Broomfield City Council approves redevelopment of part of mall

BROOMFIELD» The City Council unanimously approved the redevelopment of a portion of the Flatiron Crossing Mall last week.

The approved agreement is for the redevelopment of the former Flatirons Village area and the former Nordstrom property. The city and county will contribute $49.9 million to the development, according to the council memo, plus specific fee and building use tax reimbursements.

Broomfield planning director Anna Bertanzetti told the council during the Oct. 12 meeting that Flatiron Crossing provides about 20% of Broomfield’s retail sales and use tax collections in a typical year.

“Although the owner has continued to invest in the property over the last decade, the owner has now determined that it’s the right time to propose this major reinvestment into the property to enhance the center and further energize the shopping area,” she said.

The project is designed to take advantage of the 34 acres of underutilized space south of U.S. 36 and west of Interlocken Loop. The AMC theater and retail shops will stay, but the expansive parking lots eventually will be replaced with new construction. The overall Flatiron redevelopment plan is slated to include one to three office developments, one to three multifamily residential developments, one hotel, two to four restaurant/retail pads, outdoor gathering areas, structured parking and removal of some of the parking lots to accommodate the development, the memo explains.

Bertanzetti noted the applicant, the mall’s owner and manager Macerich Co., requested three variances, including increasing the maximum building height from 86 feet to 135 feet, modifying the size of parking spots and reducing the private open space area to 25%.

She said the reduction in open space “is not uncommon when we’re talking about high-density mixed-use areas,” and she noted similar reductions in Arista and Baseline.

The approved plan permits up to 750 multifamily residential units within the initial phases, and 20% of the units will be rented at 80% of Broomfield’s area median income. The developer anticipates to submit future site development plans once the custom zoning details are in place, the memo states. Macerich will meet the public land dedication through a 2.1acre land dedication, a 6.4-acre credit for a portion of the prior Varra Park dedication and a waiver for the estimated $1.4 million cash in lieu.

Director of economic vitality Jeff Romine explained to the council that in 2001 Broomfield agreed to provide $81.3 million to support needed infrastructure and improvements related to Flatiron Crossing.