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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCITY OF FORT COLLINS UTILITIES CUSTOMER SERVICES BUILDING - PDP - PDP140005 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESFort Collins Utilities Customer Service Building Project Development Plan d.) Statement of Planning Objectives (i) Statement of appropriate City Plan Principles and Policies achieved by the proposed plan ECONOMIC HEALTH PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES  Policy EH 1.3 – Prioritize Essential Infrastructure/Capital Facilities o The Utilities Customer Service Building (CSB) will create a new, long‐term home for Utilities administration and customer service. The building is intended to be designed as an expression of the mission of Utilities through being a highly sustainable and holistically healthy building. This facility takes into account a triple‐bottom line approach to being fiscally, environmentally and humanely responsive in its design.  Policy EH 2.1 – Support Targeted Industry Clusters o The CSB, through its sustainability goals will be supporting the clean energy economy indirectly through its design and construction, which impacts one of the industry clusters Fort Collins is seeking to align with.  Policy EH 3.3 ‐ Support Local and Creative Entrepreneurship o The CSB will support local artisans through public art installations integral to the project. Sourcing building and finish materials locally may be another opportunity that will be encouraged through the LEED evaluation process on this project, but the incorporation of these elements remain to be determined. ENVIRONMENTAL HELATH PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES ENERGY  Policy ENV 5.1 – Demonstrate Leadership in Public Buildings o The CSB has as one of its Guiding Principles the goal of providing leadership and stewardship, to the private community through its design and performance. This goal extends to the charge of creating a world‐class facility that is an example for not just Fort Collins, but the region. As a result, the project is being held to high energy and building performance goals and its ability to contribute public space to the community is a significant ingredient for success as well.  Policy ENV 5.4 – Support Renewable Energy in New Development 5/6/2014 Page 2 o Through the incorporation of a PV‐ready design, exploration of grey water technologies, and a geo‐thermal mechanical system, the CSB is making renewables an integral part of the building design.  Policy ENV 5.5 – Provide Information and Education o Expressing the sustainability and site design strategies through interpretive signage and through a design that expresses function will allow the CSB to be not just a high performance building, but also an interpretive example for the community.  Policy ENV 5.8 – Participate in Research Development and Demonstrations o The CSB project is seeking to incorporate a few new technologies into the city’s facility portfolio. Working with Utilities and Colorado State University, a grey water system is being designed for the building. This will be a living laboratory for this emerging technology. The design process for the CSB has also been formatted to be a learning process for the city and lessons learned from the integrated process underway for this project will inform future work.  Policy ENV 7.10 – Integrate Technologies o As stated above, renewable technologies are being integrated into the CSB, but the design process is also utilizing modeling technologies to better inform decisions, energy performance, and life‐cycle assumptions.  Policy ENV 14.1 – Divert Waste o As part of the LEED goals for the CSB and in following with City protocols, this project will seek to divert significant construction waste and a shared trash strategy with neighboring civic buildings is intended to also passively contribute to reduced waste.  Policy ENV 15.6 – Analyze Lifecycles and Costs and Benefits o Energy modeling and Lifecycle Cost Analysis tools are being used to significantly inform the performance and design of the CSB. These are part of the integrated nature of the project’s approach.  Policy ENV 17.4 – Construction Waste Reduction o See policy ENV 14.1, above. WATER AND FLOOD MANAGEMENT 5/6/2014 Page 3  Policy ENV 18.1 – Balance Environmental, Human and Economic Concerns o See policy EH 1.3, above. The CSB design seeks to treat all stormwater on site and make it an interpretive and performance landscape opportunity for public spaces. The building is set outside the floodplain and flood fringe to promote safety.  Policy ENV 18.2 – Manage Risks o The CSB is built outside of the floodplain and flood fringe.  Policy ENV 19.2 – Pursue Low‐Impact Development o Through the incorporation of performance landscapes such as rain gardens that manage stormwater on‐site and through architectural elements such as green roofs, the CSB will seek to treat all water that falls on its site. SAFETY AND WELLNESS PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES  Policy SW 1.5 – Maintain Public Safety through Design o The design of the CSB is intended to provide eyes on the street at the ground level through transparent areas along pedestrian zones. Primary entrances are oriented to public spaces to further enhance the activation of all sides of the building and site lighting design will maintain a safe environment after hours.  Policy SW 2.4 – Design for Active Living o The CSB is designed to encourage a connection with the outdoors for building users through the incorporation of outdoor spaces and balconies and it is intended to promote the use of stairs within the building through the inclusion of a single elevator and two stairs. Around the CSB site, outdoor gathering spaces and plazas contribute to the use of outdoor areas and the walkability of the adjacent streets promoting a walkable community. HIGH PERFORMING COMMUNITY PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNANCE  Policy HI 5.2 – Provide Transparency o To the extent possible through architecture, the CSB seeks to create a welcoming environment for the interface of citizens with their local municipal utility and government. The design of the building as a high‐performance building is also intended to show a city government that ‘walks the talk’. 5/6/2014 Page 4 TRANSPORATION PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES INTEGRATED LAND USE AND TRANSPORATION  Policy T 3.1 – Pedestrian Mobility o See policy SW 2.4, above.  Policy T 3.2 – Bicycle Facilities o The CSB is being designed to promote bike connectivity through the integration of long and short‐term bike storage and parking on‐site as well as shower and changing facilities for full‐time occupants. MOBILITY OPTIONS  Policy T 11.1 – Bicycle Facilities o See policy T 11.1, above  Policy T 12.1 – Connections o The CSB through the augmentation of streetscapes along Laporte and Howes will provide an additional amenity to the residential neighborhoods to the north and west of the site to contribute to the pedestrian connectivity between those residences and downtown Fort Collins. The outdoor public spaces such as the south plaza of the building will also provide further improvement to the pedestrian zone.  Policy T 12.4 – ADA Compliance o The CSB will be designed to meet all ADA requirements relevant to the project and all public spaces will be designed with universal design in mind.  Policy T 12.5 Safe and Secure o See policy SW 1.5, above.  Policy T 12.6 – Street Crossings o Through the redesign of Laporte and Howes street frontages adjacent to the CSB site and the inclusion of on‐street parking, existing curb lines will be moved and street crossings will actually become narrower, contributing to a safer pedestrian environment. QUALITY TRAVEL INFRASTRUCTURE o Policy T 24.3 – Attractive Public Spaces o The CSB project through the creation of both public outdoor spaces and the improvement of the general streetscape will seek to improve the pedestrian network around the site to 5/6/2014 Page 5 the greatest extent possible. This ultimately will contribute to an enhancement of the civic center for Fort Collins as a whole. DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES FOR ALL COMMERCIAL DISTRICTS  Policy LIV 30.1 – Provide a Balanced Circulation System o This project provides multi‐modal enhancements to the streetscapes of Howes Street and Laporte Avenue as they adjoin the building site in the form of:  On‐street parallel and diagonal parking – sheltering pedestrians and providing parking the contributes to reduction of traffic speeds and an active urban street.  A landscaped pedestrian plaza south of the building – providing opportunities for building users and the community to gather, a space for interpretive expression of on‐site sustainability features, and creating a civic node that engages the Civic Center Spine as well as the pedestrian environment along Laporte Avenue.  A direct extension of the Civic Center Pedestrian Spine – connecting mid‐block across Laporte Avenue to the existing spine to the south and creating a future pedestrian connection through this project site to future civic uses to the north.  Extended curb‐lines at corners and crossing points to accommodate on‐street parking, slow traffic, and create a narrower “car only” zone along Laporte and Howes.  Policy LIV 30.2 – Connect to Surrounding Neighborhoods o While this project site is bordered by two streets classified as arterials (Laporte Avenue and Howes Street), consideration has been made to significantly augment the pedestrian zone along Laporte Avenue to connect east to the Mason Street Corridor and Downtown as well as provide a welcoming pedestrian environment that contributes to connecting residential neighborhoods to the west as well.  Policy LIV 30.3 – Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Access o See LIV 30.1, above for further discussion, but this project proposes to add on‐street parking along Howes Street and Laporte Avenue along the south and west edges of the site. 5/6/2014 Page 6 This as well as streetscape improvements in the form of tree lawns and landscaping will contribute to a buffer for pedestrians and traffic calming for cyclists. Further, the extension of curb lines at both streets to accommodate this on‐street parking will have a traffic calming effect and make pedestrian crossings shorter.  Policy LIV 30.4 – Reduce Visual Impacts of Parking o This project is currently seeking to accommodate its parking demand using a more district‐based approach within the civic campus as a whole. The feasibility of additional on‐ street parking along Howes Street from Laporte to Cherry Street has been explored by the City of Fort Collins and potential options have been identified. As a result of this approach, parking for this project will be treated in a highly urban fashion with no surface lots on site.  Policy LIV 30.6 – Reduce Land Devoted of Surface Parking Lots o See LIV 30.4, above. DESIGN PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES FOR THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT  Policy LIV 32.2 – Provide Land Use Buffers o While this project site is located in an area that is intensively civic uses, it is two blocks west of the College Avenue corridor of downtown. As a result, the pedestrian environment around the building is a bit less active and less dense. The Utilities Customer Service Building (CSB) is set back slightly to the north from Laporte Avenue to both respect the floodplain and also to provide space for a pedestrian plaza that contributes to the pedestrian environment and helps step down the scale of the building.  Policy LIV 32.3 – Encourage After‐Hour Activities o The CSB is designed to create a south facing public plaza and an enhanced extension of the civic spine that reaches north and anticipates a future civic green north of the building. As a result, the project is seeking to provide community outdoor spaces that can be utilized as an amenity at any time, autonomous of the working hours of the CSB building occupants.  Policy LIV 32.5 ‐ Maintain Visual Character o The architecture of the CSB reflects a palette of masonry and architectural metal rainscreen panel with sandstone accents that relates to the adjoining civic uses as well as the intent of the Civic Center District land use code. The roof form of the 5/6/2014 Page 7 CSB relates to the butterfly roof of the historic creamery building which will remain on site and be incorporated into the public plaza south of the new building. Punched openings on the facade of the CSB reflect a scale and proportion that is respectful of neighboring historic structures prevalent in the Fort Collins downtown fabric. The material approach to this building also is intended to reflect the permanence of many of the civic buildings that currently exist as well as the general nature of the the historic downtown core.  Policy LIV 32.6 ‐ Encourage Human Scale Elements o Variation in masonry detailing, material colors and a translation of the CSB's vertical structural rhythm all contribute to a building that breaks itself down to a human scale. At the ground floor, a 14‐foot‐wide storefront bay is broken by 6‐foot wide pilasters to create the same sense of pedestrian‐level variation that can successfully create an active street frontage and larger, more solid masses of masonry and/or architectural metal rainscreen create a larger hierarchy of variation providing opportunities to highlight primary entries or spaces for green walls, public art or signage.  Policy LIV 32.8 ‐ Design for Safety o Providing a safe environment within the building is a critical path objective for the function of the CSB, but as a public building providing a safe public interface outside the building is equally important. As a result, a variety of passive and active strategies area intended to improve the safety. Transparency at the ground level promotes a passive sense of 'eyes on the street' to provide a basic sense of safety and self‐awareness. Site lighting is intended to provide a level of light beyond basic security, but also contribute to making outdoor public spaces feel usable during off hours. Public lobbies within the building will be oriented to allow for the monitoring of primary building entries and the public space outside those entries as well.  Policy LIV 32.9 ‐ Design to Enhance Activity o As the first phase of the civic center vision plan, the CSB project will seek to create near‐term progress toward the establishment of not only a functional civic campus, but also a civic center with an enhanced sense of place. As such, the public plaza south of the building along Laporte Avenue as well as the extension of the civic spine to the east will contribute new, tangible amenity spaces to the civic center district. These spaces are intended to be great gathering 5/6/2014 Page 8 places and also opportunities for interpretive learning about some of the sustainable strategies being employed on the CSB site. Further, opportunity exists to incorporate public art (part of this project's budget) into the public interface of these outdoor spaces. The location of these amenities are also purposefully oriented along Laporte Avenue with the intention of strengthening the pedestrian environment and connection to the downtown core to the east.  Policy LIV 32.10 ‐ Retain Historic Street Pattern o This project initially maintains the historic street pattern around its site and augments the quality of the pedestrian environments at both of these streets with the inclusion of on‐street parking and landscaping. As the civic center vision plan gets realized, Howes Street potentially may be pedestrianized, but the alignment of the city grid will still remain largely the same.  Policy LIV 33.4 ‐ Emphasize Civic Facilities o As the first phase of the civic center vision plan, the CSB is a large initial step toward creating a civic heart in downtown Fort Collins. This facility, as mentioned above, is intended to provide near‐term public space amenities as well as set the stage for incorporation into the larger civic center plan. (ii) Description of proposed open space, wetlands, natural habitats and features, landscaping, circulation, transition areas, and associated buffering on site and in the general vicinity of the project. o The CSB site utilizes an existing urban site on Block 32. As a result, no open space, natural habitats and or buffering is present or will be disturbed. Approaches to landscaping and circulation areas on site are described below under number (v). (iii) Statement of proposed ownership and maintenance of public and private open space areas; applicants intentions with regard to future ownership of all or portion of the project development plan. o The Fort Collins Utilities Customer Service Building (CSB) will be owned by Fort Collins Utilities in conjunction with the City of Fort Collins. Operations and Maintenance will be performed by the City's Operations Services Department. The facility is intended for long‐ term municipal use and ownership. (iv) Estimated number of employees o The CSB will house approximately 142 full‐time‐employees with flex office spaces for 8 additional employees. 5/6/2014 Page 9 (v) Description of the rationale behind the assumptions and choices made by the applicant o The design of the CSB and its site is intended to address near‐term improvements to block 32 at Howes and Laporte while setting the stage and the standard of quality for the future improvements set forth by the Block 32/42 Vision Plan. As a result, the design for the CSB will contribute to the existing streetscape along Howes and Laporte, but the design will ultimately be a 4‐sided effort that considers the intention for there to be a broad civic green north of the building, a gateway to the civic center directly to the west (when Howes Street is closed), and the continuation of the civic spine to the east (between this building and 215 N. Mason. Considering this, ground floor uses will reflect transparency on nearly all sides of the building and service (more solid) uses will be carefully consolidated to the east of the building where their impact on adjacent public spaces can be minimized. This project will also seek to be regenerative in its approach to development and energy usage with an ultimate goal of being a net energy producer and creating a site environment that is ecologically healthier than before the new project was developed. The CSB will orient its main entrance to the south and the building mass will form a broad public plaza that contributes to the pedestrian environment along Laporte Avenue. By emphasizing this frontage along Laporte, the CSB can reinforce the pedestrian link between downtown Fort Collins and the civic center. At the corner of Laporte and Howes, the building creates an improved urban streetscape along Howes street and is set back slightly from Laporte to accommodate the south plaza and the city floodplain and flood fringe. Along the north side of the CSB, an expressive curve breaks up the otherwise orthogonal massing of the new building to reflect the shape of the future Civic Green and show an intentional effort to engage and shape that future space. Above the ground floor, two linear, 60‐foot wide office floor plates represent both optimal orientation for daylighting and energy savings, but also establish a very regular form that can be flexibly planned for space changes over time. At each east and west end of these upper two floors, there is an opportunity to create outdoor balcony space to provide shading and connection to views for building users. Building elevations reflect a human scale and modular approach. The modular approach to articulation generates a flexible treatment of interior spaces where modules are not so highly specific that interior uses cannot fluctuate over time. This approach also expresses the rhythm and proportion of the vertical structural bays that is a contextual scaling device in both neighboring civic buildings and in the historic context of downtown Fort Collins. A material change at the building base and a change in the masonry articulation create an ability to incorporate expanded transparency at the ground floor and communal spaces within 5/6/2014 Page 10 the building while creating a greater sense of permanence and connection to the ground. Fenestration among the elevations will primarily be focused on a punched‐opening language with vertically‐oriented vision glazing with high apertures paired with light shelves driving daylighting. In a few highlight areas where signifying entrance or expressing transparency exist, larger spans of glazing will be utilized. Given the energy goals of this building, however, the balance of insulated wall versus glazing will be critically evaluated and optimized for performance as the design is developed. Finally, in order to establish a strong base and top, the building will feature a roof form that both contributes to the civic presence of this facility and the public spaces around it, and drives building performance by providing an increased area for a roof‐mounted photovoltaic array. The form of the roof will reflect these functional performance needs, but also pay homage to the “prairie agrarian” vernacular nature of northern Colorado architecture. This expression of a roof form will also relate the new building with the historic Creamery structure on site and stand as a physical expression of some of the sustainability strategies employed in the architecture. Site design around the building will comprise a public plaza south of the building along Laporte; an extension of the Civic Spine along the east of the building comprised of patterned paving and rain garden materials; and an occupiable landscape edge along the north side of the building that begins to establish the language for engaging the future civic green. Permeable areas on site will be maximized both in area and in function through the incorporation of rain gardens as not only landscape zones, but also water quality measures. Those rain gardens will serve as another expression of sustainability in the project design and will also reveal an integration of built form and site design as a cohesive system. Outside of the northeast corner of the CSB ground floor, to the east, a portion of the site will be screened and dedicated to building services such as trash, mechanical equipment and temporary parking for loading. The incorporation of this space will be integrated into the site and building design to minimize its visual impact within the civic context. (vi) The applicant shall submit as evidence of successful completion of the applicable criteria, the completed documents pursuant to these regulations for each proposed use. The Planning Director may require, or the applicant may choose to submit, evidence that is beyond what is required in that section. Any variance from the criteria shall be described. o The CSB, located at the southwest corner of Laporte Avenue and Howes Street, falls within the Civic Center sub‐district of the Downtown District within the Fort Collins Land Use Code. It is classified as a Type 1, Institutional/Civic/Public facility. As a result of these designations and its function, it must conform with the following stipulations per the land use code: 5/6/2014 Page 11  Transportation and Circulation  Vehicular Circulation _ The site is located at the corner of Howes Street and Laporte Avenue and the general approach to vehicular circulation will not differentiate from the existing traffic patterns on these streets. Vehicular circulation internal to the building site will be limited to a fire lane at the east border of the site which will also serve to provide vehicle access for building services such as deliveries and loading. The location of this fire lane will also maintain the existing service access to the 215 N. Mason building. It should be noted that the design of this fire lane/service access will be treated with a high degree of sensitivity toward pedestrian movement as the location of this use is adjacent to the Civic Spine moving north around the new building. Given the limited service access requirements of both the new building and 215 N. Mason, maintaining a pedestrian oriented environment is attainable through landscape buffering  Parking _ Proposed street improvements along the Howes and Laporte frontages of the CSB site include providing for on‐street parking along both streets with parallel parking along Laporte and diagonal, head‐in parking along Howes. The on‐street parking is primarily intended to serve visitors, those with accessibility needs, and short‐term users of the CSB. Parking for full‐ time occupants is intended to be accommodated by the existing structured parking at Mason Street and Laporte Avenue, which currently serves the civic center district and by added on‐street parking along Howes Street between Laporte Avenue and Cherry Street. Provisions for additional new surface parking as part of the CSB site are not being considered as part of the scope of this project at this point.  Pedestrian Circulation _ The CSB building will orient its main entrance south toward Laporte Avenue and the building form will define a new south‐facing civic plaza along that street frontage. This plaza serves as a civic node along the north‐south pedestrian spine established by the 1996 Master Plan and it provides the entry point into the two primary ground‐floor uses in 5/6/2014 Page 12 the CSB – the utilities customer service center and the building lobby. Directly north of the south‐facing main building entrance is a secondary point of entry from the north. As the block 32/42 vision plan develops over time, this access will provide a physical connection through the building from Laporte to the civic green, city hall and parking proposed for the north half of block 32. To the east and west of the CSB ground floor, tertiary, employee‐only entrances will be provided for convenience and access to services. Around the building, particular attention will be paid to augmenting the continuation of the civic spine both through and around the east side of the building. Through material treatments, art opportunities and landscape, movement north through and around the CSB is intended to sustain and contribute to the civic and interpretive experience intended for the spine. DOWNTOWN DISTRICT STANDARDS o BUILDING STANDARDS  Building Height Limits ‐ 7‐9 stories, +/‐ 115 feet  The CSB is a total of three stories with a maximum height of 41 feet above grade.  Per 3.5.1 (G), a shadow analysis, visual analysis, and a summary of key conclusions are attached at the end of this section of this document.  Planning and Zoning Review of Large Buildings  The CSB does not exceed 25,000 sf per floor and is less than 6 stories, planning and zoning review is not required.  Building Mass Reduction for Taller Buildings (over three stories)  Not applicable; the CSB is three stories total and does not qualify under this category. However, in reference to general building standards regarding project compatibility, per 3.5.1, and in order to conform with the intent of the code under division 4.16, the design of the CSB seeks to create an architectural expression of base middle and top. The base is treated with lighter colored masonry 5/6/2014 Page 13 that is laid up at a heavier visual scale with larger fields of storefront glazing in between. The second and third floors of the building are treated with a finer degree of detail with a field of smaller punched window elements. The expressive butterfly roof form creates a top expression to the architecture that relates to the historic roof form of the creamery building on the CSB’s site and is contextually compatible with the varying roof expressions of the neighboring municipal buildings including 215 N. Mason and the Justice Center.  Building Character and Facades  Blank Walls o The CSB faces all public streets and plazas with a rhythm of glazed storefront bays. To the east of the building, where many of the building ‘back of house’ services are located and where the Civic Spine passes by the building, glazing is reduced, however, no areas of blank wall exceed 50 feet.  Outdoor Activity o The CSB is designed with outdoor terrace and balcony spaces on three sides of the building for occupants. A terrace to the east of the second floor is designed adjacent to a common conference space, balconies on the northwest and southwest corners of the second and third floors serve internal conferencing and collaboration functions. On the ground floor the public plaza south of the building is designed to be an active outdoor gathering space for the public and employees and north of the building a crusher‐fine terrace space is designed to promote informal gatherings.  Windows o The design of the CSB makes minimal use of curtain wall glazing with larger expanses of glass encapsulated within proportioned bays that respond to pedestrian scale and the structural grid of the building. 5/6/2014 Page 14  Canyon Avenue and Civic Center: Exterior Façade Materials o Primary façade materials for the CSB are comprised of three types of masonry with sandstone sills and lintel details and architectural metal rainscreen soffit and wall panels. The employment of these materials is meant to reflect permanence and contextual sensitivity with the downtown and civic center districts. Masonry is intended to be detailed in such a way as to break down the scale of the building mass and create a rhythm that reflects both the vertical structure of the building and human scale. A significant portion of the glazing is treated in a punched‐opening manner with an emphasis on the vertical proportion of the windows to both give reference to the historical context of downtown Fort Collins and take advantage of high daylighting widows. o SITE DESIGN STANDARDS  Canyon Avenue and Civic Center: Plazas  While the CSB is three stories, a south‐facing public plaza is being created as part of the building design. This plaza preserves the historic Creamery building on site and will provide a variety of spaces for small and large gatherings. It is highly visible and accessible as it fronts on Laporte Avenue and contributes to the pedestrian connectivity along Laporte to downtown. Design of the plaza includes interpretive approaches to stormwater treatment and a variety of soft and hardscape break the plaza down into many smaller human‐scale zones promoting a variety of uses. o SPECIAL PROVISIONS – CIVIC CENTER SUBDISTRICT  Civic Spine  The CSB project is seeking to extend and augment the Civic Spine as it moves north across Laporte and Block 32. The CSB building has been sited as far west on the site as feasible considering programmatic, performance and functional needs within the building. This allows the civic spine to 5/6/2014 Page 15 move along the east side of the building with only a minor re‐alignment. The south plaza of the CSB is designed to align directly with the current Civic Spine crossing at Laporte Street and create an attractive node along this pedestrian connector. As the spine moves around the CSB to the east, a pattern of recycled paving materials (intended as case studies), incorporated rain gardens and a green wall or public art installation provide an enhanced interpretive experience for pedestrians. Directly east of the CSB the Civic Spine is buffered from the existing service drive to the east and building service entrances to the west by landscape buffers and ornamental trees provide shading. As the path moves north it is intended to engage with the future civic green as proposed in the Civic Center Vision Plan.  Building Materials  Sandstone is being integrated into the design of the CSB as a masonry detail element. Sandstone sills and lintels currently punctuate masonry facades. Larger applications of sandstone will be explored, but due to significant constraints relative to the project budget, the material is currently limited.  Civic Buildings  As a major new civic building, the CSB is being located within the Civic Center Subdistrict. It also comprises the first phase of the civic center vision plan for Blocks 32 and 42.  Incorporation of New Buildings  The CSB is being designed with contextually relevant materiality, scale and massing. The expressive, butterfly roof form of the building relates to the existing historic structure that will share the CSB’s site. The mass of the building steps back from the street to create a civic plaza that relates to Laporte Avenue and the Civic spine. The primary building material is masonry similar to many of the existing nearby civic and downtown buildings. General treatment of the building is meant to convey a sense of permanence and weight appropriate for a 50‐100 year building and, while the building is a significant new structure for the city, it is intended to be designed with some 5/6/2014 Page 16 deference to more primary focal points of the evolving civic center such as a new city hall building. 3.5.3 MIXED‐USE, INSTITUTIONAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS  General Standard o The CSB is designed with a significant portion of the building mass in a narrow, east‐west oriented bar to maximize building performance, however, variation along the ground floor and variation of the building form at the east and west ends of that primary bar provide significant architectural interest. The ground floor to the south of the building juts out partially to create a single story “retail pavilion” for utilities customers. This also creates an L‐shaped footprint to form the edges of the south‐facing pedestrian plaza. Along the north side of the ground floor, a similar single‐ story variation begins to inform the edge of what will become the curving oval of the civic green in the future civic center vision plan. East and West ends of the building are punctuated by expanses of glazing and balconies as well as louvered sunshade systems to express some of the passive sustainability strategies at work in the design.  Relationship of Buildings to Streets, Walkways and Parking o The CSB as two main entries opening to the main pedestrian plaza to the south of the building along Laporte Avenue. This is intended to activate the plaza and Laporte as well as augment the Civic Spine. o The CSB is sited near the corner of Howes Street and Laporte Avenue. The building is located within 15 feet of the Howes Street right of way and the project is proposing to add on‐ street parking along Howes to further improve the pedestrian environment. Along the south of the building, due to the need to preserve the existing Creamery building and to meet Fort Collins floodplain provisions, the CSB is located more than 15 feet off the Laporte Avenue right of way. However, this setback is being utilized to create the south‐facing pedestrian plaza that will be a significant public amenity created along with this project. This consideration is intended to uphold the CSB’s exception to the build‐to line standards.  Variation in Massing o The second and third floors of the CSB form a long, narrow bar driven by the primarily open office program of the building and the desire to build a highly sustainable, day‐lit and passively ventilated building. In order to provide reasoned variation of the building mass, the ground floor of 5/6/2014 Page 17 the CSB responds to site and programmatic conditions to break down the massing of the building. The design also incorporates a strong variation in materiality demark the main building entry and express the structural rhythm of the building. These pilasters and engaged beams of light colored masonry, framing darker infill masonry stands in contrast with the field of punched windows and red brick that forms the language for much of the second and third story bars. The language of these elements is intended to abstractly mimic the form of roman aqueducts, among the world’s original pieces of public utility infrastructure and metaphor for what Fort Collins Utilities takes its roots from. Along the east, west and north elevations, variation in the building massing is primarily related to programmatic and site conditions at the ground floor and or an expression of program on the upper floors.  Character and Image o Site‐Specific Design  See discussion above under ‘Downtown District’ o Façade Treatment  The general structural bay in the CSB is 27 feet. As a result much of the building is informed by a 9‐foot module. This provides a rhythm for punched openings on the second and third floors and a multiple of this module provides for larger openings at the ground floor. Unless informed by program, this expression of structural bays is a primary ordering element along portions of the building that affront streets around the building. Where program in the building requires a more solid treatment, smaller punched opening provide variation, but the solid walls are used as a contrasting element to the rhythmic glazing patterns elsewhere. o Facades  As mentioned above, solid walls have generally been incorporated only where the building program informs their use and where they exist, small amounts of glazing and/or green walls, public art, signage or masonry detailing is intended to break down their scale and allow them to be features among the field of glazing that otherwise orders the building façade. 5/6/2014 Page 18  Along public streets and plazas on the ground floor the CSB façade is treated is an urban storefront manner providing a sense of scale, proportion and transparency at the ground level. o Entrances  Primary entrances are framed either by glass entries paired with solid feature walls or, in the case of the main building entry, the entry is sheltered by a cantilevering sunshade element that stretches along the façade of the building leading to the entry door. o Base and Top Treatments  The CSB is designed with a contrasting masonry material forming its base, the portioning of openings and masonry are also varied to covey a heaviness of structure at the lowest level and a rhythm of transparent storefront glazing.  The top of the CSB is punctuated by an expressive butterfly roof. This not only provides a nod to the historic Creamery building located on the CSB site, it also provides a functional surface for a PV array. This roof form and its extending eaves is intended also to create a horizontality in the architecture of the CSB, creating a prairie‐agrarian modern expression that fits with the regionalism of Fort Collins as an geographical bridge at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and on the edge of Colorado agricultural plains. o Encroachments  The CSB’s architecture is confined within its site and presents no significant encroachments architecturally on the right of way. (vii) Narrative description of how conflicts between land uses or disturbances to wetlands, natural habitats and features and or wildlife are being avoided to the maximum extent feasible or are mitigated. o Not applicable; the CSB site is taking advantage of a previously developed parcel of city land with no major wetlands, natural habitat areas or wildlife conflicting with the proposed project. (ix) Written narrative addressing each concern/issue raised at the neighborhood meeting, if a meeting has been held. 5/6/2014 Page 19 o A voluntary neighborhood meeting was held for this project on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Only one member of the community attended and gave the proposal a positive review. No community concerns/issues were raised as a result of this process. (x) Name of the project as well as any previous name the project may have had during conceptual review. o The full name of this project is the 'Fort Collins Utilities Customer Service Building.' o The abbreviated name of the project is the 'CSB'