Friday, September 21, 2012

Breaking news on proposed Walmart at 9th and Colorado

COUNCILWOMEN SUSMAN AND ROBB OPPOSE TIF FOR CURRENT 9TH AND COLORADO DEVELOPMENT


September 21, 2012                                                  
(DENVER)  Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman and Councilwoman Jeanne Robb announced today that they will not support tax increment financing for the redevelopment as currently proposed at 9th and Colorado by Fuqua Development. The Councilwomen’s joint statement follows:
“We respect the hard work of the Colorado Boulevard Health Care District (CBHCD), the City’s Department of Community Planning & Development (CPD), the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA), and the developer to facilitate the redevelopment of this key site.  We also want to thank our constituents for all the ideas and input.                  
Plans for redevelopment of the former Health Sciences Center site owned by the University of Colorado (CU) have been in progress since 2003. In that time, different developers offered site plans that evolved with the developer and the economy.  The initial balanced, mixed-use project became more retail-oriented through the years. The proposed insertion of Wal-Mart as anchor tenant created a tipping point for new scrutiny of the project that needs a greater mix of uses if it is to generate increases in retail sales for the area.   We are concerned that the project as proposed is more likely to draw from other retail in the area, thus not producing a true tax increment.
Our constituents have made their concerns about the current proposal known, and we respect their views. 
We intend to continue working with our communities, CU, this developer or a future developer, the CBHCD, and the City administration to find a viable alternative.”

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