The acres of empty fields that now surround the construction of a commuter rail line station platform at East 112th Avenue in Northglenn may soon be full of housing and commercial development options.
The Northglenn station is the penultimate stop on the Regional Transportation District’s currently funded section of the North Metro Rail line — the N line — from Denver’s Union Station to Eastlake at East 124th Avenue — eventually ending at Colorado 7, depending on funds. The stop itself is just north of East 112th Avenue, off York Street.
“The market is saying that there are more opportunities for housing there than for some of the other uses that we’ve looked at,” said Becky Smith, a city planner and project manager for Northglenn. “So commercial areas have been identified, but they’re mostly optional and encouraged.”
She said the city’s preliminary development guide so far foresees a mix of medium- and high-density residential closer to the station, transitioning to medium and lower single-family homes west of the site, toward existing residential.
The vacant corner of York Street and East 112th Avenue could provide commercial opportunities, but that’s entirely up to three private landholders whom the city is continuing to meet with to discuss development options.
on the development guide, because two of those landowners control property in Thornton, directly east of the station across York Street.
“The landowners are definitely excited,” said Karen Widomski, senior planner in Thornton. “We’re hoping that it will be more of a unique residential type that we haven’t seen in other parts of the city.”
At the Northglenn stop, there are more than 100 acres of open land that could be transformed into new neighborhoods. Today, the station platform is surrounded by hundreds of homes to the west and southeast, mostly vacant fields directly north and east and a small industrial business park to the southwest.
“Our working vision is to create a station that serves the surrounding neighborhoods as a vital and vibrant community hub, that provides enhanced connectivity to the station and surrounding neighborhoods and that strengthens and sustains the diverse industrial uses to the south,” Smith said.
Among the city’s plans for the arrival of the commuter line in 2018 are new pedestrian connections such as bike lanes and crosswalks around the neighborhoods and into the adjacent industrial business park.
Vance Sabbe, co-owner of Northglenn’s only craft brewery, Beer By Design at 2100 E. 112th Ave., said that access from the station, across 112th Avenue would be ideal.
“It would be great if they could help people get to us since we’re still a couple blocks away from the stop,” Sabbe said. “I’ve thought about maybe doing advertising in the car itself to make sure people know we’re at the stop, and we’ve talked about starting a shuttle service to maybe attract more customers over.”
The Northglenn station includes an open parking lot with 316 spaces.
“What’s good about this station is the walkability that people are going to have from the neighborhoods and the commercial district nearby,” said Hadley Trent, spokeswoman for Regional Rail Partners, the company building out the line. “During peak travel times (from 6-9 a.m. and about 4-6 p.m.) the trains will be at this station approximately every 20 minutes.”
Construction on the Northglenn station is moving quickly. and install the canopies over the platform in the coming months, just before the track is installed.
The total cost of the project, from Denver Union Station to 124th Avenue, is $764 million. That includes design and construction, purchase of all necessary properties and purchase of the commuter rail vehicles.
“We’re really excited about that station coming in,” Smith said. “We see it as a great opportunity for the city and that area. Most of the new development opportunity is on the Thornton side, but we do believe there are great opportunities to create vibrancy in that area.”