HomeMy WebLinkAboutRETREAT AT 1200 PLUM ST. - PDP - 34-08 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 2 - CORRESPONDENCE2. Light and Shadow — we analyzed the shadows that would be cast by the
proposed buildings during several times of the year and are described as
follows:
P^vch V A-4 AM to
March 21 at 3 PM — the afternoon shadows cast by the proposed buildings fall
predominantly on the public streets, with the exception of the parking lots for the
Baystone Apartments and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority house.
June 21 — 9 AM and 3 PM — the morning shadows for buildings A and B fall on the
public streets; the shadows cast by the other two buildings and the parking
structure do fall on adjacent properties, but given the time of year, we don't believe
there is negative impact on those properties. At 3 PM, the shadows are barely
discernable.
December 21 — 9 AM, 10 AM, and 3 PM — the morning shadows cast this one day
of the year indicate that the morning shadow casts a long way and the afternoon
shadows still fall predominantly on public streets and parking lots. There are
portions of the Baystone Apartments and the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority house that
will be in shadow. Shadows cast at 10 AM are considerably shorter.
3. Privacy —As stated above, the majority of the surrounding properties are three
story buildings, so we don't believe that privacy will be an issue.
4. Neighborhood Scale — We feel that the proposed buildings are compatible
with the scale of the surrounding neighborhood. In terms of contextual height,
existing buildings located adjacent to the lot are three stories in height.
There are several reasons that these five -story structures are well -suited to this
location. First, the development of The Retreat @1200 Plum will displace most all of
the one-story single-family homes in the area. With the exception of some single -story
buildings, the remainder of the neighboring area consists of structures at least 3 .
stories tall. The development proposes lower 4 story buildings to the west (Building C)
and to the south (Building D), where the development is immediately adjacent to
existing single family residences.
In conclusion, there has been little opportunity or interest for a developer to pursue an
upscale student housing development such as The Retreat @ 1200 Plum project in
this area. This site is an ideal location for a potential landmark project that could set
the precedence in the campus west area by providing much -need housing near CSU,
enhancing pedestrian connectivity, proximity to transit, and superior architectural
character.
Sincerely,
son Holland
VFR Design, Inc.
architecture ■ land planning ■ landscape architecture ■ interior design
October 22, 2008
(Revised March 11, 2009)
Mr. Steve Olt
Fort Collins Planning Department
281 North College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
RE: Building Height Review— The Retreat @ 1200 Plum Project Development
Plan (PDP).
The Retreat @1200 Plum is intended to be a luxury student housing apartment project
consisting of 197 units. The site is located on 2.63 acres of land west of Colorado
State University, in the 700 block of West Plum Street. The property is zoned
Community Commercial District (CC). There are several existing single -family homes
that were built in the 1950's and are currently rented to students. The intent is to
relocate the houses to another development and replace them with four buildings and
a parking structure. The two larger buildings (A & B) contain 90 and 83 units
respectively and are located on Plum Street, between Aster and Columbine. These
buildings are proposed to be 70 feet in height. Buildings C & D are smaller buildings,
with building C containing 16 units and 8 units and are both 55 feet in height..A
parking structure is located south of Building E, along the Scott Avenue frontage. The
parking structure contains 314 spaces and is proposed to bed high.
The purpose of this letter is to address Section 3.5.1(G) Building Height Review (1)(a)
of the LUC.
The Review Standards for a building greater than 40 feet in height are addressed in
the following:
1. Views — it is our opinion that the proposed buildings are not blocking desirable
views. In the area west of the campus, there are many mature large existing
trees, thus preventing views to the mountains.
VAUGHT FRYE RIPLEY DESIGN INC.
401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 200 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.1191 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■
www.vfrdesigninc.com