Aria Denver
DOWNLOADABLE INFO PACKET: ARIA_handout 5.6.10-2
Vision
Aria Denver, the redevelopment of a 25 acre campus in Northwest Denver by Urban Ventures and Perry Rose, will provide a replicable model of environmentally, socially, and economically responsible community development—one that creates a diverse, tight knit community with a sense of place, and that increases residents’ health and the health of our environment. The development embraces the legacy of community improvement and environmental stewardship supported by the land’s previous owners, the Sisters of St. Francis. In this way, Aria Denver draws from its rich past while envisioning the future of what communities can be—connected, inspiring, affordable, diverse places that use resources efficiently and creatively.
The Development Team
The development partners, Urban Ventures and Perry-Rose have a long-held, shared commitment to creating vibrant, socially and environmentally responsible communities. The team will achieve the vision of Aria Denver by integrating social, environmental and economic objectives throughout all aspects of the development, including team member selection, planning, architectural design, construction, marketing and operations. The design team includes award winning architect Michelle Kauffman, known for her green modular homes and distinct contemporary aesthetic, and Denver based firm Oz Architecture, nationally recognized for its commitment to placemaking and enduring design. The team also includes the world renowned, New Urbanist site planning firm Calthorpe Associates, lauded for designing vibrant, dense, walkable urban communities. Working collaboratively, through resourceful land use, placemaking strategies, innovative modular design, and cutting edge green techniques, the development team will design a physical space that supports the project vision.
The Community
The development team will be reaching out to potential residents who want to live green and to be engaged with their neighborhood, in close proximity to downtown Denver and Regis University. It is anticipated that this will be a multi-generational community that appeals to single person households, young couples just starting their careers or attending college, young families and empty nesters, all of who are seeking to live in a neighborhood that reflects sustainable values and creates a strong sense of community. Residents will have tools, resources and programs that facilitate their ability to interconnect and to live green.
Program
Aria will include green compact homes with shared outdoor amenities, close to jobs services and culture, at prices affordable to working families. Residents will enjoy a wide range of housing alternatives, including market rate and affordable for-sale townhomes; live/work lofts, co-housing units and condominiums, as well as for-lease apartments. In addition to the residential uses, the redevelopment will include neighborhood serving retail near the corner of 52nd and Federal. The new retail will be an amenity to Aria residents and to the existing community. This new retail will act as a gateway to the site, and help to provide a buffer between Federal and the residential uses proposed on the interior of the site. It also will serve as a catalyst for revitalization along Federal.
A network of gardens, pocket parks and pathways combined with community programming in the public spaces and in the apartment and condo buildings, will serve as an amenity for the residential uses, promote pedestrian activity and connect the diverse community both physically and socially. Vistas from the neighborhood through the open space corridors to key buildings and features of the site will be designed to create permeability to the existing neighborhood and visual interest.
Green Strategy
Residential uses will conform to Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, and potentially to LEED for Homes. Commercial development will conform to LEED for New Construction. Specific green features may include use of recycled materials, low VOC products, exterior building materials and windows with high insulation values, alternative energy sources, and energy efficient and water conserving appliances. A focal part of the green strategy will be reducing the environmental footprint of each residential unit without sacrificing livability. Lighting and placement strategies will be used to create comfortable, usable spaces in each home, and ample storage will be aesthetically integrated into the design of the home. In addition to these building-specific green measures, overall site development will conform to LEED for Neighborhood Development. Site wide green features will include: roadbeds made from recycled concrete; innovative storm water design; and use of water-conserving native plants.
Summary
Aria Denver represents a fresh embodiment of the 175 year old guiding mission inspiring the Sisters of St. Francis—to help people in realizing a new and better life. We are achieving this by creating a model of economically sustainable and environmentally and socially responsible development, one that integrates and supports the existing neighborhood and serves as a road map to other community-collaborative developers seeking to contribute to and create vibrant, conscious urban communities.
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click on the renderings below to download. Higher resolution versions of these are available – to request, email michelle @ michellekaufmann dot com.
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I am an architecture at UNC Charlotte and I am working on a thesis that is looking at utilizing cohousing to produce more affordable housing. I am trying to use this project’s plan on creating a prefab chousing development in my case study. I am currently looking for more drawings to use to compare to other projects. Any additional information would be useful.
Thanks for your help,
Michelle