Towering construction cranes have become a familiar sight at the University of Denver as the school undergoes a $380 million renaissance.
Now the development is moving off campus, to projects that are poised to buff the complexion of the surrounding neighborhood.
Pat Barron is preparing to build an apartment-and-retail complex along the neighborhood’s largest retail hub, at South University Boulevard and East Evans Avenue. And while his five-story building is the biggest change slated for the neighborhood, smaller ones have already occurred or are in the works.
Among them:
Neighbors and university officials say they welcome the upgrades but lament the loss of home-owned businesses and neighborhood boosters.
DU was founded as Colorado Seminary in 1864, and a neighborhood characterized by historic brick bungalows and apartments has grown up around it.
Since 1994, deep-pocketed donors have allowed the university to construct 11 new buildings and complete more than a dozen renovation projects. Three more buildings are expected to open this year.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and effort to improve the look and competitiveness of the university,” said Neil Krauss, the university’s assistant vice chancellor for business and finance. “Investment in the community surrounding the university has been sporadic and sparse.”
He said the university welcomes the developments that will improve the surrounding neighborhood, but said “there’s a positive and a negative to the change.”
Several of the business owners who are being displaced have been active supporters of the school.
Now Barron’s project has the potential to jump-start additional interest in the neighborhood. City records show another housing project planned less than two blocks away in the 1900 block of South Josephine Street. And the anticipated opening of a nearby light-rail station, which is part of the T-REX project, is expected to generate additional development in the area.
“The neighborhood is definitely changing,” said Rosemary Stoffel, president of the University Park Community Council.
The council’s board unanimously approved Barron’s project. His credits include the Denver ChopHouse and Ice House buildings in LoDo.
Some residents have voiced concerns about the potential for increased traffic and the loss of neighborhood retailers, she said. To make room for Barron’s $12 million off-campus project, a building that once housed shops and restaurants will be leveled. Construction will start in April 2006 and end May 2007.
“We have a great following. It’s too bad we have to leave,” said Mike Schettler, owner of Star Market, a grocery, sandwich and catering facility that has been in his family since 1972.
Schettler isn’t sure what he’ll do next. He has until March 31 to vacate the building, and, although he wants to relocate within the neighborhood, he said he is considering options.
Most of his neighbors have already moved. A Look Optical moved one block south on University Boulevard. Consignment store Mercer Place moved to South Broadway. Moonstone gift shop remains in the building but was holding a going- out-of-business sale last week. Coos Bay restaurant closed last year after struggling with slow business.
Schettler said he was offered space in the new building but turned it down because the rent will soar.
“I can’t sell a five-dollar sandwich if my rent goes up,” he said. “The only businesses that are going to be able to afford it are probably going to be chains.”
Barron said interest in the retail spaces has been strong, but he declined to name the tenants he’s courting.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
