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Home My WebLink AboutRETREAT AT 1200 PLUM ST. - PDP - 34-08 - REPORTS - PLANNING OBJECTIVESPRINCIPLE CCD-1: Community Commercial Districts will be community -wide destinations and act as hubs for a high frequency transit system offering retail, offices, services, small civic uses, and higher density housing. The physical environment will promote walking, bicycling, transit and ridesharing, as well as provide a high quality urban life for residents. Vertical mixed -use will be encouraged. Policy CCD-1.1 Primary Activity Centers Policy CCD-1.2 Subarea Plans Policy CCD-1.3 Key District Areas Policy CCD-1.9 Streetscapes Policy CCD-1.13 Balanced Transportation Policy CCD-1.15 Direct pedestrian Connections The Retreat @1200 Plum embodies the City's vision for redevelopment and infill by locating near the campus with a compatible student housing project. Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to working with you during the development review process. Sincerely. Jason Holland VFR Design, Inc. 4 PRINCIPLE T-5: The City will acknowledge pedestrian travel as a viable transportation mode and elevate it in importance to be in balance with all other modes. Direct pedestrian connections will be provided and encouraged from place of residence to transit, schools, activity centers, work and public facilities. Policy T-5.1 Land Use Policy T-5.2 Connections The Retreat @ 1200 Plum is located one block west of the campus and two blocks from the Campus West commercial area. The project will have easily accessible sidewalks along the public streets making this pedestrian route a viable alternative to the automobile. PRINCIPLE HSG-1: A variety of housing types and densities will be available throughout the urban area for all income levels. Policy HSG-1.1 Land Use Pattern. The Retreat @1200 Plum is a student housing project located within walking distance to campus and is close to transit stops. The property provides one, two, three and four bedroom rental units all with a variety of income levels. PRINCIPLE ENV-2: The City will reduce total motor vehicle emissions of high priority pollutants by focusing on both technology and behavior. Policy ENV-2.1: Actions on Vehicle Miles Traveled. The project is located within walking distance to the campus, shopping and transit stops. PRINCIPLE ENV-3: Drinking water provided by the City's Water Utility will meet or exceed customer expectations for quality, quantity and reliability. Water Conservation will be strongly encouraged. Policy ENV-3.3: Water Demand Management The landscape plan for the project will utilize the following xeriscape principles: Plant material with low to moderate water requirements Limited turf areas Effective use of soil amendments An efficient irrigation system Appropriate maintenance PRINCIPLE GM-8: The City will promote compatible infill and redevelopment in areas within the Growth Management Area Boundary. Policy GM-8.1: Targeted Redevelopment/Infill The Retreat @1200 Plum is located within the targeted redevelopment/infill area. This project will replace existing buildings and build four new residential buildings that create a more urban streetscape. Policy GM-8.2: Areas Identified by Neighborhood Subarea Plans The project is located within the Campus West Subarea Plan targeted redevelopment area. 3 The development will have transitional architecture and be surrounded by street landscaping. Community services include a fitness center, a library/technology center, study lounge/internet cafe, conference rooms, business center, and on -site management. Since the development is proposing four bedroom units, the issue of unrelated occupants arises. The developer would like to propose an increase in the occupancy limit per LUC Section 3.8.16(E)(2). The project will provide approximately 30' x 60' courtyard amenity areas within buildings A and B. The areas are approximately 1,800 sq. ft. each and will contain a large hot tub, seating, and landscaping in each courtyard. In addition, there will be approximately 7,000 square feet of interior amenity space in Building B, where the community services described above will be available for use by the building's occupants. We believe The Retreat @1200 Plum will be a valuable asset to the entire community. This project will provide much -needed off -campus student housing and alleviate the single-family home occupancy issues facing the community. City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by The Retreat (c11200 Plum project PRINCIPLE LU-1: Growth within the city will promote a compact development pattern within a well-defined boundary. Policy LU-1.1 Compact Urban Form The Retreat @1200 Plum is a redevelopment project surrounded by existing development. The existing single-family homes will be replaced with a new residential apartment complex. PRINCIPLE LU-2: The city will maintain and enhance its character and sense of place as defined by its neighborhoods, districts, corridors, and edges. Policy LU-2.2 Urban Design The Retreat @1200 Plum is located in the CC District. The proposed project will give the streetscape an urban downtown residential presence. PRINCIPLE T-1: The physical organization of the city will be supported by a framework of transportation alternatives that maximizes access and mobility throughout the city, while reducing dependence upon the private automobile. Policy T-1.1 Land Use Patterns The nearest transit stop is proposed to be located at the corner of Plum and Columbine Street. The close proximity to a transit stop permits public transit to become a viable alternative to the automobile. PRINCIPLE T-4: Bicycling will serve as a viable alternative to automobile use for all trip purposes. Policy T-4.1 Bicycle Facilities There are bike lanes in Plum Street making this a viable alternative to the automobile. 2 architecture ■ land planning ■ landscape architecture ■ interior design October 22, 2008 (Revised March 11, 2008) (Revised April 2, 2009) Mr. Steve Olt City of Fort Collins Planning Department 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins. CO 80522 RE: Planning Objectives for The Retreat @ 1200 Plum PDP Dear Steve: 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), which encourages five -story construction. There are several existing single -family homes that were built in the 1940's that 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 five -story 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 four-story buildings 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 be 58' high. Additionally, on - street parking is available. Since the property is in the TOD overlay district, no minimum residential parking is required; however, adequate parking is essential from a leasing standpoint. The site has been designed with the pedestrian in mind by utilizing a series of sidewalks and ramps along all streets. Currently, pedestrians are using the bike lanes, as there are very few sidewalks on the north side of Plum Street. The project provides enhanced sidewalks that exceed the LUC standards, reinforcing the streetscape as a comfortable pedestrian route and gathering area with an urban residential feel. The landscape design objective for the Retreat @ 1200 Plum is to contribute towards a livable, aesthetically pleasing, and environmentally responsible community. The project will utilize xeric plants to the maximum extent feasible. The building frontages will have traditional foundation planting to break up the scale and mass of the architecture. 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