traffic and parking will overflow into neighborhood streets. The high number of traffic trips will increase air and noise pollution and decrease the quality of life in Platt Park.
* City of Denver is considering altering streets in Platt Park and possible the surrounding neighborhoods to accommodate the volume of traffic. One of City's proposals is turning Lincoln Street into a one-way Couplet at Arizona Ave to carry the increased northbound traffic on Broadway.
* An industrial carcinogenic chemical called TCE (trichloroethane) now pollutes the Cherokee site and potentially the Gates East Campus, is known to have migrated underground, northeast to the West Washington Park neighborhood.

Proposed Zoning

  • R2 Multi-unit Dwellings, low density --(the current zoning for most of Platt Park) allows single family, duplex and triplex housing. (Max height 35 feet)
  • RMU-20 Residential Mixed Use-allows for primarily residential mixed with retail, office or services uses. (Max. height 55 feet)
  • RMU-30 Residential Mixed Use-allows higher density multiple unit dwellings appropriate to the city-center plus retail and service uses as well as small scale offices. (max. height 110 feet)
  • TMU-30 Transit Mixed Use -allows high density residential urban development mixed with retail and service uses and small-scale offices all integrated the public transit system. Max. height 110 feet or about 9-10 stories)

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