Urban renewal has taken root in Colorado Springs in a private-public partnership that has produced the mixed-use development of Creekwalk.
Located between downtown Colorado Springs and Fort Carson in Colorado, Creekwalk features retail, residential and commercial and a future pedestrian bridge at St. Elmo Street. In total, the development involved the acquisition of 27 parcels of land, the removal of 24 existing structures, five years of planning and three major public improvements.
Creekwalk is a textbook example of how urban renewal can be successful, and for that, it has been awarded CoStar's Impact Award as commercial development of the year for Colorado Springs, as judged by a panel of local industry professionals.
In 2015, the Colorado Springs City Council designated a 100-acre area bordered by South Nevada Avenue, South Tejon Street, Cheyenne Road and Motor City Way as an urban renewal site. The designation created a public-private partnership to improve and revitalize the area. Several developers, including The Equity Group, purchased land to create new centers of commerce in the neighborhood.
The Equity Group enlisted RTA to design a specialty shopping center that connects the intersections of Cascade Avenue, Cheyenne Road, Nevada Avenue and Ramona Avenue. RTA worked closely with The Equity Group and the city of Colorado Springs to develop the Creekwalk shopping center.
About the project: Creekwalk is a 300,000-square-foot mixed-use development located within the South Nevada Avenue Urban Renewal Area.
What the judges said: "Creekwalk is an innovative mixed-use development that provides exceptional positive impacts to the South Nevada Urban Renewal Area," said Paul Morrow, senior analyst, city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Community Development.
"The developer has done a great job with the project that has been years in the making. This is likely to create a wave of new developments surrounding the project," said Newmark Managing Director Brian Wagner.
They Made it Happen: Danny Mientka, owner of The Equity Group; Perry Lewis and Doug J. Abernathy, principals, and director of construction administration David L. Magargal of RTA Architect.