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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / SEPTEMBER 2016
/ Belleview Station: The Community of Tomorrow Takes Shape Today /
redevelopment, Civitas is no stranger to reshaping and giving form to en-
vironments, often drawing upon the history of the place to inform its
future. Belleview Station, set in the traditionally suburban patterns of the
surrounding tech center, is different in that it subverts this auto-centric
history. Instead, with an emphasis on vitality and walkability, the master-
plan – as specified in the GDP – is laid out on a grid of short blocks with
a hierarchy of interconnected streets and public spaces and an efficient
vertical and horizontal mix of uses. To relate to the tech center’s midrise
scale, higher-density developments, including a hotel, are planned near
the light-rail station adjacent to the I-25 corridor. Building heights step
down to the west to optimize light and views.
At Belleview Station’s core is Newport Street, a pedestrian-friendly “Main
Street” that links to Layton Avenue and the light-rail platform. Drawing on
its experience re-casting historic Larimer Street into one of Denver’s most
vibrant “people places,” we applied many of those same street-activating de-
sign principles along Newport, including active storefronts, wide sidewalks
to accommodate outdoor cafés, a leafy canopy of street trees, pedestrian
lights and a selection of site furnishings and building materials that are
calibrated for human scale and experience.
With a complete open space master plan in place outlining approaches
for lively streetscapes and public spaces, Belleview Station is on track to
become a dynamic mixed-use center and destination for shopping, enter-
tainment and high-density living with direct access to transit. A harbinger
of Denver’s transit-based evolution, Civitas’ carefully planned TOD at Bel-
leview Station – one of more than a half-dozen TODs the firm is involved
with around the metro area and in other parts of the U.S. – will set the stage
for a true urban pedestrian environment with a renewed sense of place.
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OPENING ART:
Civitas
The street level is activated with
retail and restaurants that appeal not
only residents and office tenants, but
also the neighboring community.
ABOVE:
The rendering depicts the overall
plan for the One Belleview
Station community developing
in the Denver Tech Center.
Master Plan by Civitas. Architectural
implementation drawings in
collaboration with ZGF Architects.
