A portion of the former site of Lumen Technologies has been rezoned to make way for the construction of a potential 370-unit multi-family residential complex, provoking strong opinions for and against the project.
The property at 700 W. Mineral Ave. in Littleton was originally used for industrial purposes and later an office and call center for Qwest/Century/Lumen Technologies, the city’s senior planner Jerad Chipman said at a recent city council meeting.
The pandemic altered the company’s needs for office space, leaving the building and site largely vacant, he added.
Republic Investment Group and Embrey Development Co. are in the process of purchasing the property and are proposing to use it for commercial and residential uses, according to city documents.
During the meeting on Dec. 19, council members considered the zoning of 18 acres of the roughly 63-acre site. Their unanimous approval changed the zoning from Industrial Park Planned Overlay District to Multi-Family Residential.
The change means that a developer can move forward with plans to build a residential complex on the property, as opposed to the industrial and commercial uses that would have been allowed there before.
The council also unanimously approved a future land use and character map amendment, changing the portion of the site from Suburban Business Park to Suburban Residential Multi-Family.
The change allows the area to have residential uses while maintaining its same “suburban character,” Chipman said. This change was a required prerequisite for the zoning change.
The master development plan for the project will be finalized in upcoming stages of the process, including details about the location of buildings, parking plans, open spaces, landscaping, building design and more.
The developers are proposing to build 370 units on the property, Chipman said.
The commercial parts of the property are still in the early stages, but Costco Wholesale has taken steps to apply for a portion of the site.
Many residents who live near the site showed up to the meeting to voice their concerns about the proposed development.
Although the city council was only deciding about rezoning and land use map changes for the residential portion of the site, residents voiced concern about how the entire project would impact traffic in the area.
“My big concern is the congestion that’s going to be created with the density,” said resident Robert Brown. “The traffic that will be created … it’ll be untenable.”
Residents said traffic on Mineral Avenue is already congested and they fear it getting worse.
“It’s important as this moves forward … to address with the communities that are along Mineral Avenue, the traffic impacts,” said Jim Gale, the president of the Peninsula Homeowners Association, which is near the site. “That would include addressing traffic issues that already do exist and that would be exacerbated when we go from an empty facility – that does need to be developed in some fashion or other – to a facility that’s got a good deal of traffic that will be coming in and out.”
During their presentation, city staff outlined a traffic study that is in progress for the site. The traffic study is being conducted by the developers and their team, with review from city staff.
A traffic engineer on the development team said having a residential unit on the site would create less traffic than if the site were being fully utilized as an office space.
“But obviously, the site is vacant,” he said, adding that the team is still conducting a comprehensive traffic study for the whole site plan.
Some residents expressed frustration and confusion about the city council making a rezoning decision without having a completed traffic study in front of them.
Chipman said the traffic study is a function of the master development plan — a later stage in the process — and not a required step for the rezoning stage of the process.
Specific criteria about how the site is laid out in terms of parking, entryways and exits will be dependent on the comprehensive traffic study, he said.
Several speakers expressed concern that schools would be overwhelmed by traffic and more students.
Some also said that they had felt in the dark during the development process up to this point.
Some residents spoke in support of the proposed development, highlighting the value of business and the need for more housing in Littleton.
Pat Dunahay, who serves on the board of the SouthPark Owners Association, said the developers have agreed to join the association and to be part of supporting the business community through that.
“I think their involvement level is high,” Dunahay said. “I think their integrity is good on this project. I think we have lots to do, but we’re only going to do it together.”
Phil McCart, a member of Vibrant Littleton, said building a new residential complex on the site would be a step towards housing affordability.
“Despite skyrocketing housing costs, some of our neighbors here tonight, who are almost certainly comfortably housed themselves, are here to convince us to stop building additional housing,” he said. “I’m asking you to please choose the future of our children and our grandchildren over a perceived fear of traffic and a loss of character.”
Due to the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, which passed in 2022, approximately 18 units will be made affordable based on area median income data, Chipman said.
Many housing experts say that building more housing helps address the affordability crisis because it adds supply to the market.
Several speakers also highlighted the benefits of multimodal elements the development is planning to include, such as buffered bike lanes and sidewalks.
District 2 Councilmember Robert Reichardt said it would be important to enhance multimodal elements on the rest of Mineral Avenue to ensure people could get from place to place safely.
“I think what we are setting ourselves up for is to have a pool of tranquility for our bikers as this area is redeveloped, between ‘suicide lanes’ on Mineral,” he said, referencing a public commenter’s earlier language about dangerous bike paths.
“Figuring out how to get our Transportation Master Plan up to snuff so that all of Mineral is a safe corridor for ped and bike traffic, that feels like the challenge that is really being laid out for us to make this future neighborhood a better place for multimodal transportation,” he continued.
District 1 Councilmember Patrick Driscoll said he thinks adding a residential complex to the site is a good idea.
“I think also about what used to be there — Lumen. Now, we all got comfortable with none of that traffic, right?” he said. “Well, something’s gonna go in here … so what do you want? What makes sense? And I think this makes a lot of sense.”
Next stages of the development process will be reviewed by staff and the planning commission, depending on the step.
The planning commission meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 6:30 p.m.
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