In March, 2011, the Urban Land Conservancyacquired this two-acre parcel zoned C-MX-12 located as the natural gateway to West Colfax and Irving Street and now known as Mile High Vista. The property sits on the West Colfax corridor connecting downtown and west Denver and is near multiple transit options including light rail and bus. It is within ¼ mile to Interstate 25 and ¼ mile of the Knox Light Rail Station and the Decatur/Federal Light Rail Station along the West Corridor. It is also served by high frequency bus service along Colfax and bus service along 14th Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
The site was selected by the City of Denver with the WCBID’s strong support to construct a new 28,000 square foot west side “Cory” Gonzales Denver Public Library. The library is now anticipated to open in 2014 (Studio Trope Design: project architects). The mixed use site also includes Avondale Apartments, Del Norte NDC’s development including 80 units of workforce housing and 14,000 of commercial space (Studio Completiva: project architects). Finally, a third building on the site is currently projected to contain 14,000 square feet of commercial space.
West Colfax is part of a regional revitalization effort building on energy from the new zoning code, Main Street zoning, Denver’s Strategic Transportation Plan, the development of the West Corridor Light Rail and the West Colfax Business Improvement District. Additionally, the West Corridor is the focus of a HUD/DOT grant that will focus on planning, design and other studies to support affordable housing along transit, including Mile High Vista.
