The 11910 W. 52nd Ave. property is currently used to store RVs. (Google Maps)
A developer’s bid to rezone a site by a Wheat Ridge rail station is going before the municipality’s City Council, with some opposition from nearby residents.
Denver-based Confluent Development has asked the suburb to rezone approximately 3 acres at 11910 W. 52nd Ave. from industrial to mixed-use commercial.
Confluent is under contract to buy the lot, which is currently being used for RV and boat storage. It’s a block from the Wheat Ridge/Ward Road rail station along the Regional Transportation District’s G Line.
The Wheat Ridge Planning Commission voted 7-1 earlier this month in favor of the rezoning, sending the matter to the council. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for July 22.
Confluent said in its application it plans to build a residential building on the site that may include retail uses. But some nearby residents think that’s not good enough.
“We want restaurants in the area,” resident Terry Foulke said at the commission meeting. “We’ve seen nothing as far as commercial, not even a coffee shop.”
The rezoning needed to be approved before Confluent Development could move forward with a formal site-development plan, which was a point of contention for a handful of Wheat Ridge residents.
“This is the last open parcel in that space of Wheat Ridge,” resident Connie Burg said at the meeting. “This is your last chance to do something special. Don’t waste it.”
Confluent Development did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen. But President Celeste Tanner attended the meeting and said what’s important to the residents will be the “thesis behind what we plan.”
Seven people submitted comments ahead of the meeting for and against the rezoning, but nearly all said they wanted a commercial use included in the project. Four people spoke against the rezoning at the meeting itself, while one spoke in favor.
“RV storage is a very poor land use for valuable real estate in the area,” Charlie Hood said. “It’s a prime location. It’s a place where more people should live.”
Ultimately the rezoning passed, with many commissioners commenting that Wheat Ridge needs more housing.
“We’re caught between a rock and a hard place here,” Commissioner Will Kerns said. “When I look at this, I see a developer trying to add density to a place that is currently amidst a housing crisis.”
“The developers can’t give a solid plan until the zoning is changed, and people are hesitant to give zoning changes until they see a development plan,” Commissioner Patrick Quinn said. “It’s either going to be this industrial RV parking place, or we give the opportunity for development. We have to take a little leap of faith with some of this stuff.”
This would be Confluent’s third project in Wheat Ridge. The developer also completed the Sprouts grocery store at Kipling Ridge and a senior living facility in the city.
The 11910 W. 52nd Ave. property is currently used to store RVs. (Google Maps)
A developer’s bid to rezone a site by a Wheat Ridge rail station is going before the municipality’s City Council, with some opposition from nearby residents.
Denver-based Confluent Development has asked the suburb to rezone approximately 3 acres at 11910 W. 52nd Ave. from industrial to mixed-use commercial.
Confluent is under contract to buy the lot, which is currently being used for RV and boat storage. It’s a block from the Wheat Ridge/Ward Road rail station along the Regional Transportation District’s G Line.
The Wheat Ridge Planning Commission voted 7-1 earlier this month in favor of the rezoning, sending the matter to the council. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for July 22.
Confluent said in its application it plans to build a residential building on the site that may include retail uses. But some nearby residents think that’s not good enough.
“We want restaurants in the area,” resident Terry Foulke said at the commission meeting. “We’ve seen nothing as far as commercial, not even a coffee shop.”
The rezoning needed to be approved before Confluent Development could move forward with a formal site-development plan, which was a point of contention for a handful of Wheat Ridge residents.
“This is the last open parcel in that space of Wheat Ridge,” resident Connie Burg said at the meeting. “This is your last chance to do something special. Don’t waste it.”
Confluent Development did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen. But President Celeste Tanner attended the meeting and said what’s important to the residents will be the “thesis behind what we plan.”
Seven people submitted comments ahead of the meeting for and against the rezoning, but nearly all said they wanted a commercial use included in the project. Four people spoke against the rezoning at the meeting itself, while one spoke in favor.
“RV storage is a very poor land use for valuable real estate in the area,” Charlie Hood said. “It’s a prime location. It’s a place where more people should live.”
Ultimately the rezoning passed, with many commissioners commenting that Wheat Ridge needs more housing.
“We’re caught between a rock and a hard place here,” Commissioner Will Kerns said. “When I look at this, I see a developer trying to add density to a place that is currently amidst a housing crisis.”
“The developers can’t give a solid plan until the zoning is changed, and people are hesitant to give zoning changes until they see a development plan,” Commissioner Patrick Quinn said. “It’s either going to be this industrial RV parking place, or we give the opportunity for development. We have to take a little leap of faith with some of this stuff.”
This would be Confluent’s third project in Wheat Ridge. The developer also completed the Sprouts grocery store at Kipling Ridge and a senior living facility in the city.
