The proposed Commerce City station area master plan boasts a preservation of community character while increasing access to neighborhoods that have been isolated by railroad tracks and industrial development.
Suggestions for the impending urban development around the 72nd Avenue Commuter Rail Station on East 72nd Avenue and Colorado Boulevard were gathered from the community over the last year.
“This is a part of Commerce City that has a lot of railroad presence that really helped form the area. But over time, it has cut off access in the city,” said Chris Cramer, Commerce City’s community development director. “(The station area master plan) is going to open things back up again.”
The Regional Transportation District announced its plans to break ground on the 18.5-mile North Metro Rail Line sometime next year after a joint venture was formed from three private contractors who sought to expedite the project, originally slated for completion around 2040.
Commerce City Council approved the dynamic station area master plan on Nov. 18.
“Residents are looking for revitalization, but they didn’t want to see a full-scale overhaul of the area,” Cramer said. “The plan really reflects that.”
Station area development project manager Steve Timms said the proposal was an attempt to help the city prioritize its development necessities through the eyes of the residents who will be affected by the project over the next 20 years.
He said the immediate concerns are with public safety and lighting on the proposed new roadways and sidewalks. At public meetings, citizens said they wanted access to trail connections to the South Platte River and safe means to get their children to school.
“All residents look at this as a great opportunity,” Timms said. “They are very appreciative, especially toward new transportation and job development opportunities.”
Some ideas listed in the proposal include a potential relocation of Alsup Elementary and Adams City Middle School out of the busy, transit-oriented corridor on 72nd Avenue. Cramer and Timms agree that now is the time for preemptive suggestions to move the schools out of their aging facilities.
The station area plan coincides with the city’s Bike Fit Plan, adopted in 2012.
“The great thing about the station plan is that it increases connectivity it provides to pedestrians and bicyclists,” Cramer said. “These types of benefits are going to help current residents get to the station.”
The area targeted for urban renewal extends about a half-mile around the 72nd Avenue station site. It is roughly bounded by East 74th Avenue on the north, the South Platte River on the west, Brighton Boulevard on the east and East 67th Place and the southern edge of the Adams Heights neighborhood.
On Nov. 26, the RTD Board of Directors approved a $343 million contract award to Graham, Balfour Beatty, Hamon Constructors to design and build the North Metro Rail Line to 124th Avenue, which the group aims to complete by January 2018. The commuter rail will eventually run to 162nd Avenue in north Adams County.
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, or mmitchell@denverpost.com
