HomeMy WebLinkAboutUNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS - SITE PLAN ADVISORY REVIEW - 34-02 - REPORTS - APPLICANT COMMUNICATION• • no
July 22, 2002
Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Commission
281 N. College Avenue
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Dear Board Members:
Facilities Management
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-6030
Over the past year, Colorado State University has conducted over a dozen neighborhood meetings
and informal gatherings to facilitate communication and to request community input regarding
plans for the Concert Hall addition to the Old Fort Collins High School (OFCHS). The vast
majority of comments received have been tremendously positive. The University is confident that
our current proposal is supported by the people living in the surrounding area, represented by the
Historic Fort Collins High School Neighborhood Association, as well as the support of the
majority of citizens within the greater City of Fort Collins community.
The University understands that some members of the Planning Commission are concerned about
the design of the concert hall addition and the site plan for the University Center for the Arts at
OFCHS. Since our last meeting with the Planning Commission, the University has had several
design sessions with user groups and our architectural and engineering consultants to look at
alternatives and to deal with budget issues. We believe that recent efforts have greatly improved
the exterior detailing of the addition to be significantly more sensitive to the original high
school's architecture. We have also eliminated the fly space that rose 72 feet into the air.
The major issue some members of Planning Commission raised concerning the location of the
Concert Hall addition itself remains an issue that we cannot offer a feasible solution to. The
relocation of the Concert Hall from the front of the building does not work from either an
economic or a programming perspective. We have studied moving uses within the building and
explored alternative layouts, but we are not able to come up with an alternative that will function
programmatically for the department of Theatre, Music and Dance. We simply do not have the
financial resources to relocate the addition and still meet the basic program needs of the uses.
We will elaborate on these issues at the public hearing. It is our sincere hope that when the total
project is taken into account, with its regional benefits the widespread community support it has
received, the Planning and Zoning Commission will grant your approval of the project.
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