News Coverage
This article relates to the FCS+T Group property:
Colorado Bioscience Park Aurora at Fitzsimons
Children's team set: Cherokee Denver group chosen to redevelop site after Fitzsimons relocation
November 28, 2006
By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News
The development team headed by Cherokee Denver didn't get the nod for the $1 billion redevelopment of the Denver Union Station but is moving forward on another major downtown redevelopment: the 14-acre Children's Hospital site.
Cherokee, which the Rocky Mountain News reported in August was the leading contender for the $450 million Children's redevelopment, has quietly placed the Uptown neighborhood site under contract.
In about a year, Children's is scheduled to move to a new $462 million, 1.2 million-square- foot campus at Fitzsimons in Aurora.
The hospital will keep a small medical presence in Denver.
Its current campus is between Park Avenue West, Downing Street and East 18th and East 20th avenues.
The mixed-use redevelopment is expected to include rental and for-sale housing, retail, a hotel, medical offices, and other office space.
"When they move out, we will be finalizing our agreement," said Ferd Belz, president of Cherokee. "We're going to be stepping up our planning and reaching out to the community."
It's still too early to give many details of the redevelopment, he said. The site is large enough to support about 1.5 million square feet of space.
During the next several months, the hospital's existing buildings will be assessed to determine whether they should be preserved, said Cherokee partner Guy Arnold.
"Cherokee Denver will be working hand in hand with neighborhood groups in the area and the city's zoning and planning departments to preserve portions of the site's historical (buildings) while creating a dynamic addition to Denver's cityscape," Arnold said in a statement.
Belz also is working with Rick Wells, who helped develop the Mercy Hospital site near City Park into a mixed-income community with high-rise condo towers, townhomes, rentals and affordable housing.
Dori Biester, Children's Hospital outgoing president and CEO, called the agreement the "first step in assuring that this property will continue to contribute to the vitality of this urban neighborhood."