RTD station’s parking attracts second development proposal in seven months

The Regional Transportation District s parking lots are certain of Denver s hottest expansion spots Mile High Advancement and BMC Investments both Denver-based firms submitted plans to the city last month for a new nine-story -unit apartment building on a third of the -acre parking lot for RTD s Colorado Station light rail stop at E Evans Ave The submission comes eight months after Denver-based Delwest submitted plans to build apartments on the same spot The site is directly south of the Colorado Center office campus which consists of a pair of -story office towers and an additional -story one A representative for Mile High Enhancement did not respond to a request for comment A Delwest spokeswoman disclosed the company is still pursuing improvement of the lot The competing submittals however is something that RTD had anticipated The transit agency follows a specific process when it receives unsolicited proposals which involves seeing if other developers are interested in the same site In the circumstance of Colorado Station multiple developers have expressed interest in the site in contemporary years RTD spokeswoman Tara Broghammer communicated BusinessDen via email Both projects would be income-restricted housing Otherwise however the two submissions differ greatly Delwest s plans call for growth of the entire parking lot Two -story towers would have units apiece There would also be a six-story -unit apartment building with a insufficient townhomes in front of it The buildings would have a total of square feet of retail space and square feet of amenity space along with parking spaces several reserved for RTD users Mile High Advance and BMC meanwhile are proposing to put a building on just the southwestern corner of the parking lot It would come with fewer parking spaces no retail space and a smaller amenity offering Related Articles Swire Coca-Cola scraps plans for large bottling plant near DIA Retail center Gold s Marketplace in Wheat Ridge acquired for nearly M Developer to demolish Centennial office for apartment project The ups and downs of RiNo New opportunities and questions of affordability Polis pedestrian bridge has a long way to go but is worth the journey Editorial Mile High and BMC have worked together before In September they broke ground on a -unit project near the Fitzsimons campus in Aurora It will be reserved for those making to of the area median income Other RTD lots around town have attracted developer attention In Five Points local developer Jeff Shanahan is building income-restricted condos at - Welton St after the agency solicited proposals At the Central Park Station RTD is negotiating with one developer and a second developer has expressed interest in building on a separate part of the station s parking lots And earlier this month the transportation agency submitted initial plans to rezone its st and Fox Station parking lot into something with higher density in anticipation of future interest there The site is just south of the -acre Fox Park maturation going up where Interstates and meet Get more real estate and business news by signing up for our weekly newsletter On the Block