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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJEFFERSON & LINDEN RESTAURANT - PDP - PDP160030 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESJefferson and Linden Restaurant Statement of Planning Objectives. The Jefferson and Linden Restaurant is a proposed development at the corner of Jefferson Street and Linden Street. This 5690 square foot restaurant sits at the entry to the redeveloping River District. To capitalize on this, the site design places the lively outdoor dining space adjacent to this corner. With tivoli lights, an iconic entry monument, stage and lighted grove of trees, this outdoor space will add activity to this corner enticing people to cross Jefferson and venture into this up and coming district. With its large expanse of glass and industrial flare, the building is designed to highlight the big shouldered architecture called for in the River District guidelines while using brick to transition from the Old Town vernacular to the distinctively River District theme. The site has been leased by the City for several years as a public park. However, deed restrictions no longer allow the site to function as a park. Several large trees have grown up in the park. And although not all of the trees can be saved, we are keeping quite a few. In order to save as many trees as possible, we are proposing to not build a new parking lot but to share parking with the Rodizio Grill and utilize the existing and proposed parking infrastructure located close to the site. There is an existing municipal parking lot on the same block as the proposed restaurant in addition to three parking garages less than a quarter mile away. In addition to the close public parking facilities, the Down Town Transit Center is only a few blocks from the site. An alternative compliance request has been submitted with the PDP application which analyzes the parking in more detail. This infill redevelopment project exemplifies several of the principals and policies laid out in City Plan. This project will provide several benefits listed in the Economic and Health Principles and Policies section of City plan. Some of these benefits include: EH1.1Job Creation: This project is projected generate XXX number of jobs EH1.2 Maximize retail sales revenue: This project is expected to generate approximately X dollars of sales tax revenue a year. EH4.2 Reduce barriers to infill development: With its position as the northern corner of the gateway to the River District, this parcel is a critical infill development. Its proposed use as a restaurant will provide the energy and vitality needed to draw pedestrians across Jefferson Street. Attracting consumers across Jefferson Street is one of the keys to the retail success of stores and restaurants north of Jefferson. Fort Collins is known as an extremely livable community. City plan embraces that moniker and has put hundreds of principles and policies addressing livability in City Plan. This project complies with many of those principles. Some of them are: LIV51. Encourage targeted redevelopment and infill. Challenge development where it will be beneficial and can best improve access to jobs, housing and services. Increase economic activity: As stated above, this parcel of land lies at a critical juncture of two districts. This infill development can become a catalysts for these two districts to benefit economically from each other by drawing people to and from adjacent activities and providing an exciting gateway. LIV14.1 Encourage unique landscapes: By saving many of the mature trees on site as well as providing rain gardens and native vegetation, this project will be a vegetative oasis providing nature in the midst of the City. LIV15.1 Modify standardized commercial architecture: The proposed architecture accomplishes this by capitalizing on the River District architectural guidelines while using materials complimentary to the historic fabric of downtown. LIV30.4 Reduce visual impacts of parking: By removing parking from the site, we are able to retain a lot of existing vegetation, which not only softens the building, but it retains a portion of the urban forest and buffers the adjacent railroad tracks. LIV30.6 Reduce land devoted to surface parking lots and encourage the use of structured parking: With 3 parking garages located less than a quarter mile away and a large surface parking lot just down the block, this project plans to utilize the growing downtown parking options rather than build a new parking lot and remove the existing trees. LIV31.2 Site layout and building orientation Align buildings to create cohesion and a pedestrian friendly experience: The placement of the building has a similar setback to the adjacent Rodizio Grill creating a cohesive street scape along this block of Jefferson. The existing street trees and parkway will be maintained providing a separation between the street and the sidewalk enhancing the pedestrian experience. Orient entrances to the street: The main entrance to the restaurant is not only oriented to the street, it is aligned with the alley across Jefferson creating an active terminated vista drawing people into the River District. Minimize building setback: The building is pushed as close to Jefferson as code and engineering need’s will allow. LIV34.3 Encourage revitalization…and encourage development to a more compact pedestrian oriented pattern of development: What makes this site economically viable as a restaurant is its close proximity to public parking and the pedestrian friendly position it holds within the downtown. The Traffic Memo submitted with the PDP illustrates that the pedestrian level of service for this site is at an overall level of A.