Building Size, Mass, and Scale
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The Final Adoption Draft of the Gunbarrel Community Center Plan addresses this issue
in several statements, the first of which contains the 2 to 4 story language we object
to most strenuously.
“There will be a variety of building heights ranging from 2 to 4 stories but with a
massing that minimizes the perceived height along the pedestrian corridors and invites
the larger community into the retail core.”
A few paragraphs later the following sentence describes the appearance of “Main
Street.”
“Street-front buildings will be designed to avoid a canyon-like feeling along the
pedestrian corridor by breaking up overall massing, varying store-front design, and
stepping the higher stories back from the street.”
The best way to visualize what this means is to drive by another mixed-use development
in Boulder, One Boulder Plaza on Canyon between Broadway and 14th Street. The
buildings are four stories high. There are setbacks at the third and fourth levels
to break up the solid facades of these large buildings. Now, imagine these buildings
in Gunbarrel. And while you are making that picture in your mind, consider this –
One Boulder Plaza is a three acre mixed-use development. Terry O’Connor’s Gunbarrel
Town Center behind King Soopers is a nine acre development, three times as big as
One Boulder Plaza. He has already submitted three proposals to build four story
buildings there. Tom Harrington’s Gunbarrel Shopping Center encompasses six acres.
He told the Boulder Planning Board that he wanted to be able to build four story
buildings there. The King Soopers property covers five acres. We do not expect
this property to be redeveloped for a long time, but, the retail core of the plan
includes this property. There is also more retail core property on the west side
of Spine Road where the Post Office is now. What this means is that, at buildout
according to this plan, our community center will have more than 20 acres of four
story buildings. It will be seven times the size of One Boulder Plaza. Is that
what we want?
Click on the links below to see other relevant information.
Gunbarrel's Future Retail Core
Retail Core Character (three stories!?)
Terry O’Connor’s Gunbarrel Town Center Buildings
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page updated 11/29/03
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