HoJo is going to go.
The Wheat Ridge City Council passed Council Bill 24-2021, an ordinance approving the rezoning of property located at 12100 West 44th Avenue from Commercial 1 to Mixed-Use Commercial, unanimously during a Jan. 10 City Council meeting.
The vote clears the way for redevelopment of the Howard Johnson’s Hotel at the address, which Council members described as being problematic in the past.
Current owners of the property spoke during the meeting, describing their plans to turn the existing structure into “workforce housing,” which they say will bridge the gap for people who make too much to qualify for “affordable housing,” but can’t afford the higher fair market rents currently being charged in the city.
Studio apartments in the unit would cost around $1,100 per month, with two-bedroom units going for about $1,500. Stuart Sloat, one of the owners who spoke, said in comparison, studios in nearby Clear Creek Crossing are renting for roughly $1,800 per month.
The property currently has concrete pads where proposed commercial development would be possible. Sloat said there are no solid plans for those spaces yet, but he’s eager to move to that stage of the project once the residential portion of the development is further toward completion.
The Wheat Ridge Planning Committee recommended the rezoning on Nov. 18, 2021, after completing a public hearing and determining the proposed project met necessary criteria for approval.
In other news from the meeting, Community Development Director, Ken Johnstone, spoke about the Lutheran Legacy Campus master plan, and in particular, the strong desire of the public to reuse and retain historical assets like the Blue House, Tucker Tent and Good Samaritan Chapel.
In that spirit, “Resolution 03-2022 recognizing historical assets on the Lutheran Legacy Campus and supporting a good faith effort to preserve, rehabilitate and/or reuse the Blue House, Tucker Tent and the Chapel of the Good Samaritan,” was passed, emphasizing the community’s interest in a non-binding way, to future buyers or developers of the property.
