FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
For more explanation on any of
these questions, please call 303-326-7162.
What is the Lowry Redevelopment Authority?
Where is Lowry?
What is the plan for Lowry?
What kinds of will be built?
What about transitional housing at Lowry
What about commercial real estate opportunities?
What infrastructure improvements will be made?
How is the Lowry redevelopment being financed?
Are there any environmental problems at Lowry?
What's going on now?
Q: What is the Lowry Redevelopment Authority?
A: The Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) is a nonprofit, quasi-public
organization established by the Cities of Denver and Aurora
to redevelop the former Lowry Air Force Base according to the
Lowry Community Reuse Plan. The LRA serves as master planner
and developer of the 1,866-acre site with responsibility for
zoning, infrastructure improvements and real estate sales. It
will dissolve when the redevelopment is completed. The LRA's
mission is to create a mixed-use, master-planned community in
metropolitan Denver where citizens can live, learn, work and
play for generations to come.
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Q: Where is Lowry?
A: Lowry is in the center of metropolitan Denver, about 15 minutes
from downtown, 10 minutes from the Cherry Creek shopping district
and 25 minutes from the Denver International Airport. It is
bounded generally by Quebec Street on the west, Eleventh Avenue
on the north, Dayton Street on the east, and Alameda Avenue
on the south. Approximately 89 percent of Lowry is in the City
of Denver, and 11 percent is in the City of Aurora. Lowry is
not related to the Lowry Bombing Range or the Lowry Landfill,
both located about 15 miles east of the site in Arapahoe County.
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Q: What is the plan for Lowry?
A: The Lowry Community Reuse Plan was developed in 1991-93 by
hundreds of citizens, elected officials and community leaders.
It calls for a mixed-use community where people can live, learn,
work and play:
Residential ("Live"): Approximately 4,500 new
and apartments will be built at Lowry. A full range of housing
types and prices will include single-family homes, town
homes,
apartments and custom homes. Many of the existing housing
units will be renovated and resold. Residential construction
is scheduled for completion by the year 2009.
("Learn"):
The 156-acre Lowry Campus, includes the Colorado Community
College System, Community College of Denver and Community
College of Aurora. Also at Lowry, Colorado Free University
offers continuing classes for metro area students.
Seven independent schools and a Denver public elementary
school have likewise established themselves at Lowry.
Commercial ("Work"): Lowry is
home to medical office, real estate firms, telecommunications,
financial firms and professional services. The Town Center
is a gathering place with neighborhood-scale retailers, restaurants
and multifamily homes. Lowry will not have any heavy industrial
or large retail outlets. Commercial development is scheduled
for completion by the year 2009.
Open Space and Recreation ("Play"): Almost 800 acres
of open space connects all areas of Lowry. This space includes
urban trails, parks, playing fields, an ice arena, baseball
diamonds and a large public golf complex.
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Q: What kinds of will be built?
A: Approximately 4,500 new and apartments at a full range
of prices and types will be built at Lowry by 2009. Construction
is underway in Lowry's Northwest Neighborhood located east
of Quebec Street near the Sixth Avenue Parkway and the West
Neighborhood,
west of Quebec Street. The Northwest Neighborhood offers single-family
houses, townhomes, patio homes, apartments and custom homes.
The West Neighborhood will have single-family, townhomes, condominiums,
duplexes and apartments. Construction is near completion in
Lowry's Southwest Neighborhood. Semi-custom are still
available along Sixth Avenue Parkway. Luxury
apartments
are east of Fairmount Drive; loft-style are in the Lowry
Town Center. Two senior apartment communities are located
at
Lowry as well. For more information, call 303-326-7162.
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Q: What about transitional housing at Lowry?
A: The Lowry Redevelopment Authority is committed to developing
a high quality, diverse community. This commitment includes
the provision of a full range of housing, from transitional
and entry-level to luxury custom homes. The Colorado
Coalition
for the Homeless manages two mixed-income
apartment communities in two areas of Lowry. Seventy units
will provide transitional housing for formerly homeless families,
and 142 units will provide affordable housing for working families.
The Crooked Tree Apartments and the City of Denver Gobel Housing
Program offer transitional housing for single men and women.
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Q: What about commercial real estate opportunities?
A: The 86-acre Lowry Community master plan has been
designed with a diverse mix of products including large new
office space, renovation of historic office space, a small
district and a corporate campus. 1.8 million square feet of
office space and 130,000 square feet of retail is planned or
underway, and numerous firms have relocated their headquarter
operations to Lowry. Build-to-suit and leasing opportunities
include:
- Rampart Campus, a one-of-a-kind 90,000 square foot, high-tech
corporate campus featuring three beautifully restored historic
buildings
- PowerHouse Plaza, a new ownership and leasing opportunity
for small to medium-sized firms
- Crosswinds, sites to accommodate up to six buildings totaling
600,000 square feet. Buildings will each contain 90,000
to 125,000 square feet.
About 100 employers already call Lowry home, including
COPIC Companies, Pinnacol Assurance, the National Conference
of State Legislatures, Sevo Miller, Covad Communications,
Colorado
Allergy and Asthma Centers, Bonfils Blood Center, and the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment. For more information,
call 303-326-7162.
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Q: What infrastructure improvements will
be made?
A: The LRA will spend approximately $100 million to replace
existing infrastructure and meet the metro area's municipal
standards. More than four miles of four-lane, median divided
streets and 30 miles of local and secondary streets are being
built. Nearly 30 miles of water mains, 25 miles of sanitary
sewers, and eight miles of storm sewers are being replaced.
The entire electric and gas distribution systems are being
replaced
as well, and all overhead utilities will be placed underground.
Three-fourths of these infrastructure improvements have already
been completed. The LRA's lead consultant in infrastructure
master-planning is URS Corp.
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Q: How is the Lowry redevelopment being
financed?
A: Redevelopment costs totaling approximately $555 million
are being financed in a variety of ways. Seventy percent
of
the funding comes from private sources such as revenue bonds,
bank loans, real estate sales and leasing, while the remaining
30 percent comes from public sources such as federal, state
and local grants. also pursues private
funds to support portions of the park system, public art and
other "quality of life" projects.
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Q: Are there any environmental problems
at Lowry?
A: Lowry was an Air Force technical training center throughout
its 57-year history. Like many communities its age, Lowry once
utilized a coal-generated steam plant, a gas station, a residential
landfill and various common cleaning solvents. The environmental
impacts caused by each of these are being analyzed and remediated.
The Air Force is legally responsible for any environmental problems
at Lowry. In August 2002, the Air Force privatized the cleanup
efforts, allowing the Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) to
manage the work. The LRA works with the Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment, the Environmental Protection
Agency and Lowry Assumption, LCC to ensure that the environmental
process at Lowry meets all state and federal environmental standards.
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What's going on now?
The LRA is currently improving all major roads and underground
utilities, preparing lots for new home construction, installing
a community-wide telecommunications network, developing the
parks and recreation amenities, and
marketing residential and commercial real estate. In addition,
the LRA is managing the environmental investigation and cleanup
of groundwater plumes and the landfill. For more information,
call 303-326-7162.
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