Black Label Real Estate | Your Urban Insider
by Chris Coble, Developer
I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of RTD during the T-REX years and before FasTracks came online. RTD was a different agency back then, an agency struggling through TOD (for those that don’t know TOD stands for Transit Oriented Development). We worked terribly hard to expand the recognition of TOD in the Denver metro area both with the private sector and public sector. I had some wonderful opportunities to meet and talk to nearly every municipal jurisdiction within the District and learn about their excitement (or in some cases – lack thereof) for TOD and what it meant for their area. I also had a unique opportunity to meet many of the more experienced and capable development companies in town and explore what TOD meant to them. Finally, I had the amazing chance to walk every planned station in FasTracks (meaning I drove to each planned station area and got out and walked around), not too many people have been able to do this from a TOD perspective. Combined with my TOD consultant work both inside and outside the state of Colorado, I consequently have developed somewhat of a unique perspective about TOD feasibility. I continue to enjoy assisting clients in this regard.
RTD’s highly anticipated West Corridor will introduce rail service to West Denver, Lakewood and Jefferson County. The corridor opens opportunity for employees to access downtown and the Denver Tech Center much easier. It is a critical element of the future of movement fluidity between jobs and homes for the metro area. In addition, the corridor is anticipated to bring private investment to parts of the metro area that in many ways have not shared in the economic upside of currently rail-served places in town.
Look for my editorial posts about the West Corridor stations and their TOD potential. This is an opinion-based blog and the market may or may not react as I envision, but I offer my observations for you to consider.
Source: http://blacklabelre.wordpress.com/