WOW that is crazy good news! An Opera House wow, pretty big building for those days. What a great cause!
Latest development on this property:
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2014/01/22/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/doc52df043215403850844364.txtA cultural campus on S. Fir Street?
Landowners waiver for height, request affordable housing, more
By Katie Klingsporn
Editor
Published: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 6:06 AM CST
Today, the neighborhood surrounding the intersection of S. Fir Street and Pacific Avenue, which is known as the “Four Corners,” is home to a grocery store and a bakery, an empty lot, the shell of an old warehouse, a historic building and a parking area.
But if a development proposal comes to fruition, the neighborhood could undergo a major transformation in the coming years, going from a quiet collection of buildings and lots to a bustling campus for artistic, intellectual and cultural endeavors that will be active through the year with seminars, conferences, workshops, studios and performances, along with parking areas, free-market units and commercial spaces.
That’s the vision presented Tuesday by the Telluride Transfer Company LLC, a partnership that formed in the summer of 2013 with the intention of putting together a mixed-use and diverse development plan for the Four Corners.
The partnership is comprised of longtime locals Pamela Zoline and John Lifton (Lifton Zoline International) along with Boulder-based real estate developers Meriwether Companies and St. Louis investment firm Real Capital Solutions.
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Telluride Transfer Company owns properties on three of the four corners, which were purchased from the estate of Joseph T. Zoline, developer of the Telluride Ski Resort and Pamela’s father. The Town of Telluride owns the fourth corner.
As a landowner, the town has long had a goal to explore partnership arrangements that could result in public benefit for the neighborhood, and identified the intersection as a special sub-area prioritized for planning in its 2006 master plan. In 2011, a task force was formed by the landowners, town and the Lifton-Zoline family to explore such partnership opportunities.
On Tuesday, the Telluride Transfer Company presented its preliminary development plan for the Four Corners to the Telluride Town Council in a work session. The plan calls for a development comprised of free market, multi-family units, commercial uses, required affordable housing and a public “campus” component occurring on roughly 47,000 square feet of land. The idea behind the campus is to provide facilities for Telluride’s nonprofit, art, intellectual and science organizations to hold seminars, studios, classes, performances and more, Lifton explained to the council. The goal is a bustling region of pedestrian-friendly and public-purpose activity that serves as a link to the gondola.
“Telluride’s creative and intellectual economy already exists, but it lacks facilities,” Lifton said. “It’s time now, working with the Town of Telluride, to bring South Fir Street back to life.”
A new nonprofit, along with local nonprofits and a governing board, would own the campus, Lifton said.
Baked in Telluride would remain, the Village Market would be replaced with a mixed-use building containing residential, commercial and parking, the Stronghouse Building would be preserved, the warehouse would be rehabilitated as part of the campus and the vacant lot would be replaced with a mixed-use building with residential, commercial and underground parking. The town-owned property could also be incorporated into the plan to achieve some public benefit.
But in exchange for the public benefits, the Telluride Transfer Company is asking for general waivers to exceed the Land Use Code maximums for floor area and building height and waive the affordable housing and parking requirements for the campus. Specifically, the height waiver would permit TTC to propose a height of up to 49 feet for parts of the development.
“We are offering an unusual amount of public benefits and public cooperation in order to maximize the potential of the Four Corners,” Lifton said. “We are requesting increased design flexibility.”
Since the work session was just that, a work session, the council was not tasked with making any approvals. Rather, it served as more of an introductory discussion. Lifton started the presentation with a thorough history of South Fir Street, which was once a bustling warehouse district filled with buildings big and small.
Lifton said he has long been interested in returning the neighborhood to its once busy state with parking and cultural amenities, and TTC intends to go through a transparent process that welcomes public input.
“We know that the community is very interested in what will happen to this central and important part of town,” he said. “We are committed to a clear process and we are eager to hear from our community.”
The proposal was met with a warm reception by the town council, but some members urged the applicants to move forward with restraint.
Bob Saunders was wary of the height waiver, which he said could set a dangerous precedent.
“I love the idea of this. I think it’s a great thing for the town, but I think it’s going to have to have limits,” Saunders said. “The ultimate goal for me is that this town stays a special place.”
Todd Brown, meanwhile, said he supports the effort to bring vitality back to that part of town.
“There’s nothing else that I’m aware of that’s even being considered at this point that has this kind of opportunity for the arts and the cultural end of things,” Brown said.
Kate Jones, director of Telluride Arts (which is housed in the Stronghouse) said that with the recent Creative District designation, she has been working to identify needs of local artists, and sees a lot of opportunity for synergy in this plan.
“There are just so many needs that we know exist in this town,” she said. “This is a great opportunity in seeing those met.”
In the end, the council gave direction for staff and applicants to move forward with the general waiver application proposal. A formal waiver request could come before the council as early as its Feb. 18 meeting.
Author