Buckley Annex Redevelopment Planning Process

BACKGROUND

On August 25, 2005, the Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to close the Denver Center of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and move the Air Reserve Personnel Center (ARPC) to Buckley Air Force Base.

Both agencies are located on the Buckley Annex property at the former Lowry Air Force Base, west of Quebec Street between Bayaud Avenue and First Avenue. The 72-acre Buckley Annex includes a 600,000-square-foot building and ancillary buildings totaling 30,000 square feet.

PLANNING PROCESS

Federal base closure regulations require that a local redevelopment authority create a redevelopment plan for closed facilities before property is transferred for development. This provides one local point of contact for the Department of Defense as well as efficient property transfer and community consensus for development plans. The Air Force through the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) designated the LRA to manage the public process for the redevelopment plan and ultimately deliver a plan that balances the needs of the community, the Air Force and future developers. Federal base closure regulations state that the proposed plan is “consistent with the highest and best use of the property.”

The LRA has been tasked by the Air Force to manage the public process for Buckley Annex. The LRA will not be the developer of the property.

Last year, the LRA administered the federal public benefit conveyance process, which can make surplus federal property available to qualifying nonprofit organizations and homeless assistance providers.

The LRA received two Notices of Interest (NOI’s) from organizations. One was from a consortium of 12 homeless providers, and the other from the Denver Public Library requesting two acres of additional parking. Click here for more information about the NOI process.

In the summer of 2006, the LRA, with the help and recommendations of area representatives including Councilwoman Marcia Johnson, formed four community Task Forces for the Buckley Annex public process. The four task forces are Market Research/Economic Development, Housing, Transportation and Planning. All neighborhoods surrounding Buckley Annex have representation on the task force.

Through a series of meetings over the past several months, the task forces met on different parts of the reuse plan. The task forces have been working with public agencies, neighborhood groups, elected officials, business and real estate community members, and LRA staff and consultants to gather input, consider various approaches and generate specific development strategies.

Agendas and meeting summaries for all Task Force meetings are available on the Task Force Meetings page. The public is welcome to attend and participate in all task force meetings.

REDEVELOPMENT GOAL

The goal of the public process is to create a redevelopment plan that the community supports, but that also, by law, creates optimal value for the Air Force. The Department of Defense Base Redevelopment and Realignment Manual, which outlines the legal process on how to reuse or redevelop bases, officially states that the proposed use is “consistent with the highest and best use of the property.”

The LRA will submit the final plan to the Air Force. The City of Denver will maintain authority over development approvals, zoning and incorporation into the city's comprehensive plan. Once the Air Force and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accepts the final redevelopment plan, the Air Force will convey the property to another developer through a public sale process. The proceeds of the sale will go to the Air Force. Neither the LRA nor consultant team receives any proceeds from the sale of the property.