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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHARMONY SCHOOL SHOPS 5TH FILING, BEING A REPLAT OF LOTS FOUR, FIVE, SIX AND SEVEN OF THE 4TH FILING - PDP - 42-89K - CORRESPONDENCE - RESPONSE TO STAFF REVIEW COMMENTS3555 Stanford Road, Suite toy Fort Collins, Colorado 80525 Phone: (970) 226-4074 Fax: (970) 226-4196 www.cityscapeud.com RE C E I V E D a@cityscapeud.com VIA HAND DELIVERY AUG 0 9 2006 August 9, 2006 CURRENT PLANNING Ted Shepard, Chief Planner Current Planning PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 (970) 224-6134 Re: Comment response for Walgreens Harmony School Shops Lots Three and Four Minor Amendment Dear Mr. Shepard, Below please find your list of each comment from July 25th, 2006, followed by a description of the resolution provided by Cityscape or LDD Architects. Staff is concerned about compliance with Sections 3.4.7 (Historic and Cultural Resources), 3.5.1 (Building and Project Compatibility) and 3.5.3(D) (Character and Image) of the Land Use Code with regard to the architectural compatibility with historic Harmony School. Please note the following: A. Tower Staff appreciates that the glass tower that forms the southwest corner of the building features a flat roof that respects the horizontal lines of the historic school. In addition, a raised element highlights the entrance and adds variety and interest to the roofline. Our primary concern, however, is that the overall amount of glass on the two elevations overwhelms and distracts from the historic compatibility that the balance of the building is trying to achieve. The two large glass walls present a stark contrast and are incongruous with the historic character established by the Harmony School. The other issue with the tower is the level of internal illumination that is provided to draw attention to the mortar and pestle graphic. While recognizing the positive features of the tower, Staff respectfully requests that the amount of glass surface area be reduced. This would have the beneficial effect of framing the glass tower with broader bands of brick on the sides thus providing a more subtle accent feature but without any reduction in height. IA. Tower -Response: Please note that the Tower has only one wall of glazing. The glazing will be reduced from 16'-0" to 12' - 8". B. Windows Staff is concerned that the windows along the south and west elevations do not blend in with the character of the Harmony School. Section 3.4.7(F)(2) states: "New structures shall be designed to be in character with such existing historic structures. Horizontal elements such as cornices, windows, moldings and sign bands shall be aligned with those of such existing historic structures to strengthen the visual ties among buildings." For example, the new gymnasium complied with this standard by locating the new windows on the same plane and matching the shape of the historic windows. For Walgreen's, however, the windows on the south and west elevations are square, not rectangular, and do not match the shape of the historic windows. Staff respectfully requests that these windows be brought into compliance by becoming more rectangular in shape. Staff is aware that these windows cannot be lowered to achieve a rectangular shape due to interior store fixtures and product displays. Instead, these windows can be heightened along with the canopy. Or, perhaps the canopy can be removed. 113. Windows -Response: A third mullion has been added to the windows to give each pane of glass a proportion similar to the double hung windows in the school. C. Pilasters All four walls feature pilasters that are described as "Capstone by Rockcast — Color Buffstone. Staff is concerned that for the south and west elevations, these pilasters do not match the Harmony School. Section 3.4.7(F)(3) states: "The dominant building material of such existing historic structures adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of the proposed structure shall be used as the primary material for new construction. Variety in materials can be appropriate, but shall maintain the existing distribution of materials in the same block." Again, the gymnasium complied with this standard by providing brick pilasters. Staff, therefore, requests that the pilasters along the south and west elevations be brick. Also, please indicate on the plan the extent to which these pilasters project from the wall. 1C Pilasters -Response: In choosing the base materials for the proposed Walgreens, we were trying to balance between the School, which is predominately brick and the gymnasium addition, which is predominantly block with brick accents. We decided to propose a predominately brick store with block accents as a way of acknowledging both structures, but with a greater emphasis on the original schools material. We respectfully request to keep the materials as proposed. The pilasters project 4" from the face of the wall. D. Precast Tulip Block Staff is concerned that the decorative precast tulip block is not sufficiently displayed along the south elevation. Between the windows and the east edge of the south wall, there is an opportunity to provide additional blocks within the split - face block reveal. Additional tulip blocks should be provided at the same interval as the balance of the wall to the west. Please provide three additional tulip blocks along this elevation so that the decorative element is carried along the entire elevation at uniform intervals to give the entire south wall consistency. 1D Tulip Blocks -Response: Additional tulip blocks have been added - 2 to the east end of the south elevation and 1 to the north end of the west elevation. E. Materials and Color Due to the sensitivity to the Harmony School, please provide a sample material board to ensure compatibility in compliance with the applicable standards. Please refer to Sections 3.5.1 and 3.5.3(D)(4). 1E Materials and Colors -Response: A sample board will be submitted at a later date. F. Window Canopies Please describe the extent to which the window canopies project from the wall. Also, will the brick soldier course above the windows be obscured by these canopies? (Are the canopies necessary? The store at South Taft Hill Road and Drake Road does not even feature canopies. The store in Loveland features horizontal canopies.) The proposed canopy appears to be sloping. Would a flat, horizontal canopy be more appropriate in this historic setting? IF Window Canopies -Response: A. The canopies project 4' from the face of the building and are 12/12 pitch. B. The soldier course will be beneath the canopy and visible to pedestrians making their way to the front door. C. While canopies in general are not a necessity, they provide three functions - first, they provide a modicum of weather protection for the customers, second, they alleviate a large portion of solar gain from the south and west facing glazing and third, canopies provide another layer of architectural interest. We can out for these canopies to be copper as opposed to the standard Walgreens preferred color of forest green to better blend with the tenor of the historic buildings. D. The canopies do slope. 2. Staff is concerned about the landscaping along Harmony Road. In particular, the area between the sidewalk and the edge of pavement within the 80-foot buffer area must be upgraded with additional trees in order to comply with Section 3.2.1(D)(2)(a). This standard calls for canopy shade trees to be planted between a detached sidewalk and the public street at 30-foot to 40-foot spacing. The City Forester has reviewed the Landscape Plan and requests that six or more trees need to be planted along Harmony Road. (See redlines.) The Harmony Corridor Plan encourages deciduous shade trees to be selected from the Oak Palette. The Bur Oak is highly recommended as a species that does well in our local climate. Such trees may be placed in groves or evenly spaced at uniform intervals. 2-Response: The minor amendment plan submitted on July 7`h had six oak trees and six ornamental trees in the buffer area. The plan has been modified to include twelve Bur Oak trees in the buffer, and four ornamental trees.. 3. Will there be an exterior propane cylinder cage located on a walk between the building the parking lot? If so, please be sure that a minimum of six feet of sidewalk width remains between the cage and the parking lot. 3-Response: The design team is not aware of a propane cage planned for this store. If, however, one is installed, we will work to maintain a min of 6' between the cage and the parking lot. 4. Please provide a schedule of fixtures for the Photometric sheet 13a of 14. Both the height and color of the parking lot poles should match those already used in the center for consistency. Also, Staff would like to discuss the proposed illumination level within the glass tower featuring the mortar and pestle graphic display. The details of this illumination should be included on the Photometric. 4-Response: The parking lot poles will match the original submittal previously proposed. The details (color, height, manufacturer, model) of fixtures for the parking lot poles has not changed from the original submittal and we are not requesting that the pole details be amended. The tower lighting information is included in the revised photometric sheet. 5. The four parking lot light fixtures conflict with trees. Please coordinate the lighting and landscape plans to avoid future conflicts between tree canopies and light fixtures. 5-Response: The revised photometric sheet includes the new pole locations. Trees and light poles have been shifted in the western parking area to resolve conflicts, and also shifted to line up poles with parking stripes in areas where parking bays are 17 feet deep, in order to avoid impacts with parking cars. The two trees in the northern parking island have also been aligned with parking stalls to avoid impacts with parking cars. 6. Be sure that the Photometric sheet describes any wall -mounted lighting and under -canopy lighting. This includes lighting under the drive -through facility, the front entrance or any other overhangs along the exterior walls. Under -canopy lighting is required to be fully recessed so that the light source is not visible from the public roadway or beyond the property line. This means that such fixtures must be specified to be "flush -mount with flat lens." Wall -mounted lighting must be feature sharp cutoff and down directional fixtures. 6-Response: See revised Photometric sheet. 7. Please provide information on the size of the trash enclosure area so that there is sufficient room for recyclable containers in addition to the dumpster. 7-Response: See attached drawing showing the recyclable containers in the trash enclosure. Sincerely, Jason Holland Cityscape Urban Design, Inc.