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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMELDRUM OFFICE BUILDING - PDP - PDP130027 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - LUC REQUIREMENTSMeldrum Office Building City Plan — Principles and Policies Page 6 of 6 Principle LIV 33: The Downtown is comprised of three sub -districts: the (1) Old City Center, (2) Civic Center, and (3) Canyon Avenue areas, which collectively establish the overall commercial core area (see Figure LIV 4). These individual sub -districts will reflect unique characters, land use mixes, and design considerations. Canyon Avenue Sub -District Policy LIV 33.5 — Feature Employment Activities The Canyon Avenue sub -district will be the primary employment area Downtown with concentrated office activities. Maintain and encourage office and service -oriented businesses such as finance, insurance, government, real estate, medical, law firms, and uses of similar character. Remain the focus for government administration and service functions and encourage other civic facilities, such as a library, performing arts center, urban parks or plazas, and outdoor entertainment. Blue Ocean Enterprises is a service oriented business coordinating the property management and select financial duties for several local companies. Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com �7eldrum Office Building City Plan — Principles and Policies Page 5 of 6 Policy LIV 15.2 - Seek Compatibility with Surrounding Development Design commercial buildings to contribute to the positive character of the area. Building materials, architectural details, color range, building massing, and relationships to streets and sidewalks will contribute to a distinctive local district, corridor, or neighborhood. The architecture of 111 Meldrum is unique in its origin while containing materials, sight lines and patterns complimentary to the adjacent development. Principle LIV 31: Each commercial District should feature a mix of uses and an attractive and inviting public realm that encourages pedestrian activity, reinforces the unique identify of the District, and complements the scale and character of surrounding neighborhoods. Policy LIV 31.2 - Site Layout and Building Orientation Design Commercial Districts so that the arrangement of buildings and blocks contributes to a cohesive urban fabric and provides attractive pedestrian -scale features and spaces: • Orient primary entrances towards plazas, parks, or pedestrian -oriented streets, not to interior blocks or parking lots. Anchor retail buildings may also have entries from off-street parking lots; however, onstreet entries are strongly encouraged. • Minimize building setbacks from public streets. • Place surface parking lots behind or to the side of buildings. • Relate the building placement, massing, and entryways to the street, nearby buildings, and surrounding context. The design of 111 Meldrum utilizes many of these building principles. Principle LIV 32: The Downtown will serve as a focal point and primary destination and activity center for the community, with the design of buildings, streets, parking areas, and public spaces reinforcing the area's unique and distinctive character. Policy LIV 32.5- Maintain Visual Character Maintain and reinforce the visual distinctiveness of Downtown and its component sub -districts. With new buildings and public spaces, respect and be sensitive to the design integrity by enhancing visual continuity and sense of place through the use of building materials and design features sensitive to the character of Downtown and by reflecting excellence and high quality in their design. Policy LIV 32.6 - Encourage Human -Scale Architectural Elements Encourage human -scale design and architectural elements Downtown. Such elements may include signage, awnings, storefronts, and proportional windows as well as other human -scale building details. Policy LIV 32.7 - Allow Various Building Heights Allow taller buildings (over 3 stories) Downtown to support market vitality and reinforce Downtown as the primary focal point of the community. Carefully locate and shape taller buildings to respond to the surrounding context. Utilize standards for height, mass, and design in order to maintain a human scale and reflect defining historic characteristics in the different sub -districts. The 111 Meldrum Office building will be 6 stories tall. The lower portion of the building provides pedestrian scale elements like an entry auvent and colonnade, while utilizing materials seen in much of the historic downtown buildings. As the building rises, the architecture tastefully shifts to a more contemporary aesthetic adding a unique and innovative look to a traditional theme. Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com Meldrum Office Building City Plan — Principles and Policies Page 4 of 6 distinctive characteristics of a neighborhood or district, provided that they meet necessary safety, accessibility, and maintenance requirements. The project is the first phase of a streetscape design which will enhance the pedestrian experience along Meldrum. Innovative streetscape concepts include rain gardens within the parkways to collect and treat stormwater, a variety of native plantings, boulders and mulch types creating a rich texture at the pedestrian scale. Policy LIV 10.2 - Incorporate Street Trees Utilize street trees to reinforce, define and connect the spaces and corridors created by buildings and other features along a street. Preserve existing trees to the maximum extent feasible. Use canopy shade trees for the majority of tree plantings, including a mixture of tree types, arranged to establish urban tree canopy cover. Most of the existing street trees along the projects Meldrum frontage are being preserved. Principle LIV 14: Require quality and ecologically sound landscape design practices for all public and private development projects throughout the community. Policy LIV 14.1 - Encourage Unique Landscape Features In addition to protecting existing natural features, encourage integration of unique landscape features into the design and architecture of development and capital projects. These unique features may range from informal and naturalized to highly structured and maintained features. Some examples include tree groves within a project, stormwater facilities that become naturalized over time, walls with vines, drainageway enhancements, and other small, uniquely landscaped spaces. Policy LIV 14.2 - Promote Functional Landscape Incorporate practical solutions to ensure a landscape design is functional in providing such elements as natural setting, visual appeal, shade, foundation edge to buildings, screening, edible landscapes, buffers, safety, and enhancement of built environment. Consider and address practical details such as sight distance requirements and long-term maintenance in landscape design. Policy LIV 14.3 - Design Low Maintenance Landscapes Design new landscaping projects based on maintainability over the life cycle of the project using proper soil amendment and ground preparation practices, as well as the appropriate use of hardscape elements, trees, mulches, turf grass, other plant materials, and irrigation systems. Low maintenance practices can be achieved in both turf and non -turf planting areas, provided these areas are designed and installed to minimize weeds, erosion and repairs. Through its use of innovative storm water management, naturalistic aesthetic and native plant material, the landscape design at 111 Meldrum incorporates many of the ideals laid out in principle LIV14. Principle LIV15: Commercial developments create a powerful impression of the City, both individually and taken together as a whole. While corporate franchises and chain stores will remain vital and recognizable, commercial developments shall be designed to contribute to Fort Collins' distinct visual quality and uniqueness. Policy LIV 15.1- Modify Standardized Commercial Architecture Provide site -specific design of commercial buildings to reflect local values, and modify standardized architectural prototypes, if necessary, so that the city's appearance remains unique. Development will not consist solely of repetitive design that may be found in other communities. Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com NIcldrum Office Building City Plan — Principles and Policies Page 3 of 6 . Promote reinvestment in areas where infrastructure already exists. . Increase economic activity in the area to benefit existing residents and businesses and, where necessary, provide the stimulus to redevelop. The building revitalizes the site, replacing an existing building in deteriorating condition with asbestos. The 6-story design consolidates a higher density of employees in an area that can support higher levels of activity by being located near a proposed parking structure and within walking distance to the many amenities of Old Town. The project continues the recent re- investment into this area of Old Town, increasing economic activity. Principle LIV 6: Infill and redevelopment within residential areas will be compatible with the established character of the neighborhood. In areas where the desired character of the neighborhood is not established, or is not consistent with the vision of City Plan, infill and redevelopment projects will set an enhanced standard of quality. Policy LIV 6.1 - Types of Infill and Redevelopment in Residential Areas Infill and redevelopment in residential areas may occur through: a. The addition of new dwellings on vacant lots and other undeveloped parcels surrounded by existing residential development. b. Dwelling units added to existing houses (e.g., basement or upstairs apartments). c. Small, detached dwellings added to lots of sufficient size with existing houses (e.g., "alley houses" or "granny flats"). d. Expansion or redevelopment of properties. e. Neighborhood -related, non-residential development. Policy LIV 6.2 — Seek Compatibility with Neighborhoods Encourage design that complements and extends the positive qualities of surrounding development and adjacent buildings in terms of general intensity and use, street pattern, and any identifiable style, proportions, shapes, relationship to the street, pattern of buildings and yards, and patterns created by doors, windows, projections and recesses. Compatibility with these existing elements does not mean uniformity. The goal of the buildings is to integrate into Fort Collins' downtown fabric. Conceptually, the 111 Meldrum building's design is derived from the idea of an innovative office building (upper floors) being inserted into a historical wrapper (lower brick floors). Principle LIV 10: The city's streetscapes will be designed with consideration to the visual character and the experience of users and adjacent properties. Together, the layout of the street network and the streets themselves will contribute to the character, form, and scale of the city. Policy LIV 10.1- Design Safe, Functional, and Visually Appealing Streets Ensure all new public streets are designed in accordance with the City street standards and design all new streets to be functional, safe, and visually appealing, with flexibility to serve the context and purpose of the street corridor. Provide a layout that is simple, interconnected, and direct, avoiding circuitous routes. Include elements such as shade trees, landscaped medians and parkways, public art, lighting, and other amenities in the streetscape. Approve alternative street designs where they are needed to accommodate unique situations, such as "green" stormwater functions, important landscape features, or Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.6828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com Meldrum Office Building City Plan — Principles and Policies Page 2 of 6 Principle EH 3: The City will support local, unique, and creative businesses. Policy EH 3.2 - Define and Support the Uniquely Fort Collins Cluster Identify businesses and professions that are unique to Fort Collins and highlight those opportunities to drive economic development in the city. Blue Ocean Enterprises is a subsidiary of Otter Box a uniquely Fort Collins Company. Policy EH 3.3 - Support Local and Creative Entrepreneurship Identify local entrepreneurs and creative enterprises and work to both incubate new businesses, and strengthen the existing businesses. This will result in the creation of jobs, improved cultural awareness, and growth in the creative economy. The 111 Meldrum Office Building will accommodate and encourage the employment growth seen by Blue Ocean Enterprises. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH Principle ENV 19: The City will pursue opportunities to protect and restore the natural function of the community's urban watersheds and streams as a key component of minimizing flood risk, reducing urban runoff pollution, and improving the ecological health of urban streams. Policy ENV 19.2 - Pursue Low Impact Development Pursue and implement Low Impact Development (LID) as an effective approach to address stormwater quality and impacts to streams by urbanization. Low Impact Development is a comprehensive land planning and engineering design approach with a goal of minimizing the impact of development on urban watersheds through the use of various techniques aimed at mimicking predevelopment hydrology. The 111 Meldrum Office Building will strive to meet this principle through the use of bioswWes to assist in storm water pollution mitigation. COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY Principle LIV 3: The City will coordinate facilities and services with the timing and location of development and ensure that development only occurs where it can be adequately served. Policy LIV 5.1- Encourage Targeted Redevelopment and Infill Encourage redevelopment and infill in Activity Centers and Targeted Infill and Redevelopment Areas identified on the Targeted Infill and Redevelopment Areas Map The purpose of these areas is to: • Promote the revitalization of existing, underutilized commercial and industrial areas. • Concentrate higher density housing and mixed -use development in locations that are currently or will be served by high frequency transit in the future and that can support higher levels of activity. • Channel development where it will be beneficial and can best improve access to jobs, housing, and services with fewer and shorter auto trips. Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com land planning ■ landscape architecture ■ urban design ■ entitlement August 28, 2012 Meldrum Office Building City Plan Fort Collins Adopted February 15, 2011 ECONOMIC HEALTH Principle EH 1: The City will pursue development of a vibrant and resilient economy that reflects the values of our unique community in a changing world. Policy EH 1.1- Support Job Creation Support the enhancement of the community's economic base and job creation by focusing on retention, expansion, incubation, and recruitment efforts that bring jobs and import income or dollars to the community, particularly businesses in the adopted Target Industry Clusters. The 111 Meldrum Office Building will accommodate and encourage the employment growth seen by Blue Ocean Enterprises. Principle EH 2: The City will support the growth of the innovation economy to set the stage for business development, job creation, and a thriving entrepreneurial environment. Policy EH 2.1 - Support Targeted Industry Clusters Actively support job creation within the five adopted Targeted Industry Clusters, including Clean Energy, Water Innovation, Bioscience, Technology, and Uniquely Fort Collins. Periodically re-evaluate the adopted Targeted Industry Clusters for relevance, success, and contribution to economic health and adjust as needed. Blue Ocean Enterprises is a subsidiary of Otter Box a uniquely Fort Collins Company. Thinking outside of the box for over two decades. 401 W. Mountain Ave., Suite 100 ■ Fort Collins, CO 80521 ■ tel. 970.224.5828 ■ fax 970.224.1662 ■ www.ripleydesigninc.com