In attendance were: Eugene Keyser, Brian Cohen, Al Davis, Dave Walstrom, Joe Pepper, Dave Webster, Carla Madison, Lynn Moore, Randal Forkum (dp?), Steve LeMoine, Hugh Tappan, Bethany Giravell, Jim Wiseman, Charles Brantigan and Ted Freedman.

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and amended. The fist set of amendments were sent out by email and incorporated. The second amendment was to note that Dave Walstrom was present at the meeting.

Dave Walstrom stated that the map amendment for main street zoning in the Colfax Corridor from Broadway to Colorado Blvd. has been approved. It is one of the largest rezonings in the City, if not the largest. There was a discussion about the positive impacts that that rezoning will have on the surrounding neighborhood.

Lynn Moore presented for Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and described the latest iteration of their proposed project. It will include a four story children’s hospital, a six story parking garage with one level underground, and a medical office building/ambulatory surgery center. Current plans call for the parking structure to be at the corner of 21^st and High Street, with the hospital behind that abutting the current hospital, and the ambulatory surgery center/MOB on the corner of 19^th and High Street. There will be a driveway beginning at 20^th and extending into the campus coming back out on 19^th so that the front door of the children’s hospital will face 19^th Avenue. The distance between stories is different in a parking structure and the hospital so the parking structure will not necessarily hide the entire children’s development.

The planned development takes into account the waivers concerning bulk planes and setbacks on High Street and 21^st. It respects many of the current curb cuts. The parking structure will be developed in a way that is attractive to the neighborhood with appropriate historic lighting. There was discussion concerning light pollution created by a parking structure recently built as part of the East Village development. It was compared to the Kaiser Parking structure which is a bit more user friendly. Light pollution, cosmetic appearance and pedestrian friendliness will be considered in designing the structure.

The project will necessitate a PBG as well as the special review process before the Planning Board and that is being planned for as the project is being designed.

In terms of a timeline, asbestos abatement is being conducted currently in the buildings that are going to be demolished. It is anticipated that in June of this year the buildings will come down and construction is expected early next week.

Traffic planning for the site is incomplete. Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center makes the commitment to the neighborhood and the Forum that appropriate traffic studies will be carried out in conjunction with the Forum and with the other medical institutions, traffic planning for the new project will become a priority.

Both of these projects have been reworked since they were last discussed at the Forum. The original plans to redo the 18^th facing part of St. Joseph Hospital to include the Children’s Emergency Room, Children’s inpatient beds and relocating entrances and loading docks has been abandoned as being too expensive. There has been an agreement with the Children’s Hospital to move its facility into the new "Franklin Pavilion". As currently planned, the first floor of this facility would include 12 Emergency Room bays. The Children’s Emergency Room, therefore, would be in a different location than the main Emergency Room. There would also be 12 inpatient beds on the 4^th floor. The Emergency Room would use the facilities of the Imaging Center to be built on the first floor. The second floor of the building would be used for possibly an ambulatory surgery center and the rest of the building for office space.

Entrance to the Emergency Room would be the same as the original planned entrance. Cars would enter off Franklin Street and drive through the building/parking structure with a drop off within the building. There would be an ambulance entrance on Gilpin and it would be basically the same access point that had been planned previously. Discussing the traffic aspects of this problem, it has been pointed out that while there is no hard data, Emergency Room traffic should be less than office based traffic. It is not anticipated that the ambulance traffic would be very intense because most of the critically ill patients would be diverted directly to Children’s.

It seemed clear that the creation of a new emergency vehicle access point triggers a special review provision in the hospital zoning. The question was asked about whether the special review process had been triggered already by the new building, and the answer is, apparently, no. It appears that there was an administrative exception made to the requirement for review for a new principal access point because of the careful planning that had gone into the project. The members of the Forum had no interest in demanding that the special review process be triggered for this new planned emergency entrance.

St. Joseph Hospital is within three weeks of beginning the project on Franklin, and the question has been raised as to what is the best access to the property for construction. Apparently there will be enough concrete poured to create the great Pyramid and that will take 10 months. St. Joseph Hospital would like to close Gilpin Street in the interest of pedestrian and vehicular safety and to provide the best ingress and egress for truck traffic. Apparently Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center would prefer that they close 19^th Avenue. There were summaries given as to the advantages and disadvantages. For Gilpin Street, there are Public Service power lines in the way. The Chairman asked why the lines couldn’t just be buried as part of the project with the idea of making the entire hospital district more attractive. That was announced as an XCEL project problem. The problems of 19^th Avenue have to do with the necessity for shoring of the sides of the parking structure facing 19^th Avenue and Gilpin and the impossibility of cement pumps to reach from 19^th Avenue to 18^th Avenue. If 19^th Avenue were closed, then there would be significant disruptions at the corners of Gilpin and 18^th and Franklin and 18^th while the project was completed.

Various configurations of Gilpin Street were considered including leaving one lane open. Apparently Public Works was opposed to that. Public Works figures that Gilpin is a residential street in spite of the fact that there are no residences there and it has been designated as the principal entrance to Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center is concerned that their principal entry point will be disrupted by the project. On the other hand, closing Gilpin gives sufficient access to the entire site that the whole project could be completed.

This subject was put up for discussion and it looks, to the Chairman, that this presents an impasse. The neighborhood groups didn’t appear particularly concerned one way or another and feel that it is a problem that needs to be discussed by the medical institutions at their meeting tomorrow. Jim Wiseman, the only member of the Forum with experience in such projects, says that he must reluctantly agree with St. Joseph Hospital. Although the project could be done using the 19^th Avenue alternative, closing Gilpin Street makes a lot more sense.

At this point, the Chairman excused himself, having a Brass rehearsal and the Chair was taken over the Dave Walstrom.

Discussion among representatives from the Children’s Hospital, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital about how best to assess and what to do about the Gilpin Street Closure which Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center opposes. At the end of the meeting the people from the above mentioned organizations left the room talking about the issues so it’s fair to assume that we will hear more from them later.

Steve LeMoine of Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center talked about the pediatric expansion, 200,000 square feet, four stores, outpatient clinic, 120,000 square feet, five stores, and five story parking garage.

When asked about the status of the overlay district for San Rafael, Jim Wiseman indicated that this was essentially dormant. He will try to get it up and running again.

Zion Baptist Church at the 2400 block of Emerson is seeking a variance and is going before the Board of Adjustment on June 23. Apparently the issues are fencing, landscaping, water irrigation.

22^nd and Downing Nursing Home update. They are seeking a variance with conditions; curb cut, parking lot issues.

Vacant lot at 22^nd and Emerson will be developed by Jim Wiseman into six three story townhomes.

Ted Freedman reports that Benedict Park and vagrancy problems. The Post interior dog runs are unsafe. Post Properties will be leaving Denver. Development is for sale at a reported $250,000,000.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Charles O. Brantigan, MD, FACS

Chairman, Hospital District Urban Design Forum

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