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Tramway PUD clears committee after lengthy debate over 4-story affordable housing, conservation and parking
Summary
The committee forwarded a PUD rezoning for the Tramway Nonprofit Center that pairs conservation of the Tramway building with a proposed 4-story, 63-unit affordable housing project on the vacant pad. Neighbors and ULC debated height, density, parking and mediation outcomes; the committee moved the PUD to the council floor.
Community Planning and Development presented a custom Planned Unit Development for the Tramway Nonprofit Center site in the Cole neighborhood that would conserve the historic Tramway building (subarea A), allow a 4-story affordable housing building of 63 units on the vacant portion (subarea B) and permit surface parking (subarea C). CPD staff said the PUD would bring parcels currently in a former Chapter 59 code into the Denver Zoning Code and that the application was accompanied by an affordable housing plan and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) awards for the proposed units.
Andrea Burns of the Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), the applicant, said the proposal has three primary goals: retain and conserve nonprofit uses in the Tramway building, deliver permanently affordable housing and use the vacant pad to build a financially viable LIHTC project. ULC representatives said the site was acquired in 2007 and that to secure tax credits they needed to retain 4-story entitlement for the buildable parcel while downzoning other portions to preserve the nonprofit center.
Neighbors and a mediation participant said mediation (several sessions from July through October) did not resolve core concerns: neighborhood speakers repeatedly flagged the proposed fourth story, perceived density (up to three-bedroom units), and parking impacts as primary outstanding issues. A neighborhood participant, Katie Hannah, said removing the fourth story would reduce the number of bedrooms and the population density that concerns neighbors: "If you remove the fourth story, I mean, it just by nature decreases kind of the population and density of people that would be living there," she said.
ULC and its development partner said they have an outreach and mitigation plan that includes shared parking on a satellite lot, prioritized affordable units for displaced residents, and conservation commitments for the Tramway building's architectural elements. Brad Dodson, ULC's CFO, told the committee a tax-credit timeline applies: LIHTC awards require the project to break ground within about 18 months of award or risk recapture.
CPD noted it received a mix of public comment (staff reported 44 letters in support and 45 letters in opposition, plus a handful of letters whose signatures were contested) and that the planning board recommended approval. After extended questioning about zoning mechanics, waivers, height transitions and parking, the committee moved the PUD to the full City Council floor by voice/thumbs-up for further consideration.
