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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKING SOOPERS #146, MIDTOWN GARDENS MARKETPLACE (FORMERLY KMART REDEVELOPMENT ) - PDP - PDP160043 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - PLANNING OBJECTIVESMidtown Gardens Marketplace – King Soopers Store #146 Statement of Planning Objective - Project Development Plan Requirement: The proposed redevelopment of the 11.1 acre K-mart Plaza at the northwest corner of the intersection of College Avenue and Drake Road includes an 119,000 square foot King Soopers Marketplace retail/grocery store, with drive-thru pharmacy, online order pick-up, and a plaza/gathering area. Additionally, there is an existing retail building to remain and a shared parking area for commuters using the MAX BRT line, located on the proposed site. The King Soopers building is oriented so the customer entrance is on the east side of the building, with site access from both College Avenue and Drake Road. The truck loading docks for King Soopers are located on the west side of the building. Delivery truck traffic will use the western access point along Drake Road in order to minimize interaction with customer traffic. The overall objective of the project is to revitalize an underutilized property and replace a vacant building with a new King Soopers Marketplace which will better serve the surrounding community. This design will reactivate the northwest corner of College Avenue and Drake Road, to introduce a defined pedestrian connection from College Avenue to the MAX BRT station and fulfill many of the objectives of City Plan and the Midtown Plan. The proposed Marketplace will feature both grocery and retail products for customer needs. There will be a positive impact to the Ft. Collins work force as the store will employ a total of 150-170 employees. It is expected that there will be 70-90 employees on-site every day. The former K-Mart Plaza site is currently owned by Dillon Companies, Inc., which is a parent company to King Soopers. The proposed redevelopment will be self-developed, owned and maintained by Dillon Companies, Inc. The proposed layout and design of the parking lot incorporates existing trees, new landscaping and parking islands. The design is compliant with the City of Ft. Collin’s parking requirements and has been revised to better suit the needs of the public based on feedback from the Neighborhood meeting. There are 367 standard parking space, 20 ADA accessible spaces, and 21 bicycle parking spaces for the King Soopers store. Shared parking consists of 22 standard spaces, 38 compact spaces, and 22 shared bicycle spaces. The parking layout is designed to allow for continued use of the 60 shared parking spaces used by the commuters who frequent the MAX BRT station. The parking lot area is to the east and to the south of the actual store, allowing for a full and convenient access off of S. College Avenue and a right in-right out access on Drake Road. The City Plan Principles and Policies have been focused on in the design of the proposed K-Mart Redevelopment. The work force and profit from the store’s operation Statement of Planning Objectives Midtown Gardens Market Place – King Soopers #146 12/15/2016 will support a greater vision of economic health in the City of Ft. Collins. The overall site plan relates directly back to the City’s vision on transportation, involving pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to create a more connected community beyond the boundaries of the site. The overall goals, to develop a quality facility that supports the community’s grocery needs, truly align with the Fort Collins City Plan. The City of Fort Collins has implemented additional planning objectives focused around The Midtown Plan that supports the growth of the City along College Avenue as a corridor of impact. There was special focus placed on adhering to the Upper Midtown, Gardens Theme that the site location exists in. The design team focused on the Gardens Theme in order to directly represents a character area of nature and historical respect to the City’s roots in agriculture. The general ideas and themes presented in the Midtown plan have been incorporated into the project in various ways. The contemporary design of the building creates an identifiable archetype for the King Soopers brand. Design features and materials are oriented to accentuate the horizontality of the building while simultaneously reducing the scale of the building. Building materials consist of modern, lasting materials like decorative masonry units, fiber cement siding, steel and metal-clad canopies, aluminum storefronts and glazing. The overall site plan is heavily influenced by the City Midtown Plan. Since this is a proposed redevelopment; it strongly exemplifies “integration and coordination with existing retail structures”. The redevelopment plan has been developed fully within the existing curb-to-curb dimensions to ensure redevelop of the existing K-Mart serves the community in line with the City’s vision. This allows for more efficient flow and general circulation in the parking lot area for all uses. The landscaping is not only inviting but it serves purpose for those members of the public whom are both customers of the proposed King Soopers and MAX BRT users. The focus on pedestrian connectivity will prove beneficial to creating an efficient use of the existing lot space and supporting the members of the community. The main north/south pedestrian path has been designed along the east side of the King Soopers building, and an additional north/south pedestrian sidewalk has been included along College Avenue that is in the public right of way. The main pedestrian access east to west through the site runs from College Avenue, through the site to the MAX BRT Station, along the north side of the existing retail building, and along the south side of the proposed King Soopers store. The proposed plan includes a pedestrian focused Plaza on the south side of the King Soopers building to encourage pedestrian gathering and appreciation of the surrounding environment. This will greatly improve the existing east-west connection, for the community’s access to the MAX BRT system. Additionally, there is an east/west connection from College Avenue to the northern entrance of the King Soopers building to serve customers of the proposed development, as well as provide a connection to the main north/south pedestrian way. Along College Avenue, the sidewalks have been designed to meander Statement of Planning Objectives Midtown Gardens Market Place – King Soopers #146 12/15/2016 through large existing street trees in an effort to avoid removal. Additional proposed trees and landscaping treatments have been included along the frontage that will shade and add to the streetscape along College Avenue. The inviting streetscapes that surround this proposed development express the general theme of the Upper Midtown area, and invite bicyclists/ pedestrians as well as vehicular traffic. A pedestrian plaza area has been incorporated to promote connectivity specifically for the MAX BRT line and also provides a direct store entrance on the south side of the King Soopers store. Along the west side of the site, accommodations have been made to incorporate the area required for the Grand Promenade, which displays the applicant’s focus on connectivity and multi-modality. The pedestrian friendly atmosphere is further exemplified with the incorporation of a patio and plaza is shaded by large deciduous shade trees implemented for comfort and enjoyment by the public. In addition, the building façade has been softened with upright evergreens, perennial and grass beds. These landscape elements have been incorporated per the City Code and Midtown Plan in order to support the “Gardens Theme” throughout the site. Specifically a pedestrian plaza was designed to reflect a “floral” or “natural” theme utilizing various vegetation and garden plantings. In addition to new trees that are proposed on the site, there are a number of trees existing on the site that have been incorporate into the design of the site to avoid removal. The applicant held an Open House Neighborhood Meeting on Nov. 2, 2016 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at Christ United Methodist Church. This meeting not only satisfied a review process requirement, but it allowed the public and surrounding neighbors to understand, envision and analyze the proposed development. The process was highly interactive. Attending citizens were able to review plans, elevations and imagery exhibits at a number of Design Stations. King Soopers representatives were in attendance, along with architectural and engineering design team members from CR Architecture and Galloway & Company, Inc. Renderings were presented that provided for open and candid discussion. Martina Wilkinson and Ted Shepard were in attendance on behalf of the City of Fort Collins. The majority of concerns discussed at this meeting were generally focused towards the amount of parking proposed for the site. The current shared parking is heavily utilized by users of the MAX BRT line and is often at capacity. Attendees expressed excitement for a newer and larger store in this area of College Avenue. There was also positive feedback provided regarding the pedestrian and bicycle friendly promenade, general access, and plaza areas for gathering/relaxation. Additionally, citizens commented on the architectural details/overall modern style, and traffic surrounding the site. The King Soopers design team reviewed the feedback and made revisions to the site plan as a part of this submittal. The main revisions included removal of the previously shown retail building at the northeast corner of the site in order to provide additional Statement of Planning Objectives Midtown Gardens Market Place – King Soopers #146 12/15/2016 parking (approximately 27 spaces), reversing the internal building layout to allow movement of the drive-thru facilities to the north end of the building, adding new pedestrian/bicycle ways and enhancing the originally proposed pedestrian/bicycle ways to improve circulation and connectivity, the shifting of the building to accommodate the Grand Promenade adjacent to the MAX BRT line, the addition of the plaza and enhanced pedestrian corridors, and overall incorporation of the Midtown Design objectives and elements. This site is not in conflict with any land use or disturbances to wetlands, natural habitats and feature and or wildlife.