No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPROSPECT PLAZA REDEVELOPMENT SPAR - SPA240003 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - Project Narrative Project Narrative Project Title: Prospect Plaza Redevelopment Past Meeting Dates: 02/23/24 - Prospect Plaza Drainage meeting with the City of Fort Collins (Stephen Agenbroad, Claudia Quezada, and Ted Bender) 11/06/24 - Introductory meeting was held with Poudre Fire Authority to discuss fire department access (Katie Quintana) Owner: The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System General Information: The project site, located between Lake Street and Prospect Road, and one block east of Center Street, is roughly 4.5 acres. A collection of eleven 3-story buildings, as well as a small multi-tenant retail building currently exist on the site and are at the end of their serviceable life. The project intends to replace these existing buildings to make way for redevelopment as an off-campus student housing while enhancing the site’s strong location directly adjacent to CSU’s campus and providing much-needed off-campus housing for CSU’s growing student population. The project is currently planned as a 5-story apartment building with 785 bedrooms and 471 Parking spaces (52 surface stalls, and 419 in structured parking). The zoning for the site is HMN. As the project site is owned by Colorado State University Board of Governors, the project is being submitted under the Site Plan Advisory Review (SPAR) process. Written Narrative: Site Design - Site Layout and Vehicles All existing structures and features on the site will be demolished. This includes all existing buildings, parking areas, and the bus drop off loop. The proposed site will include a residential building that includes a parking garage and exterior courtyard areas. The north portion of the building will have columns so that the building is raised to the second floor. This design was created to accommodate student outdoor amenities and floodplain volume (discussed further below). There is also green space in the north portion of the site and in the courtyard areas. The design team is working with CSU Parking and Transportation Services to remove and reconfigure the bus drop off. Instead of a loop, the proposed configuration is an eastbound pull off lane to be constructed on Lake Street as shown on the Site & Utility Plan. To the south of the lane, a bus waiting area with a building overhang and amenities for students is proposed. The existing site has five points for vehicular traffic; three from Prospect Road and two from Lake Street. In the proposed condition, this will be reduced to two access points from each of the public streets. The western access points will be the primary vehicular access, and the eastern access points will be for emergency access only. The western private driveway (located between the proposed building and the Lake Street parking garage) will accommodate the existing Aurthur Ditch underground culvert and will have off-street parking stalls (similar to the existing condition). The eastern driveway will primarily function as a pedestrian and bike corridor but will also be designed to accommodate emergency vehicles as an aerial fire-apparatus access road. Site safety for pedestrians and bike traffic is being considered and addressed. The development team hired Delich Associates in April of 2024 to perform a transportation impact study (TIS). The data was obtained while school was in session at peak hours of traffic. As stated in Exhibit A; the attached TIS, the study conforms to the format set forth in the Fort Collins transportation impact study guidelines contained in the “Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards” (LCUASS). After review, the level of service is still within acceptable limits based on the proposed development’s attributes. Site Design - Floodplain and Stormwater Drainage The existing site has a floodplain that is mapped by CSU’s PCSWMM floodplain model. Flooding is deepest in Lake Street and extends south into the site. For the proposed condition, assessing floodplain impacts is critical to ensure that the redevelopment does not increase flooding risks to the site and the surrounding areas. To accommodate the proposed development, the floodplain boundary within the site will be adjusted while maintaining the existing flood volume on-site. The proposed development will accommodate this floodplain volume within open space in the north portion of the site and within the proposed driveways on the west and east sides of the building. Additionally, the northwest portion of the building will not have a ground level and will instead be elevated on structural columns. The finished floor elevation of the residential portion of the proposed building will be set at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation (BFE), and the commercial portion will be set at least 1 foot above the BFE. An update to CSU’s floodplain model will be completed to ensure the BFE used for design is accurate. Proposed floodplain depths and limits are shown on the Floodplain Plan sheet. Because the overall imperviousness of the proposed development will be less than that of the existing site, traditional stormwater detention is not required. Water quality for the site will be treated using Low Impact Design (LID) techniques. Rain gardens and underground infiltration systems are being vetted for use in various areas of the site as shown in the Grading & Drainage Plan sheet. These systems will treat at least 75% of the site’s impervious area in accordance with CSU and City of Fort Collins stormwater design criteria. Coordination with the Arthur Ditch Irrigation Company will occur to ensure that changes to drainage and all impacts to the enclosed ditch on the west side of the site are permitted and adhere to engineering best practices. During construction temporary erosion control measures will be installed to meet the state standards for erosion and sedimentation controls. A Stormwater Pollution Prevention (SWMP) manual will be created and used by the contractor. The contractor will obtain a State of Colorado CDPHE permit for temporary stormwater. Utilities As shown on the Site & Utility Plan sheet, there are existing utility mains adjacent to the site. These include City of Fort Collins water, City of Fort Collins sanitary, City of Fort Collins electrical, Xcel Energy natural gas, and CSU communications. New water mains are proposed within the west and east driveways to provide fire protection and domestic water for the proposed building. The waterline on the east will need to be located within the electrical duct bank easement but will be designed with appropriate horizontal clearance from the duct bank itself. Sanitary sewer service is proposed to connect from the north side of the building to the existing 10” sewer main in Lake Street. An alternative sanitary sewer connection is available in Prospect Road if needed. Natural gas and communications services will be connected to the mains that run along the south side of Lake Street. It is likely that two transformers will be required to power the building. These are proposed near the southeast courtyard and will connect to the existing electrical duct bank along the east side of the site. Screening of the transformers will be provided from the public right-of-way. These proposed utility connections are all shown on the Site & Utility Plan sheet. Pedestrian Flow and Landscape Design Concrete paths and plazas lead users into and out of the building with crusher fines “nodes” or spaces that provide informal seating and gathering spaces as well as bicycle parking. The smaller nodes have landscape beds as a backdrop which allow for separation between spaces and the larger ones are more open and have the ability to accommodate larger groups. The interior courtyard area is designed to be an amenity area with several uses. On both the north and south end, there are seating nodes with fire pits and festoon lighting that can also be used as a study area during the day. In between two of the nodes is a lawn area intended for group fitness or passive use. The two small courtyards on the south side of the building are accessible from interior lounge areas and are meant to be a study space; an ornamental fence will be provided in these spaces for security. The east side of the building is planned for fire access as well as a strong pedestrian connection from north to south. The design team understands the space requirements for Fire access but intends to create a connection that feels appropriate at the pedestrian scale that will (at the minimum) include design elements such as pedestrian scale lighting and landscape. The west side of the building includes the parking structure for this housing project and will face the existing parking structure. This space is seen as an opportunity for festoon lighting and landscape to soften the large expanse of building and bring the scale down to the pedestrian level. Landscape areas on the north side of the building are designed to accommodate the floodplain as well as the elevated second story of the building. A lawn is provided for relaxation, passive recreation, and includes boulder and step seating. Planting beds are laid out to provide buffer between building windows and public spaces, frame pathways into the building, and will also include rain gardens to support LID requirements. To the extent possible, plant material will be low water-use and all material be appropriate for the site and region. For the most part, the existing trees on the site are in fair to poor condition and all will be removed and mitigated with proposed trees. The proposed landscape in the interior and south courtyard areas consists primarily of foundation planting that will provide a buffer between resident windows and the user spaces outside. The design and layering of plant material will consider security (clear lines of sight), sun exposure and aesthetics for the outdoor gathering spaces. Architectural Design The project is governed by CSU’s design guidelines, and the project has completed, and received approval of concept level review from CSU’s Design Review Committee. The proposed student housing concept has been carefully crafted to respond to its neighboring site context. With campus situated to the north, the building responds by opening up the first level of the proposed structure along the more pedestrian-friendly Lake Street frontage. This act of porosity and transparency welcomes pedestrians, cyclists, and visitors into a semi-public courtyard space that presents itself as the front porch of the development, but also serves as a critical flood control element to hold water during heavy rain events. Furthermore, the building above will act as a covered waiting area for the bus stop along Lake Street. The south-facing elevation of the proposed structure along the Prospect Road frontage was not treated as a large mass in-line with the Lake Street Garage, but instead sets the urban edge with more porosity and opportunities for landscaping in mind. The two semi-recessed forecourts allow for a break in the massing and scale along Prospect Street. Also, they allow for the building’s corners to be opened up with large amounts of transparency to showcase common lounge spaces that act as “lighted candles” to signal a sense of arrival to the southern edge of CSU’s Campus. These lighted candles that are repeated at many of the building corners offer a sense of belonging, safety and warmth when they are internally lit in the evening hours that help showcase the activity inside of the building. The roof line intentionally helps break up the scale and gives a subtle nod back to a residential aesthetic that is more commonly characterized by pitched roofs. Toward the middle of the roof there is a flat area beyond the pitched roofs that will be filled with condensing units, therefore this varying roof line is also performative in that it becomes a screen to block the view of these units from both directions along Prospect Road and Lake Street. Sincerely, Fred Haberecht, RLA, LEED AP Urban Ecology Studio 970 317 7027 urbanecologystudio@gmail.com