Chapter 36.08
SITE ANALYSIS

Sections:

Article I. Downtown District

36.08.010    Downtown District.

36.08.020    Central Business District (CBD).

36.08.030    Transitional subarea.

36.08.040    Residential subarea.

36.08.050    North 1st Street neighborhood center.

36.08.060    Existing commercial.

Article II. Rail District

36.08.070    Rail District.

Article III. River District

36.08.080    River District.

Article I. Downtown District

36.08.010 Downtown District.

The Downtown District encompasses the original square mile, the area south of North Avenue between 1st Street and Highway 6 and 50, a small triangle of properties north of Grand Avenue and west of Highway 6 and 50, and the area south of Grand Avenue between 1st Street and the railroad tracks (see map).

The Downtown District should retain its role as the City’s center and a regional destination. With a diverse mix of land uses, civic and public amenities, art and cultural facilities, the Downtown District offers a hub of activity that supports and reflects the regional demographics. Every effort should be made to keep and maintain existing public amenities and services in the Downtown District. These uses attract large numbers of residents and visitors to downtown which contributes to its economic vitality.

The Downtown District benefits from a number of characteristics that make it appropriate for development of retail, office, residential, institutional and community uses as described below.

(a)    On average, urban residents spend a greater percentage of household income on retail expenditures, particularly on items such as apparel and food away from home. This indicates an opportunity for additional specialty retail and entertainment space in the Downtown District.

(b)    Housing within the Downtown District has been and is expected to continue to increase in density with smaller households comprised of young and old, and moderate- and lower-income residents. However, with a growing concentration of middle-aged, moderate- to high-income households in the City as a whole, there is an opportunity for the Downtown District to attract more diverse, higher-income resident base. The entirety of Grand Junction (urban and fringe) faces a growing shortage of quality affordable housing for its very low- and moderate-income residents, as well as working-wage families. This planning process emphasized the need for a set of strategies tailored specifically to the housing challenges present within the Downtown District.

(c)    Downtown commercial vacancy and rental rates are approaching levels required to support new development and/or redevelopment. However, “seed” money will likely be necessary to leverage private investment in projects that will catalyze reinvestment activity throughout the Downtown District.

(d)    Among the higher growth employment sectors in Mesa County are service industries often consisting of small businesses. This represents an opportunity for the Downtown District to develop not only additional live/work units, but also to promote the adaptive re-use of historically significant buildings and less traditional spaces including former church facilities.

(e)    Forecasts indicate that more than one million square feet of employment space (office), more than 1,600,000 square feet of retail space and nearly 1,100 residential units could be absorbed in the market over the next 10 years, from which the Downtown District could benefit. The degree to which the Downtown District is able to capture new demand within the trade area and beyond will be a function of the redevelopment process itself. Redeveloping key catalyst areas as residential, retail, employment and community destinations will necessarily increase its ability to capture not only a greater share of trade area demand, but also to reach beyond those boundaries.

(f)    The Downtown District is comprised of many uses that result in a number of diverse neighborhoods. While some areas within downtown are comprised of one single use, such as residential or business/commercial, there are many areas that include a range of uses, such as along Grand Avenue. In order to more fully understand specific issues facing the many, diverse neighborhoods within downtown, the Downtown District was divided into seven subareas: Central Business District (CBD), Central Business District Core Area (Downtown Core), Transitional, Residential, North 1st Street Neighborhood Center (Neighborhood Center), Existing Commercial, and the North Seventh Street Historic Residential District.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

36.08.020 Central Business District (CBD).

The CBD contains primarily commercial uses and is located generally south of Ouray Avenue. The CBD also contains a significant number of public and civic facilities. While much of the CBD is zoned to permit a wide range of uses, there are several new projects that have integrated uses into one cohesive project. Pedestrian accessibility and amenities, public facilities, traffic patterns, building heights and commercial development densities combine to create an urban character that attracts local businesses, employees, residents and visitors to the CBD. Within the CBD, the Downtown Core includes the streets and development patterns that most depend on and are defined by the heaviest pedestrian activity.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

36.08.030 Transitional subarea.

The Transitional areas of downtown contain a mix of residential, commercial and institutional uses. Development densities and building heights are not as extreme as in the CBD and residential uses, which includes single-family homes adapted to multifamily uses, are prevalent throughout the Transitional areas. With the exception of the main arterial Grand Avenue, traffic is less congested and parking is available, both on-street and in publicly and privately owned surface parking lots.

Existing homeowners in the Transitional areas, especially along Grand Avenue, expressed concern over the rapidly expanding commercial character of the area. Traffic congestion, parking issues, vehicle accessibility, lighting and signage were each cited as an adverse impact that existing single-family residential homeowners were grappling with as more homes are converted to business uses.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

36.08.040 Residential subarea.

A significant amount of the Downtown Core contains single-family residential uses. The large number of older, historic structures results in a definitive architectural character that local residents want preserved. The North Seventh Street Historic Residential District contains 34 historic homes with a high concentration of early Twentieth Century architectural styles and construction methods. The district covers five blocks of North Seventh Street and is the most intact historical residential area in Grand Junction with a variety of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Mission style homes. A detailed analysis of, and specific guidelines and standards applicable only to, properties within the North Seventh Street Historic Residential District were adopted in 2012 and thus, the District is not further addressed in the Greater Downtown Plan.

Along the edges of the downtown residential areas, commercial activity is encroaching on established single-family residential neighborhoods. Although existing residents expressed their satisfaction with existing development and uses along North 1st Street and North Avenue, many participants expressed concern over future expansion and potential rezoning along these edges and wanted to see the Greater Downtown Plan respect existing zone districts and development patterns and prohibit any further rezoning or variances.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

36.08.050 North 1st Street neighborhood center.

This subarea of the Downtown District is an extension of the neighborhood center defined along the North Avenue corridor. The intent of the neighborhood center is to provide for limited employment, residential, open space and limited retail uses that primarily provide convenience to the immediate neighborhood. While much of the area is already developed with commercial area, there is a need to create a better transition between the commercial uses facing North 1st Street and the side streets to the residential areas on the east side of North 2nd Street.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

36.08.060 Existing commercial.

This subarea of the Downtown District corresponds with developed commercial corridors on the north/northwest and south sides of the district that have a different character than the type of uses that exist in the other subareas.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

Article II. Rail District

36.08.070 Rail District.

The Rail District is the area bounded by South Avenue and the railroad tracks to the north, Riverside Parkway and C-1/2 Road along the west and south and 28 Road on the east. The man-made framework of the area consists of the buildings and infrastructure that already exist, some of which is very old, and some of which was recently constructed. The railroad tracks along the northern portion of the Rail District as well as the sidings that come into the area are very important considerations. Several spurs continue to be heavily used by the industry in the area, while others have been abandoned but may be available for future use. The former Grand Junction Steel site, located in the center of the Rail District, historically received three to four rail cars per week of raw material and finished products were then trucked from the site. Castings, Inc. handles approximately 480,000 pounds of materials and products in containers by rail each week. Thus, as in the past and as long as it continues to be used as a means of transport, the railroad is a valuable asset to this area and to the community as a whole.

The existing street network in the Rail District is incomplete. The plan for the area addresses how the existing streets should be used and how new streets should be planned in the eastern and western ends of the Rail District to continue to provide and enhance access for many modes of transportation to, from and through the area. Presently, 9th, 12th and 15th Streets are the primary north-south streets utilized by the heavy commercial and industrial uses in the area. 7th Street is generally perceived by the community as the “public” access to and from the Rail District and points south. Certainly, the completion of the Riverside Parkway through and along the southern edge of the Rail District has had a major impact on the area with a positive influence.

Part of the existing conditions of the built environment is the pattern of land ownership and use. In the central part of the Rail District there are numerous small parcels. Some have been aggregated into large holdings such as for the larger industries in the area including the former Grand Junction Steel site, Whitewater Building Materials Castings, Inc. and Munroe Pump. The railroad has large landholdings in the area as do various public entities. City-owned properties primarily include remnant parcels that were acquired for construction of the Parkway. Mesa County recently disposed of several small parcels and the State of Colorado has the Department of Transportation complex on the east side of 9th Street and D Road. To the east, the parcels are larger but some are not configured very conducive to development. There are also still remnants of the early days of this area. There are some remaining pockets of occupied single-family residential homes.

There are also a few isolated commercial structures with historic significance, most notably the one pictured below which is a remnant of a sugar beet factory complex. The building was previously most visible from the riverfront trail and Orchard Mesa but it is now very visible from the Riverside Parkway. As this area becomes more familiar to people passing through on the trail and on the Parkway, perhaps some of the buildings like this one can become a more integral part of redevelopment.

It is estimated that there is a daytime population of over 1,000 employees in the Rail District that have very little available in the way of goods, services, restaurants and other commercial uses in close proximity. There appears to be a need and a desire to promote and develop uses that could not only service the daytime working population but also support the recreational and park users in evenings and on weekends.

There are surrounding influences that impact the Rail District such as the proximity of the area to the Downtown District. This plan considers the main entrances and connections to the other Districts within the Greater Downtown area and how they can be improved as well as determine if or where there are barriers such as the railroad crossing and how those can be mitigated.

An inventory of existing land uses within the Rail District was completed as part of the planning process, identifying patterns of development and architectural character. Existing land use in the more developed central area of the Rail District is and has historically been primarily heavy commercial and industrial with remnant pockets of residential. The area between 5th Street and 9th Street is characterized by smaller parcels with older structures. A few businesses have aggregated parcels into larger parcels which are more conducive to future improvement and/or redevelopment. This area presents the best opportunities within the Rail District for redevelopment that could be accomplished through creative incentives and partnerships.

The heavy industries are primarily located between 9th and 15th Streets, clustered around the existing railroad spurs on larger parcels. Since the rail and its users are valuable assets to the area and the community as a whole, the core of this area is unlikely to change. However, there appears to be some opportunity and community support to create transitional areas of varied land uses in a tier surrounding the core industrial area. These transitional areas can be used to create compatibility between adjacent uses such as the park and the heavy industrial as well as help visually screen the industrial areas.

On the eastern side of the Rail District, much of the property is held in larger ownerships and is vacant or underutilized. There is also a small pocket of existing residential use along 27-1/2 Road just south of the Riverside Parkway but which has been zoned for future commercial/industrial uses for many years. Much of the eastern area presents the greatest opportunity for increasing heavy commercial and industrial use within the Rail District and the Greater Downtown area as a whole.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)

Article III. River District

36.08.080 River District.

The River District is located on either side of the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers, roughly between the Riverside neighborhood to the northwest to 28 Road on the east and the Riverside Parkway to the Colorado River. At this “grand junction,” the area transformed from an agricultural based community into the commercial and industrial area it is today. Over time, the area has been used to store mill tailings along the river, process sugar beets in the historic beet packing complex, and more recently the community has rediscovered its natural value for green space, trails and public uses such as the Botanical Gardens. The majority of the property in the River District is publicly owned including the Las Colonias Park site, the Botanical Gardens property, the Jarvis property, some remnants of land that were acquired for construction of the Parkway and State Parks properties on the east end of the district.

There is an existing trail through the area that must be recognized as the area develops and redevelops. The plan considers that the trail will eventually be extended to the east along the river and that improved public access to the trail system throughout the area is a necessity.

Located within walking distance from the other downtown areas, the River District offers both easy access to recreational amenities along the river, as well as convenient access to shopping and businesses in the adjacent Central Business District. It also functions as a gateway into downtown from Highway 50. Its location and context establishes it as one of the most important places in the City.

The River District is a critical area of the community. It virtually is THE Grand Junction. The Colorado River has a big influence on the area which presents both constraints and opportunities. The floodplain associated with the Colorado River has been altered by construction of a levee that protects a large part of the River District from flood inundation but there are some areas that are still impacted by potential flooding of the Colorado River.

On the other hand, the Colorado River does present excellent opportunities to maintain and enhance amenities that have already been placed along the Colorado River including the Botanical Gardens, the riverfront trail system, the Old Mill pedestrian bridge and the community investment of the Riverside Parkway.

The proximity of the area to Orchard Mesa influences the plan both physically and visually. There are also recreation and open space uses within and nearby – Eagle Rim Park on Orchard Mesa and the Botanical Gardens along the Colorado River. The Greater Downtown Plan addresses how these spaces should be connected, enhanced and integrated into redevelopment of the area.

The topography of the site is also an important consideration. While the River District area itself is flat, it is significantly lower than Orchard Mesa to the south. This makes it a very visible area as well as presents some unique opportunities for views and vistas.

In addition, the plan considers the planning efforts that have been completed for areas within the River District including the Botanical Gardens, Las Colonias Park and the City-owned Jarvis property. The Greater Downtown Plan integrates with the adjacent uses to the east that were included in the Pear Park Neighborhood Plan.

Several design concepts have been developed for the Las Colonias Park site which lies south of the Riverside Parkway (Parkway) from 9th Street to 27-1/2 Road. A trail has been constructed through the property and now that the Parkway has been in use, there is renewed interest in developing a more specific plan. Some amenities being considered are parking, restrooms, shelters, play area, open space, expanded walk/bike trails, open space for festivals, music, and educational presentations, various wetlands and arbor education opportunities, a kayak park, tree walk and a disc golf course.

The Jarvis property was historically used as a salvage yard until purchased and cleaned up by the City in the late 1980s. Since then, the property has been vacant with the exception of the recent trail construction through the site. Other uses on the west end of the River District are industrial along the south side of the railroad tracks. A mixed use conceptual plan has been developed for the Jarvis property which was considered through the development of the Greater Downtown Plan.

There are areas of low density residential uses along the south side of C-1/2 Road just west of 28 Road. These uses are intended to remain, along with future development of the riverfront trail system from 27-1/2 Road to 28 Road. The Colorado State Parks has acquired several properties in this area in anticipation of continued trail development.

(Ord. 4571, 3-20-13)