Eugene Keyser, Paul Burns, Mimi Roberson, Charles Brantigan, Doug Zehner, Paul Bennington, Elizabeth Whitehead, All Davis, Rick Wells, Bethany Gravell and Michael Henry.

The meeting was called to order to 5:30 pm. The minutes were read and approved as written.

• The next Chairman of the Hospital District Urban Design Forum will be elected at the next meeting.
• Matt Keelin has resigned from The Children’s Hospital. The initial thought was that The Children’s Hospital would be represented by Cherokee Partners, but I have asked that The Children’s Hospital continue to send a representative as long as they are part of the neighborhood. Elizabeth Whitehead is their designated person.
• CHUN has agreed to hold the agreement negotiated between the various neighborhood organizations and Fine and Associates. A copy of this development agreement has, apparently, been provided to Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Mimi Roberson, the CEO of Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, presented the plans for the expansion of the hospital into the site of the old Park Manor. She met with Chris Gleissner the day before the meeting. The expansion has been approved at the highest levels of the HCA Health ONE system. Mrs. Roberson presented a schematic diagram which has addressed many of the concerns, both of the medical staff and the neighborhood. The schematic is attached to the minutes. Some of the salient features include:

• The entrance to the Emergency Room will be moved from 21^st to 19^th, minimizing the traffic impacts on the neighborhood.
• The driveway if offset from 20^th Avenue to protect it from becoming anything more than a residential street.
• The huge parking structure originally proposed has been modified so that the current parking structure at the corner of 21^st and High Street will remain, and the PPE parking structure will be expanded.
• The waivers and conditions on the property will be respected.

Salient features of the project include a medical office building and ambulatory surgery center of 4-5 stories, relocation of the Emergency Room, The Children’s Hospital addition of 4-5 stories. The parking needs were modified by a parking study. The planned building group process has been initiated. Parking will remain complimentary.

Al Davis discussed the parking issues at St. Joseph Hospital. The plan is that parking in the new parking structure will be free to St. Joseph Hospital’s employees beginning on July 1 and they will possibly be free to patients. St. Joseph Hospital is going to exercise its option to buy the rest of the Med Park facility from The Children’s Hospital, and when that happens, there is a good chance that parking for everyone will be free. The members of the Forum applaud this change in policy, as St. Joseph Hospital has now echoed the business decisions made by Kaiser and by Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center that free parking is best for all.

It appears that the scaffolding can be removed from the St. Joseph Hospital Bridge without cutting off Lafayette Street and all are in favor of that. There is no public information available about who is going to occupy the various floors of the new medical office building.

The Chairman expressed some concern about the information in the newspapers that St. Joseph Hospital is cutting staff, and the seemingly apocalyptic letter sent by the CEO to the medical staff suggesting the steps that were being taken to restore St. Joseph Hospital to financial profitability. Mr. Davis assured the group that these operational issues will not affect St. Joseph Hospital’s strategic land use planning.

Rick Wells reports that the site west of Ogden is under contract with Trammell Crowe Residential (to be differentiated from Trammell Crowe Commercial). J.G. Johnson Architects are now involved in the due diligence process. They have been given criteria by Cherokee, and within two weeks there will be some idea of their plans. They are thinking that RMU-30 zoning would be appropriate, and they are working on restrictions, height limitations, and setbacks, using information that has been provided by the neighborhood organizations. Rick Wells would like to have Trammell Crowe Residential present at the next Forum meeting, and at that point, dialog can be held between the San Rafael Neighborhood and the developers. Mr. Wells will provide contact information and will invite Trammell Crowe to the next Forum meeting.

The work is continuing to get signatures for the fee waiver. They are 494 property owners in the in the affected area, of which 267 have signed up for a total of 47% of the land. The plan is to resubmit after 51% has been obtained. As far as is known, there is no significant objection. It is just a question of being able to get the land owners when they are at home.

Mike Henry reports that the Coalition for the Homeless has closed on a 0.5 acre tract at Colfax and Pearl and is continuing to plan to build a 100 unit facility for recently homeless. Senior Support Services apparently is also considering a similar unit at Logan and Colfax. With the turmoil and shuffling of the Colfax Business Improvement District, Jim Hannafin appears to be the person in charge, and he seems enthusiastic to create this concentration of low income housing. It is unknown, at present, how his constituents feel about this issue.

Historic Denver has sent a notification about a bill before City Council to allow historically designated buildings to be reused without requiring additional parking to what is already available. The Forum does not have all the details about this proposal, but is more enthusiastic about considering properties on an individual basis rather than granting immunity from parking requirements.

Chris Gleissner reports, in absentia, that the agenda for the Blueprint Denver Committee is full, and as yet, he has not managed to get the Urban Design Plan scheduled with that committee. He will keep us posted.

There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned.

Charles O. Brantigan, MD, FACS

Chairman, Hospital District Urban Design Forum

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