Plans for North Nevada shopping center modernized
A new Colorado Springs shopping center, which city and business leaders envision as a centerpiece of North Nevada Avenue's redevelopment, is getting a makeover before it's been constructed.
University Village Colorado will be built with more modern features and amenities instead of a traditional suburban design, said Springs developer Kevin Kratt.
The reworked project, Kratt said, was not in response to criticism from students and staff at nearby University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Some of them objected last summer to what they called a staid, Academy Boulevard-like design for the center, which will be linked to UCCS via a Nevada Avenue underpass and whose stores and restaurants are expected to draw heavily from the school.
Instead, Kratt said he and partners Tom Cone, a Springs commercial real estate broker, and local real estate firm Diamante Properties decided they wanted a more artistic and hipper design and hired RTA Architects of Colorado Springs.
RTA's design, showcased Thursday for the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority, includes varied roof lines to break up the look of the center's smaller, multitenant buildings; sandstone and metal building exteriors accented with stucco; plaza areas for college students and families; free-standing, lighted towers to draw shoppers to the area; a small stage and seating area for concerts; large restaurant patios with unobstructed mountain views; and wider sidewalks to accommodate benches, art and flowers.
University Village Colorado, northwest of Nevada and Garden of the Gods Road, will be anchored by national retailers Costco Wholesale Club, Lowe's home improvement store and a Kohl's department store, whose buildings typically look the same from city to city.
For University Village Colorado, the three retailers have agreed to work with the developers to upgrade their stores and entrances so that colors and architecture blend in with the shopping center, Kratt said. Costco, for example, will have a gabled roof that it hasn't done in the past, and its familiar red and blue colors will be found only on a store sign, Kratt said.
North Nevada, which for years was a collection of shabby motels, a trailer park and other small businesses, was designated by the City Council as an urban renewal site in late 2004. Millions of dollars in sales tax revenue from new development in the area will be used to widen Nevada, install curbs and make other improvements.
On UCCS-owned land on Nevada's east side, the school plans to create a research and development center, along with sports and cultural facilities.
The shopping center's latest timetable calls for completion of the three anchors and most of the smaller, multitenant buildings by September 2009, Kratt said.
Smaller tenants expected to come to University Village Colorado include Starbucks Coffee Co., Chipotle Mexican Grill, sports bar and restaurant Indigo Joe's, PetSmart and restaurant Bonefish Grill.
