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Lowry Range proposal falls apart

Plans for 30-year development dry up over water

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 10, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Cattle graze in front of an abandoned missile silo at the former Lowry Bombing Range. Plans for a 3,800-acre development on the parcel have been terminated.

Photo by Ken Papaleo / The Rocky/2004

Cattle graze in front of an abandoned missile silo at the former Lowry Bombing Range. Plans for a 3,800-acre development on the parcel have been terminated.

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Lend Lease Communities LLC announced Friday that it has terminated its agreement with the Colorado State Land Board to develop the Lowry Range in Arapahoe County into what could have been one of the largest sustainable communities moving forward in the U.S.

Plans for the 30-year, multibillion-dollar project collapsed because Lend Lease said it was unable to secure a sustainable and economical source of water for the proposed 3,800-acre development north of Quincy Avenue.

The Colorado State Land Board manages 3 million acres of land and 4 million acres of mineral rights for the benefit of eight trusts, including the Colorado School Trust. The school trust was projected to receive $334 million in revenues from the project.

"That is $334 million that has just evaporated," said Chris Waggett, president of Denver-based Lend Lease Communities, a subsidiary of an Australian development and construction giant.

Lend Lease informed the land board Oct. 16 that it would terminate its agreement if it could not acquire the necessary water by Dec. 31. Waggett said he extended the time period but said it became "blatantly obvious" Thursday afternoon that it would not be able to reach a solution for the water needs.

"Water is a critical issue," Waggett said. "We understand that it is nearly the biggest issue in the West. We hired the best and brightest experts, and water because the ultimate stumbling block."

Under the contract, the land board will have to reimburse Lend Lease for millions of dollars in expenses it has incurred since 2006, although the final numbers are still being calculated, Waggett said.

The plan called for 13,000 energy-efficient residential units, 105 acres of commercial and retail space, and 1,100 acres of parks, open space and trails adjacent to 17,000 acres of open space.

"The land board is disappointed that Lend Lease has made a business decision to not proceed with this project," John Brejcha, acting director of the board, said in a statement released Friday afternoon.

"The board was very impressed with Lend Lease's innovative and sustainable approach to the proposed development at the Lowry Range," he added.

He said the land remains a "tremendous asset" and he is confident that the "core strategy . . . an innovative marriage of conservation, development, and potential water storage projects, will ultimately come to fruition."

He said the slowing U.S. economy and falling home prices in the Denver area could have played a role in Lend Lease's decision.

But Wagett said the board "knows perfectly well," that current economic conditions had nothing to do with its decision, because it was a long-term project "that will go through two or three cycles," before being completed.

The bombing range redevelopment project was a priority for the land board under the administration of former Gov. Bill Owens. The board approved the project weeks before Owens left office.

Environmental groups criticized the project for its distance from the urban core, saying it would add to suburban sprawl, put more commuters on the road and didn't have proven water supplies.

Pam Kiely, of Environment Colorado, on Friday described the plan as "state-sponsored dumb growth," adding "this is an exciting opportunity for the state to reverse direction" at the site.

Waggett said that while some environmental groups weren't keen on developing the land, they did recognize Lend Lease's commitment to sustainability. And he said groups should be applauding it for not going forward without a sustainable water supply.

If it had continued with its plan, Lend Lease would have collaborated with environmental groups, much like it did with Greenpeace in Australia for the Olympics, he said.

"But it's all academic at this point," Waggett said.

Staff writer Todd Hartman contributed to this report.

Comments

  • January 10, 2009

    10:29 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    prk166 writes:

    Dumb growth? I can think of nothing more "dumb" than the urban growth boundary that Environment Colorado endorses. It artificially restricts the availability of housing which drives up prices (e.g. an economist recently found that housing in Seattle was 45% higher because of the UGB). This affects the poor and working class the most. It doesn't help the middle class out, either. Ironically it contributes to sprawl, too. Higher prices give people even more incentive to live even further out to find reasonable housing that they can afford.

  • January 11, 2009

    10:31 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    WarrenJimmyBuffett writes:

    I find this shocking. Just shocking. Another project not going forward in these glorious economic times.

  • January 12, 2009

    7:38 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    delnorteknight writes:

    PFK166: I believe you are talking about Portland, not Seattle, where UGB's were initally about preservation of open space and agricultural land. The Northwest does not have water availability problems we have. It is a good thing that a major sprawl developer recognizes our obvious problem. Abandoning this project is proof that the old maxim of "drive till you qualify" no longer applies to Front Range development, and underscores the intelligence of redensifying our existing cities and redeveloping the resources we have. The real challenge is to provide housing that is affordable and close to employment centers. This is acomplished not by subsidy, but by redefining that which we value; led first by an acknowledgment that green suburban lawns are a luxury we can no longer afford.

    The writing is on the wall: Sprawl is dead.

  • January 13, 2009

    12:45 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Wxdano writes:

    prk166:

    We've discussed the false premises in your comment before and why they are false. You've been shown why the UW study was wrong. There are many more factors to housing prices than just supply, and you know it. Or rather, you choose not to know it.

    DS