BY J. PATRICK O'LEARY
Renewal Wheat Ridge, the governing board for the City of Wheat Ridge’s Urban Renewal Authority, has been busy on the development of the vacant lot behind the First Bank Building at the corner of Wadsworth Blvd. and 44th Ave., part of the Town Center North redevelopment project. The current work involves the extension of Vance St., which will serve a new senior housing apartment complex and retail and office development.
“The Town Center North (44th & Wadsworth Blvd.) redevelopment project has been on my radar screen since I was elected in 2005,” says Wheat Ridge Mayor Jerry DiTullio. “The site has sat mostly vacant and has been an unproductive eyesore in our fine city for over 40 years.”
Earlier this year an antique mall was demolished in preparation to build infrastructure for the project: public roads on 43rd Ave. and Vance Street, site grading and installation of storm water detention pond on the northeast corner of site, curb and gutter, water, sanitary and storm water utilities, street and pedestrian lights and landscaping.
Stakes were in place by December for grading, which was expected to be completed by mid-January, according to a project update provided by contractor Weston Solutions.
Progress was unremarkable, with no injuries, but while excavating a storm water detention pond, Weston reported encountering stained soil near an old gas station – remnants of a remediation system—which was then stockpiled and sampled for proper, off-site disposal.
Wheat Ridge’s Urban Renewal Authority purchased the 9.4-acre redevelopment site in the spring of 2008. The 88-unit, age-restricted apartment complex will be located on two-acres on the southeastern portion of parcel, which was sold to developer Wazee Partners.
What is called the Wheat Ridge Town Center Apartments, the project is being financed using federal tax credits available through the Reagan-era Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (LIHTC), which provides indirect federal subsidies to support private sector investment in building and preserving affordable rental housing. In exchange for providing the financing needed to develop this apartment community, the LIHTC program requires the property be maintained as affordable rental housing.
The landlord is required to keep rents restricted to affordable levels, and all prospective residents must be income qualified prior to lease approval and occupancy. Additionally, this property only serves residents aged 62 and older.
Anticipated to open in September, the complex will feature an in-house library with a fireplace, workout facility, laundry, a dog run/pet washing area, garden plots, covered patios, coffee bar, an entertainment kitchen, community computers (including internet access, printer and fax), resident storage, limited covered parking, and resident activities.
The remainder of the site is being marketed to retail developers.
“We anticipate this site to be highly sought after in the market,” said Rick Adams, Chair of Renewal Wheat Ridge. He went on to say, “Wadsworth is an extremely busy corridor and we hope to have development started sometime next year on the retail and office sites.”
DiTullio echoes the enthusiasm, “From the beginning I believed that the redevelopment of this site with the right mix of residential, retail and commercial tenants would be the impetus for other locations in Wheat Ridge to redevelop and/or improve their property,” he said.
“I would like to thank former executive director Rob Osborn from WR2020 who helped broker the purchase of the properties at the location. I also wanted to acknowledge a majority of the Urban Renewal Authority members, a majority of the Wheat Ridge City Council and City staff who worked for a win-win situation at 44th and Wadsworth Blvd,” stated DiTullio.
He also went on to say, “Some former members of City Council said there was no rush to address the site because nothing would happen for at least five years. Three years later, we have a viable housing development using our new and proactive zoning regulations and architectural design standards. We are going to have new Wheat Ridge residents in our City with Phase I and Phase II of the project will be focus on bringing new commercial and retail businesses to the site. We are moving forward together!”
To learn more about the Wheat Ridge Town Center Apartments, visit www.wheatridgeseniorliving.com. For additional information, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 720-420-1564.