by Mark Smiley
The Hilltop neighborhood may be getting a new development on its busiest street, Holly Street, soon. On April 4, 2018, the Denver Planning Board (an 11-person board appointed by Mayor Hancock) will entertain the application for a three-story condominium project to be built to the immediate south of Novo Coffee, High Point Creamery, and Park Burger and north of East Alameda Avenue. The project is
Current View: A current view from Holly Street where the proposed three-story condominium project would go if approved for rezoning. Anna DeWitt and six other homeowners have submitted an application to rezone in order to accommodate a three-story condominium project that some say will stifle traffic even more and create safety issues.
temporarily called Green Flats.
The proposed project will have 27 condominium units, 40 uncovered parking spaces in back, a 20-foot setback from Holly Street, and stand 35 feet high, seven feet higher than the Park Burger business complex. Hilltop is a one square-mile neighborhood bordered by Colorado Boulevard and Holly Street, from 6th Avenue to Alameda Avenue.
Critics say this kind of project does not belong in the neighborhood, especially along Holly Street where 20,000 cars pass by each day according to a 2014 study. This study was done before the building that contains Park Burge
Proposed Development: The proposed site plan calls for three-story brick condominiums spread across .65 acres of land directly north of East Alameda Avenue and south of the building that houses Park Burger.
r was built.
“What happens at Holly and Alameda every day is complete gridlock,” said Denver realtor Denice Reich. “It’s outrageous. A three-story building proposed on a small lot with 27 units and 40 parking spaces on the alley will increase traffic and affect both Hilltop and Crestmoor neighborhoods negatively. The consolidation of seven one-story properties into a three-story high-rise of 27 units is unhealthy. It is like a person gaining 100 pounds in one day. We need another stick building with no lot line and no setbacks like we need a hole in the head.”
Anna DeWitt, a part-time French teacher at North High School, who is leading a group of seven homeowners who own land on the proposed .65-acre parcel, is claiming they are forced to make a decision because of a crack in their sewer system and the general disrepair of their current condos and homes. “We got together, and we decided the best thing we could potentially do is sell to a developer,” said DeWitt. “Because we don’t have the necessary funds to gut the entire place and start from the beginning.”
The current code allows for a two-story condominium building or three-story townhomes which would essentially mean high priced townhomes priced somewhere between $800,000 to $900,000. The applicant, Anna DeWitt, with the assistance of the developer Jason Lewiston, president of Greenius LLC, is asking the planning board to consider allowing a three-story condominium building to be built so she and her neighbors can afford to stay in the Hilltop neighborhood.
These condos would range from one to two bedrooms and one to two bathrooms with anywhere from 740 to 1,200 square feet each. Condos would be priced in the high $300,000s or low $400,000s if the three-story condominium project is completed, and they would have the option to become the first occupants with a special deal afforded to all seven homeowners.
“We as neighbors want to stay in this community and support the middle class and create an affordable home and also completely be energy efficient,” said De
Proponents: Anna DeWitt, left, leads the charge of seven homeowners to sell their properties to Jason Lewiston, right, President of Greenius LLC and rezone the .65 acres to build three-story condominiums.
Witt.
Lewiston proposed a similar project in Boulder called the Boulder Junction Row-houses which would complement Google’s new $130 million campus as residences for their employees. The proposed development sits on 1.85 acres of land at 30th Street near Valmont. It is currently held up in the permitting process with the planning and development department in the City of Boulder.
In Hilltop, there are currently five condominiums and two single family homes on .65 acres of land that would be turned into a 27-unit complex with net zero condos. As zero energy homes (run on solar panels) are becoming more popular, builders and developers are investing in zero energy developments, sometimes referred to as “communities.” And some are building zero energy multi-family apartment buildings and townhouses.
“We’re trying to encourage the neighbors who live here to still live here,” said DeWitt. “We’re hoping to help our environmental issues by creating a net zero building. We want to create something elegant looking. We do not have any desire to completely max out our properties.”
“We’re offering this as a great option,” said Lewiston from Greenius. “If you want something that is appropriate for the neighborhood that looks like gorgeous townhouses from the outside and has moderate sized units, this is the option.”
The alternative, which he gives a 50 percent chance of it being, are four-bedroom townhomes which he says will occupy renters for the most part. No matter what the project becomes, DeWitt and Lewiston know there will be opposition. They already have admitted that Jean-Philippe Failyau, owner of Park Burger, has claimed this will “cast a shadow” over his property.
“There’s an extremely tiny, extraordinarily vocal group of hysterics who say anything you do there is terrible, said Lewiston. “So, we’re going to come out and scream and tear our clothes and shriek at the moon if you want to do it.”
Some opponents came to a neighborhood meeting held on March 21, 2018, at Graland Country Day School. Tomas Hart, Board of Directors of the Cranmer Park/Hilltop Civic Association helped start the meeting indicating they are “expanding circles and trying to get feedback.” Hart has lived near the proposed development for 17 years.
Neighbors that packed the library at Graland were concerned about traffic impact, the new building blocking the sun, increased traffic in the alley behind, and pedestrians being in danger from the increase in residents. John Pratt who lives at 2nd and Holly said, “Nice project, wrong place.”
Other homeowners offered little sympathy with the problems these homeowners face stating that they have spent thousands of dollars maintaining their properties through the years and the seven homeowners should do the same. DeWitt and her fellow applicants, who are mostly school teachers, contest that up until 12 years ago, these properties which were built as rentals between 1953 and 1957, were not maint
Community Meeting: Neighbors attended a community meeting at Graland Country Day School on March 21, 2018, to learn more about the proposed development on Holly Street. They expressed concerns about traffic, safety, and scale of the project.
ained. More importantly, they cannot afford to engage in major repairs with the salaries they make. And, their Homeowners Association does not have enough saved to do the work.
Knowing they have even more of a battle on their horizon, Lewiston is prepared to act fast if their plan is not approved. “If we get rejected on April 4th, watch what I submit on April 5th,” said Lewiston. “If you think this is bad, see what I’m allowed to do by law. You think you’re upset now? Wait until April 5th comes.” That submission would be three-story townhomes on the parcel of land that currently contains the five existing condominiums.
DeWitt does not share the same fighting spirit as Lewiston. “We want to do what’s best for the community, what’s best for Denver,” said DeWitt. “Something that Denver is suffering from is finding affordable homes for the middle class especially in this neighborhood in particular.”
“I want to be invited back, said Lewiston. “I don’t want this to be my last development here. I want people to drive down the street and say that’s gorgeous, that’s a great gateway to Hilltop. It’s a beautiful project. We’re proud to have it here.” He indicates this project will have the appearance of townhomes that are spread across three lots.
“I personally think this would fit so beautifully into our neighborhood,” said DeWitt. “This is elegant townhomes with a classic design.”
Not everyone agrees with this sentiment. “We have beautiful neighborhoods and they’re destroying them within the last two years,” said Reich.
DeWitt and her fellow neighbors have a lot to gain from selling to a developer and having the rezoning approved. They will benefit by not having to pay for major repairs to their property and the sewer line and they have an opportunity to buy brand new condominiums at a reduced price. “All at the expense of the neighborhood,” said Reich.