To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Bill Detweiler, Director of Development Services
Community Design Award Team Members
Title Discussion/Direction: 2017 Design Award Program (Nominations)
Body
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Executive Summary
Each year the Town recognizes and rewards outstanding design and construction through the Design Award Program. We are seeking Town Council action on the list of nominees created by members of the Design Award Team and Town staff. The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend Council accept the award nominations noted in the staff report.
Discussion
The updated Vision 2030 Comprehensive Master Plan identifies four cornerstones for our community. The first cornerstone is “Distinct Town Identity” with the intent, “to ensure Castle Rock is recognized and rewarded as a unique and welcoming community distinguished by its vibrant and historic Downtown, small-town character, identity as the Douglas County seat, diverse and easily accessible recreation options, scenic natural environment and family-friendly activities.” Given that Town identify and community character are important goals, several years ago Council created the design award program to publicly recognize outstanding building and site design that is consistent with the policies, practices and goals of the Town Vision.
To promote diversity of interest in the award program, representatives from Town Boards and Commissions and the development community assisted staff with preparing and presenting nominations. Members of the Design Award Team for 2017 include:
• John Beystehner, J & M Architects, Historic Preservation Board member
• Kris Belter, AIA, Intergroup Architects
• Peter M. Cudlip, Principal, Alberta Development Partners
• Charles Fletcher III, Planning Commission Member
• Shawn Temple, Managing Director P3 Advisors
• Bill Detweiler, Director, Development Services
• Tara Vargish, Assistant Director, Development Services Assistant Director
• Denise Hendricks, Development Services Administrative Supervisor
The Design Award Team met to review past award winners and spent time visiting properties throughout Town prior to creating a list of nominees. Recognizing that a diversity of design exists within our community and that numerous buildings and sites deserve recognition, the team decided on the following award categories:
1. Large Commercial
2. Small Commercial
3. Community Character
4. Town Identity
5. Adaptive Reuse
6. Public Facility
The Design Team toured the Town to identify potential nominees for the Design Award program and selected the following projects for consideration:
o 24 Hour Fitness
o Bank of America
o Brooklyn Vet Clinic
o Castle Café
o Festival Park
o Gabions at Promenade
o Highlands Apartments
o King Soopers Market Place
o Limelight Healthcare Center
o Mercantile Building
o Promenade
o Renaissance Secondary School
o Sam’s Club
o The Urban Downtown
o The Meadows Carriage Houses
o The Venue
o Town Hall Expansion
o Taft House
o Verizon Building at Promenade
o Z’Abbracci Restaurant
The criteria used to evaluate and decide upon a list of recommended nominations and award winners included:
1) Design that is consistent with the Town goal for preserving Castle Rock’s character, history, and heritage;
2) Design characteristics that are unusual, unique, and separate the project from others in the community.
Design Team Recommendations
The team carefully reviewed each nomination before deciding upon a list of recommended nominees for the Design Awards. The high quality of nominations challenged the team to decide upon each category winner. After careful review, the Design Award Team and Planning Commission recommend the following nominations be recipients of the 2017 Town of Castle Rock Design Award program.
o Category #1: Large Commercial
24 Hour Fitness
The Promenade Project is more than 60% complete and progressing ahead of schedule. Initial development includes a variety of retail uses and restaurants adjacent to Meadows Boulevard, commercial retail phases on the north end of the property adjacent to Castle Rock Parkway and large box retail uses Sam’s Club and King Soopers along the I-25 and Santa Fe corridors.
The design team found the 24 Hour Fitness façade incorporates design elements consistent with the Promenade “Mountain to Prairie” architectural and landscape material theme in a highly visible location on the Santa Fe corridor. The variety of building materials, building orientation and site location provides visitors and passersby with a strong architectural introduction to the Promenade project. This business is highly visible from many areas of the site and provides a standard for future large scale commercial projects in our community.
o Category #2: Small Commercial
Brooklyn Veterinary Clinic
The veterinary clinic is located at the southern gateway to the Meadows Commercial Center. The property was vacant for many years and is located in a triangle shaped site that is adjacent to the railroad tracks and Prairie Hawk Drive frontage making site access and building orientation a challenge. The site appears to be floating due to its proximity to undeveloped land to the south and adjacency to the large Plum Creek passive open space area.
The design team found the building consists of architectural details and materials that create interest and provide an entrance theme to the Meadows commercial center. The building incorporates exterior and interior design elements to orient visitors towards Prairie Hawk while providing a buffer for the clinic and animal holding areas adjacent to the railroad tracks and open space. The building sets the standard for future veterinary structures and building orientation on a difficult and highly visible site.
o Category #3: Community Character
Festival Park
Festival Park creates an urban park setting in Downtown Castle Rock. The park provides a variety of conversation pods oriented towards active and passive recreation opportunities. The previously underutilized site includes a covered pavilion / stage area, splash pad, common lawn area, fire pit, seating and wall features and use of natural stone to invite interaction with Sellars Creek year-round. Bridge crossings and pedestrian paths connect to the regional trails systems throughout Town. The $7 million dollar project adds to the pedestrian orientation downtown and links Wilcox and Perry Streets through paved access and a variety of special events and activities including the main gathering area for Starlighting.
The design team found Festival Park enhances community interest in the downtown experience. Site orientation, a variety of passive and active play areas, use of native materials, and use of paving and seating areas to guide visitors through the site results in a park recognized as the central hub for residents and visitors of our community. A majority of parks in Castle Rock provide a regional or suburban park experience. Festival Park provides a transition from suburban to urban development and a centerpiece for downtown. The site, similar to the changing seasons, will continue to acclimate as landscape material matures and park usage grows.
o Category #4: Town Identity
Promenade Gabions & Landscaping
Transportation design impacts aesthetic values and community character. The roundabouts installed at Promenade provided an opportunity to draw interest to the site and add to the “Mountain to Prairie” theme. The design team used rhyolite stone inside the gabions to underscore the Town’s history and heritage of rhyolite mining. Use of art and sculpture can assist with reducing the repetitive nature of auto oriented commercial projects and use of roundabouts aids with controlling traffic speed and increases safety at intersections.
The design team found the roundabout and artistic gabions, combined and a variety of landscape material in Promenade rights-of-way roundabouts, provides relief and enhances the visitor experience. The uniqueness and visibility of gabions in the public way introduces an element to emphasize the design themes currently under construction in Promenade. These improvements provide guidance to future large scale developments in Castle Rock.
o Category #5: Adaptive Reuse
The Urban
Creative upgrades to existing structures is very challenging considering remodels are often more difficult than working with a blank canvas. The eclectic architectural nature of Downtown Castle Rock brings interest to visitors and, with an open mind and appropriate investment strategy, creates new and exciting substitutions for structures that need to be refreshed.
The design team found Urban excels in creating interest to an existing structure without removing the underlying character of the façade or site. Landscape and signage improvements, along with minor upgrades to the building façade, refreshes and adds excitement to an existing facility in downtown. The project is highly visible from Perry and Third Streets and provides a guiding light to future investors on how making minor adjustments to existing structures augments the downtown experience.
o Category #6: Public Facility
Renaissance Secondary School
School design continues to evolve as research identifies examples of how site and building design impact education. The school is located adjacent to a Town Park with good vehicle and pedestrian access. Exterior and interior design elements represent the latest thinking for a safe and creative learning environment. Although this project is highly visible from the surrounding community and public way, the school feels comfortable in its surroundings and provides an outstanding environment for learning and social interaction.
The design team found the Renaissance Secondary School represents a forward thinking attitude towards youth education and building design. Site orientation, use of outdoor space and building materials allows the school to blend in with its surrounding variety of land uses.
Next Steps
If Council votes to accept the nominations included in the staff report, staff will inform the award winners and ask them to be present when the Design Award Team provides an overview to Council and the Mayor presents the individual award winners with a plaque and picture at the next available Council meeting.
Proposed Motion
“I move to accept the 2017 Design Award nominations as recommended by the Design Award Team and Planning Commission, and direct staff to contact the nominees so Council can present the Design Award at the next available Council meeting.
Further, I wish to acknowledge and congratulate all nominees listed in the staff report for contributing to the community character of Castle Rock.