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BUCKLEY ANNEX Q&As Planning Process/General | Housing/Density | Traffic | Homeless Housing | Retail Planning Process/General What is the vision of the Buckley Annex plan? What makes it special? Together, the four task forces developed a vision and objectives for the Buckley Annex Redevelopment Plan. Objectives included: offer balanced choices and diverse housing; create opportunities to replace the lost jobs; provide a hierarchy of public spaces and civic destinations; and create a plan that complements and enhances the surrounding area. What are the next steps for the Buckley Annex plan? The Nov. 14 meeting marked the end of the task force process. The plan now goes through the Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) planning review process, including the Community Advisory Committee, Planning and Disposition Subcommittee and the LRA Board of Directors. From there, the LRA will deliver the plan to the Air Force in January 2008. Once the Air Force and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development accept the final redevelopment plan, the Air Force will sell the property through a public sale process to a developer. The developer will pursue zoning for the site. The City of Denver will maintain authority over development approvals and zoning. Will there be a new parking lot for the Schlessman Family Library at the Buckley Annex? Yes. The DoD makes military property available to communities for many public purposes. Nonprofit organizations can acquire property through a process called a Public Benefit Conveyance. The City of Denver submitted a Notice of Interest in a Public Benefit Conveyance for two acres of land near 1st Ave. and Quebec St. for a parking lot to support the Schlessman Family Library. Federal statute and regulations place the responsibility for implementing the Public Benefit Conveyance process with the local redevelopment authority. The request itself has been evaluated by the Buckley Annex Task Forces as part of the redevelopment planning process. Although the parking solution is imperfect, The LRA will include a development provision with the plan that a shared parking lot be mandated for the development of Buckley Annex. In the meantime, the LRA is still open to ideas for creative solutions to this larger neighborhood issue. Has Denver Public Schools been involved in the planning process? What about the recent announcement of the closure of Whiteman Elementary School? We have been in contact with the Denver Public Schools (DPS). At this time, the DPS has no plans for a new school in the Lowry area. However, the planning process will continue to include DPS. As the plan evolves with more specific residential unit totals, types and a timeline for residential occupation, DPS will conduct an analysis of the impact of new residential development on schools in accordance with its standard projection procedures. Click here to read the DPS letter. As for the closing of Whiteman, DPS had the following statement. "The district has been in contact with Design Workshop in relation to the planned development in the Whiteman Elementary School boundary. Based on the early numbers provided by Design Workshop as well as the timeline for build out (5 to 10 years), the district believes its current transformation plans for Whiteman Elementary, in conjunction with regional choice option capacity, will be able to accommodate expected student growth. As more detailed unit detail and timing is available from the developer, the district will work to ensure that accurate projections inform any future school changes in this area of the city." - Ethan Hemming, director planning and innovation When will development occur at Buckley Annex? Development could start as early as spring 2009 (if development is phased) or it could be several years before a developer starts any work at Buckley Annex. The Department of Defense aims for closures to occur within three years, though federal law allows for up to six years. The Buckley Annex redevelopment will most likely be developed in two or three phases. How is the Buckley Annex redevelopment process different from the Lowry Air Force Base redevelopment process? The Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) is a non-profit, quasi-public organization established by the Cities of Denver and Aurora to redevelop the former Lowry Air Force Base using the Lowry Community Reuse Plan. When Lowry Air Force Based closed in 1994, the LRA purchased most of the property from the Air Force at an appraised price. The LRA then, acting as the master developer, financed horizontal improvements (building demolition, new roads, utilities, etc.) and sold property to private developers for residential and commercial construction. Other property was conveyed at little or no cost by the Air Force to nonprofit organizations and homeless housing providers through a Public Benefit Conveyance. In recent years, however, the DoD policy has changed. DoD will now sell property directly to private developers through a public sale such as an auction. This will be the case for the Buckley Annex. The Air Force has designated the LRA as the local planning agent, but the Air Force will sell the Buckley Annex property to a private company or companies for development. Why is the Lowry Redevelopment Authority involved? 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 DoD 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 City of Denver, the Air Force and future developers. Federal base closure regulations require that the proposed plan is “consistent with the highest and best use of the property.” Please describe the Buckley Annex planning process. 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. In 2006, 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 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. In the summer of 2006, the LRA, with the help and recommendations of area representatives including Denver City Councilwoman Marcia Johnson, formed four community task forces to guide 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 forces. Through a series of meetings throughout the past several months, the task forces met about different parts of the reuse plan. The task forces have been working with the LRA staff and consultants to gather input, consider various approaches and generate specific development strategies. Agendas and meeting summaries for all of these meetings are available at here. The LRA’s original deadline to the Air Force was in September, but due to community input we extended the process through 2007. We now must deliver a plan to the Air Force in January 2008. To accommodate additional public input, the LRA added two additional open houses/public meetings (for a total of three), and two additional task force working meetings. During the public meetings, the Buckley Annex team recorded all comments, and for two months the LRA encouraged members of the community to submit their public comments to the LRA. Comments were complied, shared with the consultant team and modifications have been made to the plan accordingly. It’s important to note that not all public comments can and will be addressed. The goal of the public process is is to find balance between the desires of the community, the City of Denver, the Air Force and a future developer. The DoD Base Redevelopment and Realignment Manual, which outlines the legal process on how to reuse or redevelop bases, requires that the proposed use is “consistent with the highest and best use of the property.” 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 accept the final redevelopment plan, the Air Force will convey the property to a developer through a public sale process. The proceeds of the sale will go to the Air Force. Neither the LRA nor consultant team will receive any proceeds from the sale of the property. How does the Department of Defense define “highest and best use?” According to the DoD Base Redevelopment and Realignment Manual, “‘highest and best use’ means the most likely use to which a property can be put, which will produce the highest monetary return from the property, promote its maximum value, or serve a public or institutional purpose. The highest and best use determination must be based on the property’s economic potential, qualitative values (social and environmental) inherent in the property itself, and other utilization factors controlling or directly affecting land use (e.g., zoning, physical characteristics, private and public uses in the vicinity, neighboring improvements, utility services, access, roads, location, and environmental and historical considerations). Projected highest and best use should not be remote, speculative, or conjectural.” (41 CFR Part 102-71.20) Is the Air Force's highest and best use (appraisal) study complete? No. The Air Force expects to finalize its study by spring 2008. It’s important to note that the Air Force’s study is independent of the plan. What assurance does the community have that the Air Force or subsequent developers will adhere to the redevelopment plan? The DoD guidelines state that the sale of the property to a developer is contingent on implementation of the local redevelopment plan. The goal of the Buckley Annex planning process is to create a redevelopment plan that balances the needs of the community, the Air Force and the future developer. Property that has a strong redevelopment plan in place, backed by broad community and political support, is more valuable to both the property owner and to subsequent buyers who want to minimize risk and development delays. In addition, the LRA and its consultants are investigating entitlement strategies and development agreements as a way to provide community assurance as well as some measure of flexibility for private developers to enhance the plans or adjust to changing market conditions. Will the plan that the Lowry Redevelopment Authority submits to the Air Force be exactly what will be developed? Not necessarily. The goal of the Buckley Annex planning process is to create a redevelopment plan that balances the needs of the community, the City of Denver, the Air Force and the future developer. The plan will be a representation of that balance. In regards to retail, commercial and housing, the submitted plan will give the developer choices and ranges for what will actually be built. However, when the LRA submits the plan to the Air Force, there will be several agreement provisions that the developer must adhere to. These mandates would include, among others, parking for the Schlessman Family Library, provisions for homeless housing, height restrictions, maximum number of residential units, set backs along Monaco and Quebec and requirements of open space. Why are the Lowry Design Guidelines not applied in this project? The LRA was created in 1994 to be the local redevelopment authority for the Lowry Air Force base. At that time, the Buckley Annex was still home to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) and was not considered for redeveopment in the Lowry Community Reuse Plan. The Design Guidelines were created to guide redevelopment of the Lowry Air Force Base of those properties that are subject to the Master Declarations. Generally, these are properties that have been conveyed to the LRA for redevelopment. Since the LRA will not take title to this land, the DFAS site is not subject to the Master Declarations and therefore not subject to the Design Guidelines. However, design guidelines specific to the Buckley Annex will be developed during the rezoning process through the City and County of Denver. Were the neighborhood areas informed of this process? Yes. The Buckley Annex Task Forces have 45 members. In the summer of 2006, the LRA, with the help and recommendations of area representatives including Denver City Councilwoman Marcia Johnson, formed four community task forces from those who volunteered to serve as an advisory group for the redevelopment plan. Many of the task force members are the same people that helped create the award-winning community that Lowry is today. Surrounding neighborhoods have representation on the Task Forces, including Crestmoor, Crestmoor Downs, Park Heights, Mayfair Park, George Washington and Lowry West Neighborhood. How has information for this process been publicized or advertised? Information about the Buckley Annex process has been advertised through www.lowry.org, the LRA’s website; www.LowryLink.com, the Lowry community website; and through Re:Developments, Lowry’s community monthly newsletter. Buckley Annex updates have also been shared at community meetings of the LCMA, the Lowry Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and the Lowry Board of Directors. Who is the consultant team and how are they compensated? Through a competitive RFP process, the LRA hired several consultant firms to assist with the Buckley Annex process. |
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