COS City Council approves new downtown development; neighbors worried it will price them out
Michael Logerwell
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A large group, all wearing blue shirts, filled most of the chairs in the Colorado Springs City Council Chambers on Tuesday. Their big ask was a majority ‘no’ vote on a project that the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority says would improve their neighborhood.
“Our job is to cure blight and to bring in projects all over the city,” Jeriah Walker, executive director of the URA, told KRDO13 after the council voted to approve and create the Moreno and Cascade Urban Renewal District.
Phase 1 of the project will build a 7-story hold called Catbird off Moreno Street, where an abandoned property sites now, but it’s phase two that has Walker really excited. That phase aims to build between 75 and 115 attainable housing units.
“We’re hoping it builds in more affordability in the Mill Street [Neighborhood] and actually acts to not displace people,” he said.
So then why is the neighborhood group against it?
“We thought that they should have to provide some benefits to the neighborhood, especially because a luxury hotel on the board of a working-class neighborhood pushes up prices and has the potential to force people out of the neighborhood,” said Max Kronstadt, a resident of the neighborhood who showed up wearing a blue ‘Mill Street’ shirt.
Even when talking about the attainable housing units, the neighbors aren’t sold.
“We don’t feel there’s any guarantees of [the units being affordable]. They’ve been using the word attainable. It feels pretty unclear what they mean when they say attainable versus affordable,” Kronstadt said. “Jariah seemed to suggest that attainable means above 80% of AMI, above 80% of AMI is not something that’s affordable to people in our neighborhood.”
“[URA is] hoping that this is a good thing, you know, for the community. But I sympathize with them. I think, you know, it is scary times where you have rising rents, etc., that’s exactly why the URA approved this project was to build in more affordability into that neighborhood,” Walker said.
KRDO13 reached out to Norwood Development, the group that will be building the hotel and housing, about the city council’s vote today. Also, to address some of the Mill Street Neighbors’ concerns. They responded with the following statement:
“Norwood appreciates City Council’s approval of the Moreno and Cascade Urban Renewal Plan and supports the neighborhood’s right to passionately participate in today’s meeting.
The Catbird Hotel will be an excellent addition to downtown and a good neighbor to the residents of Mill Street. Phase II of the plan includes approximately 75–110 new attainable housing units. As Phase II advances, we will refine key project components such as the household incomes served, exact unit count and mix, and available funding mechanisms to support long-term affordability.
Todays meeting proves that public dialogue, discourse and disagreement can be both difficult and productive. We look forward to meeting with the residents of Mill Street as Phase II planning advances.”