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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFOOTHILLS MALL REDEVELOPMENT - PDP - PDP120036 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - CORRESPONDENCE-NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGNEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SUMMARY PROJECT: Foothills Mall Redevelopment MEETING DATE: September 17, 2012 APPLICANT: Alberta Development Partners, 5750 DTC Parkway, Suite 210, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 CITY PLANNER: Courtney Levingston, City Planner, City of Fort Collins The meeting commenced at approximately 6:05 p.m. with an introduction of the Applicant’s team and then City Staff. After the introduction, City Staff explained the City’s review process as it relates to this development proposal and explained opportunities for citizens to engage in the process. At 6:30 p.m. the Applicant gave a project description and then took questions, comments and input from citizens as well as responding to questions and comments. The meeting adjourned around 8:05 p.m. Unless otherwise noted, all responses to questions and comments are from Mr. Donald Provost, Principal, Alberta Development Partners. QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS Q: How many large anchor tenants (department stores) will there be? A: Macy’s is the only large department store anchor tenant featured in the plan, with junior anchors. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 2 Q: The current parking at Foothills Mall is a disaster. What will the parking structure accommodate in terms of parking spaces? R: We are working to create a traffic study to look what type of traffic is generated from this site. Different types of stores and tenants produce different types of parking needs. The plan for the parking garage is very flexible to add additional levels if needed. Q: There are rumors going around the mall that there may be a Dave & Buster’s. Is this true? A: Many entertainment tenants are in discussion. Q: Where will the residential component of this plan be located? A: The residential component will be on the far eastern edge of the property, primarily along Stanford Road. It will not be student housing; it will be very upscale. There may be row homes to create an urban edge. There also may be a wrapped product along the southeastern corner. The product is highly amenitized and caters to a young executive rental profile. Q: I have two main concerns; traffic and noise. During the demolition and construction phase, I would like no work to be done at night. If there are to be open air concerts, I would like to see that end at a reasonable hour. A: No demolition will be undertaken past 5:00 p.m. Typically, the latest outdoor events such as movies or concerts (family events) will wrap up at 9:00 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. These events may take place around 6 or so evenings a summer. Q: I represent a nearby business located on the mall’s periphery, and have concerns. A: The subject property is not part of Urban Renewal Authority. The developer is happy to have an offline discussion and to be a good neighbor. Q: I live in the neighborhood to the northeast. I notice a lot more density, geared towards Stanford Road. Will the intersection be signalized? A: The commercial density is almost the same as the existing. There is a large residential density component to the project. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 3 C: The developer did not answer the question. I am concerned about traffic on Stanford Road in terms of the new, dense residential. A: We are in the process of completing a traffic study and will submit the study to the City to review in late October. A: Chris from developer’s team (traffic engineering): The residential component is less than 10% of the total site. Most traffic will still access the site via the main entrance off of South College Avenue. Q: Will the intersection be signalized? A: Possibly. We are still in the infancy of the traffic study. Sometimes traffic signals are not warranted. Additionally, putting in a traffic signal is not taken lightly, sometimes creates unintended problems. Q: What are your plans for adding contributions by the community, diversity in participation in the project? Q: What alternatives were considered in devising the parking space layout where the Arc and Ross stores are located? What was considered in retaining these (Arc and Ross) spaces? A: As this project is being reimagined, this may not be the place for an Arc Thrift Store. There is discussion on where Arc should be located in Fort Collins, but it may not be appropriate at this site. Ross and Arc do a very good job in their current space, but they are not appropriate for this best-in-class mall; even if it is appropriate for the overall community. Q: Can there be further discussion and understanding on the role of thrift stores and their market in the community? Q: What happened to Arc, Ross, other stores currently located on site? A: There are existing retailers that have carved out their place in the current environment of the mall. Are they viable? Yes. Do they have a place in Fort Collins? Yes. They may not have a place at this redeveloped space. Q: The current pedestrian crossing at Foothills and College Avenue is not good; what can be done to increase pedestrian access across College Avenue? What can be done with enhancing connections to the Mason Corridor? Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 4 A: We are fully engaged with the City and evaluating alternatives; both at-grade and below-grade crossings that are enhanced and safe for pedestrians. Q: Thank you for taking an interest in this project and stepping up and for being a developer that knows what they’re doing. There is still a lot to work out, but I am excited that someone is making this happen. As a shopper, I know great malls, and I’m tired of having to spend my shopping dollars in Denver. A big reason people shop down there are shops like Pottery Barn, J Crew, etc. – if this had been done 10 years ago, Centerra may have not been built. Does the retail mix at Centerra hurt the mix at the redevelopment site? Ideally, I would like a Nordstrom. A: Our goal is to talk to those types of tenants. We’d love to have a full line Nordstrom store; the overall market of the trade area does not meet Nordstrom’s criteria for location. We are talking to Nordstrom Rack. From a tenant mix, we are talking best in class. You can go into Flatirons and Park Meadows and those are the types of tenants we are talking to. Centerra doesn’t have the mouse trap to support those types of tenants. A: Our goal is to capture the imagination of shoppers of everyone in Fort Collins. The current arrangement is driving on I-25 to the south side of metro Denver, but we can be very aspiration and engage in and have a good shot of getting these types of retail up here. Q: I built my place on Swallow Road – if you put all those apartments in there, I have concerns. Are the renderings with a 4-story building accurate? A: There will be some 4-story product and 3-story apartment product. C: I have lived behind the mall and you have 4 story apartments shown in there. Swallow and Stanford Road can not handle the traffic created by the proposed apartments. If you add in all this traffic, there will be backed up traffic at this intersection. A: We need to carefully study and prepare a detailed traffic study based on the mix of residential/retail. Q: Are you going to go for LEED certification, which one? Will there be public art incorporated? Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 5 A: With respect to LEED, the City of Fort Collins has an ambitious standard already put in place, and we will meet and exceed this. The firm is a believer in sustainability, but concerns about LEEDs governance of the issue. At the Streets of Southglenn there is a LEED building; LEED certification involves a points system; if you put in a solar collector, you get a point. However, we want to work within the framework of the City of Fort Collins system. We will have electric car stations put in. Will be a very good steward of the environment. Public Art: There will be sculpture and art throughout the project. Not that far into the project yet, but there will be art in the project. Q: What are your plans for deconstruction and recycling of those buildings? Do you plan to remodel these buildings to be efficient? A: Any material we can recycle will be used in the project or recycled. Q: We are a tenant in one of your older rental spaces. This is affordable rental retail space. I’m not the demographic that cares about Nordstrom. Are there spaces that will be refurbished. We are a very sustainable community, but tearing down current spaces is rough and we don’t know where we are going to relocate. What is the timeframe for getting tenants out and have you discussed with other buildings space for rent. What will happen to the affordable rental space? A: There are a lot of great businesses that exist in the current mall campus. Their models don’t fit in the redevelopment, but there are other places in the community with these rents. One of the reasons space has become so affordable at the mall Start talking with the team for solutions and there will be months to help plan the transition, and potential solutions for businesses. Q: Will the mall be geared toward the elderly and disabled? A: The mall will be 100% ADA compliant. Colorado Cross Coalition best practices are involved in the mall design process. From an ADA standpoint, we believe being 100% compliant and going above and beyond requirements. We will bring them in during construction to review and look over plans and have made modifications to plans in the past based on their input. We are very in tune with these issues during and after the plans. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 6 The elderly and disabled are a growing demographic and we are in tune with them. We strive to create an environment conducive to them and a retail environment to capture their desires. Q: As you probably know, Larimer County is a very large county. I live in Loveland and work in Fort Collins. Many people come to the Foothills mall for the specific purpose of walking – will you be friendly towards those walking the mall? A: There is a pretty good environment to walk around in, we’re happy to have anyone come walk to mall and encourage this. Q: What is your target opening, when will this happen? A: There is still a lot of internal discussion needed on our end. Our goal is to have a holiday 2014 opening. Q: What is the time frame of starting? When should the north-end tenants plan to vacate? A: There needs to be a dialogue between us and those tenants – we intend to sit down and discuss timelines with affected property owners and tenants. There is asbestos in the mall and remediation will be required before deconstruction. The earliest that would start would be April 2013. The northern buildings may have more time and may be deconstructed next summer. Q: What is the brown building on the site plan and where is it in the rendering? A: (Top) of aerial perspective refers to a movie theater. Q: Where is the parking garage proposed to be located? A: In-between Macy’s and Sears. The drawings are still evolving. Q: Do you own the property where The Square is? Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 7 A: No, we do not own anything south of Monroe Drive. Q: Why not covered bridges? Will there be a food store? We would like to see a covered bridge over the irrigation ditch. A: The canal will be relocated and a culvert put in, there will be no open canal for a bridge. A: There will be a food store, talking to several stores. Q: Will there be shade for the outside store fronts? Centerra and Council Tree/Front Range Village have very little shade along their store fronts, but lots of shade in Boulder. A: There will be an aggressive shade/street tree program. There are a lot of existing large, mature trees and we intend on transplanting as many as possible on site. Currently, we are in the middle of a tree survey to see which trees we can transplant and use on site. In addition, there will be canopies on buildings, especially signature buildings. We are aware of the shade issue and hear your input for additional canopy tree internal landscaping. Q: Who will be the contractors? Local (our own Fort Collins home boys) or someone from out of town (Denver)? A: We could have hired all our consultants from out of state, but we did not., There is a pre- construction presence from Beck and they have a Denver office. Our Architects are out of Michigan. In terms of construction, there will be 95% local trades. Steel, tile, landscapers - Beck will bid the work to from the community. There may be a specialty trade that will be from out of state. 90% or more contractors executed by Colorado and Fort Collins companies. Q: I work closely with the Youth Activity Center, a City Recreation Department program. The YAC works with 800 families per year to provide alternative solutions. \ Will you consider a discussion about how they can still be part of the project? A: The existing YAC will not physically stay in its current location. It is not leaving the City of Fort Collins. We will work with the City and those involved in the idea of the YAC Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 8 so it is bigger and better and can serve more people than it does today, and may be relocated somewhere else on the mall site. Q: What are your plans for including the Youth Activity Center? A: We’re not going to move it 8 miles south, it will be moved in the immediate vicinity. We are starting to understand the programming needs of the facility. Q: Will there be a food court in the mall? The current food court is not that great. A: There will be food dispersed through the mall; however there will be no food court environment. There will be several thousand restaurant seats from different types of food establishments. We are looking at food clusters such as a raised platform coffee café with free Wi-Fi. Currently, we are looking at alternatives to a traditional Food Court such as casual grab and go food, fast casual and sit-down restaurant fair. Q: Follow up on the shade issue: all the pictures are of warm weather. As proposed, there is no real cover, and sometimes we get a lot of snow. Thinking about our elderly or kids with strollers this design does not accommodate our needs - it is all open air. In addition to the soft covered awnings, is there something to help the walkways going in to cover them and not absolutely drenched by the time you get to the front door with that large parking lot? A: In the parking lot there will be handicap parking much closer to the mall. If it is all of the sudden in climate weather, the mall is not all open-air. If you’re out shopping at the other buildings, there is less than a block to the mall. To put any projecting structure out in front of the mall (arcade), retailers don’t like that because you can’t see them from College Avenue. We don’t have long distances that are all open the entire time. We tried to make it compact and concentrated from the core out. What are the most famous streets to shop in the world? Michigan Avenue in Chicago, 5 th Avenue in New York City, etc.? It is sometimes cold there and it is all part of the experience. Q: I was wondering if there were any plans for roundabouts for any new/existing streets. I feel they are not pedestrian friendly. A: I am not a fan of traffic circles/roundabouts. They do move traffic through intersections, but Vail has been very aggressive with roundabouts and they can become confusing. No roundabouts are planned at this time. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 9 Q: Is there a reason why it is only a 1-story project and not multi-level? A: Cost is the reason Foothills will not be multi-story. To take an existing structure and go vertical that may not be supportable. We feel that combining the indoor and outdoor space, close to 375,000 square feet is a good balance of indoor and outdoor. Q: How many commercial tenants total do you envision? A: We envision somewhere between 100-125 commercial tenants. Q: I am really excited about this project. I live in Fort Collins and traveled to the mall ever since I was young. People love being in Fort Collins because it is bicycle friendly. What types of bicycling amenities will there be onsite? Is it within your power to provide a discount for Fort Collins residents/workers? A: City of Fort Collins has very progressive bicycle requirements that we will meet. For example, we will have a lot of bike racks that will be scattered throughout the project. There is a unique opportunity for open-air bike racks and covered bike racks because of the parking structure. If someone wants to keep their bike covered there will be an opportunity. A: Individual retailers control discounts, but there may be some opportunity of mall-wide discounts. Q: What is the final number of apartments that you are anticipating? A: This is still being reviewed. We are looking at products that are very dense and some that are more traditional. The range of units could be between 500 - 800 units depending on market research. Q: There has been a lot of talk about national retailers. What are the opportunities for small, independent retailers to come and open shop? A: We have done a lot of small local tenant leasing. We are looking for local tenants who are smart, creative and offer differentiation and blend well. Local retailers make it Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 10 different than going to Park Meadows. We are looking to weave in retailers and restaurant operators; both national and local. Q: Where can we see the pictures and plans after tonight? A: You can contact Courtney Levingston by e-mail (clevingston@fcgov.com) or telephone (970-416-2283) or come to the City (281 North College Avenue). Can send you the plans (pdf) or hard copy. The City will be happy to get with anyone who wishes to view the plan. Q: Can you put them on the City website? A: The City can look into doing this. Q: I read in the paper about an added sales tax similar to Centerra. What are the probabilities of this? A: This is a several hundred million dollar project and we (Alberta) are evaluating financing options which may include an added sales tax. C: Independent films, no stores that sell dogs or cats. Health clubs, Trader Joe’s. Q: Are you talking to Trader Joe’s? A: Yes. Q: No Sears in the plan, why not? A: We made an offer to buy the Sears. We don’t believe Sears is a retailer that works in the redevelopment plan. Q: Who do we contact to make arrangements to sit down and talk about what’s happening? Especially regarding the tenants in the north. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 11 A: Please contact Laura Carstenson or Cynthia Eichler– we’d be happy to sit down with you. Laura Carstenson’s e-mail is lac@albdev.com. Q: We see there will be a movie theater, will this be an IMAX movie theater? A: No, as long as CineMark operates the theater on Harmony Road, there is a restriction from anyone else operating an IMAX. We are looking at operators with large screens. Q: In relation to the movie theater, do we have enough business to sustain this? Every time we build a new theater, it kills the business for older theaters. Other theaters have been put out of business by newer ones. A: We are trying to create the best overall project for the Foothills redevelopment. We are not a believer in restriction of trade. A brand new, best in class, leading edge theater is what we are proposing. Unless other operators invest dollars to compete against this, the market dictates that you are going to go to the place with the best facilities. Q: What will happen to the old, existing businesses inside the mall? A: Some will be retained (such as Buckle, Victoria’s Secret) and there will be other retailers relocated throughout the community, whatever works for them. We are having discussions with these retailers. Q: While the mall is under construction, will there be a time the mall is completely closed? A: No, the mall will stay open the entire time. It will be done in phases and there will be certain parts of the mall that will not be open but the mall will stay open to the greatest extent possible. Some spaces may open ahead of others. The goal is to always have some retail activity even through redevelopment. Q: Will there be any improvement upon the Macy’s we already have? Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 12 A: Visiting with Macy’s – when the malls are redeveloped and need approval from the anchor stores. Macy’s has been a great asset at other redevelopments and having an active dialogue with them. Their entrances will all be redone and they will invest capital into their store. How much they invest may be a direct correlation to the tenant mix at the mall. Macy’s does very well at this location. Q: Please further describe the health club concept. A: We are a believer of health clubs because we believe they can share parking. They also bring in a lot of traffic, which is good for the mall in terms of retailers. We previously built a multi-level Ultrasport facility in Denver. We are looking at 50,000 square foot best in class health club facility complete with swimming pools and tennis courts. We are talking with these folks and looking to make it happen. Q: Are the mall boundaries changing, and where is the boundary on every side? A: The site is bounded by Monroe to the south, Stanford Road to the east, College Avenue to the West and zig-zags on the north. The colored portion on the site plan constitutes the mall. Q: I am curious about the timeline for the application for submittal of apartments. Will the original submittal be just commercial or will it also contain residential? A: Currently, the formal submittal on October 24 th will include both the residential and commercial component. Comments from the public on note cards: C: Please look into including a small dog park complete with grass, trees and water for dogs. C: We would like to discuss the prospect of no stores that sell animals like cats and dogs. C: This needs to be posted on Alberta’s site for online viewing. This is an excellent start for outreach. C: The residential on the perimeter does not appear to have enough parking. Foothills Mall Redevelopment Neighborhood Meeting September 17, 2012 Page 13 C: Less concrete, more grass stretches. C: Very excited about the whole project, renewal of this project is overdue. Thanks for allowing C: Need to engage with the jewelry store. Q: Is there an Alberta Development site we can go to with these graphics? A: This is a competitive environment, and we don’t want Centerra going on the website and pulling off this information. Some of this stuff will be there. We are putting together a website for this project that will be an online forum if you have a question you can submit online. We’ll correspond with you and provide important dates through the process – a parallel path with the City process. There will be a future announcement of retailers. A press room further along in the process. Closing Remarks from Alberta Development Partners There is another open house on September 24 th in the former GAP space that will be more intimate than tonight’s meeting. You may drop in at your leisure from 6 – 8 p.m. and have another conversation with us. We want to catalogue your questions and input and will pass along to the City. We want to do additional outreach and research and gather your comments. All in all, there are very few opportunities to develop projects like this. We love this community and the Front Range of Colorado and I grew up here. We much prefer of taking advantage of opportunities here locally. We are looking forward to this process and looking to see you at the grand reopening of this project in a few years. Thank you.