Lafayette's Urban Renewal Authority has settled for a ho-hum vision for a large parcel at the south entrance to the city's downtown thoroughfare. After Walmart leaves this fall for its new Super spot on Hwy 287 most of the commercial space at the northwest corner of South Public and South Boulder Roads will sit vacant. The Lafayette City Council, in its role as LURA, went for a minimized redevelopment plan that misses a huge opportunity. Read more about the decision in the Daily Camera.
It was predictable that the Council that deferred to the mounting opposition to the Waneka property annexation would also prefer a scaled back plan for this site. The previously ambitious mix of residential, commercial and park space have been reduced to include only 130 residential units, not enough to attract the kind of important commercial development that could provide a solid long-term boost to the city's sales and use tax revenue. Redeveloping this parcel only half-way misses the point of quality in-fill redevelopment.
Read more on the Lafayette city website and check out details at the open house on the Redevelopment Project at the Lafayette Public Library, Oct 12 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
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2 comments:
That's not true, what the city is advocating is way more responsible and meets our small town vision.
Mr. Powers is adding 2+2 and getting 6. The scaled back version of the plan was the result of input from the Developers panel, (a group of developers who volunteered their time and expertise) and had nothing to do with the Lowes opposition. Strangely enough the developers vision of what would work actually coincided with Council's preferences. The anchor for this area and initial draw for retail are the new county buildings, not high density residences. Sorry Dan, you missed on this one!
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