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HomeMy WebLinkAboutKING SOOPERS #146 MIDTOWN GARDENS MARKETPLACE - PDP200012 - SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS - ROUND 1 - DESIGN NARRATIVE6162 S. Willow Drive, Suite 320 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 303.770.8884 • GallowayUS.com TRANSMITTED VIA EMAIL July 28, 2020 City of Fort Collins Community Development & Neighborhood Services ATTN: Todd Sullivan, DRC 281 North College Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80522 RE: King Soopers #146 – Midtown Gardens Marketplace 2535 S College Avenue (W Drake Rd & College Ave) Dear Mr. Sullivan, Please accept the enclosed (attached via email) supplement documents with the Project Information and Design Narrative for processing of a Project Development Plan (PDP) application type for the subject project. The application is to allow for the redevelopment of the former K-Mart shopping center for use of a grocery store/supermarket used, which is allowed by right in the General Commercial (CG) zone district. Below is a summary of applicable information as requested in the Development Application Submittal Checklist, Section C: Application Forms and General Information. Proposed/Existing Owners: Dillon Companies Inc NKA Dillon Companies LLC C/O The Kroger CO Corporate Real Estate 1014 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45202 Project Title: King Soopers #146 – Midtown Gardens Marketplace – Project Development Plan Past Meeting Dates: April 29, 2020: Conceptual Review Meeting June 17, 2020: Neighborhood Meeting General Information: 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 123,790 square foot King Soopers Marketplace retail/grocery store, with drive-thru pharmacy, online order pick-up, and seven (7) fueling stations with associated 5,598 square foot kiosk with canopy. Additionally, there is an existing retail building in the southeast corner of the property will 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 City of Fort Collins KS#146 – Midtown Gardens Marketplace July 29, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 2 of 4 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 Fort 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 Fort 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 392 standard parking space, 15 ADA accessible spaces, and 23 bicycle parking spaces for the King Soopers store. Shared parking consists of 76 compact spaces, and 9 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 will support a greater vision of economic health in the City of Fort 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. City of Fort Collins KS#146 – Midtown Gardens Marketplace July 29, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 3 of 4 The contemporary design of the building creates an identifiable archetype for the King Soopers brand, unique to the Fort Collins market and one of a kind for the Company. 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. Pilasters, stone veneers, canopies, and fenestration are used to create shadow and relief to mitigate the large retail building form. 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 activities, and to engage with their surroundings and the built 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 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 City of Fort Collins KS#146 – Midtown Gardens Marketplace July 29, 2020 Galloway & Company, Inc. Page 4 of 4 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. This site is not in conflict with any land use or disturbances to wetlands, natural habitats and feature and or wildlife. King Soopers has made additional efforts towards promoting and utilizing various sustainability adaptive measures. These measures include utilization of skylights of natural light and minimization of material, incorporating energy-efficient fans and dryers incise the frozen food cases, implementing overhead lights that turn off automatically at night and motion sensors that allow the lights to turn off when no one is around. Concrete floors are used in order to avoid harsh cleaning chemicals and products needed for tiled floor, and in the back rooms are energy-smart equipment and recycling programs are utilized. These are just a few of the way’s King Soopers has taken the pledge to become more energy efficient and green! Thank you in advance for taking the time to review this application. We look forward to working with you towards approval of this development proposal. Sincerely, Project Team: Galloway & Company, Inc Carl Schmidtlein, PE, Principal Phil Dalrymple, PE, Associate Aaron McLean, Site Development Project Manager CR Architecture & Design Anthony Frey, AIA