A seven-story apartment building is coming to the southwest corner of Cimarron and south Weber streets in Colorado Springs.
The building will have 214 apartments ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom units, with an average of 750 square feet of living space.
The "new south end" of downtown, as the city calls it, has seen significant investment and construction in recent years including bars, restaurants and other apartment buildings. The area is defined in the city's 2016 Experience Downtown Master Plan as Vermijo Street to the north and Cascade to the west.
In a presentation to the Downtown Review Board, Colorado Springs Urban Planning Manager Ryan Tefertiller said the area has also been extremely active with multiple residential projects under construction and significant investment.
"We expect to see more construction begin by the end of 2022," Tefertiller said.
Another apartment complex is currently being built on the opposite corner of the intersection. The five-story, 282-unit site by Greystar Real Estate Partners is set to be completed sometime next year.
The board gave the new project unanimous approval, although Vice Chair David Lord asked about adequate parking and traffic. The design has one parking space per unit, including some for charging electric vehicles. There are no spots allocated for guests or deliveries, or multiple vehicle units. Current city code does not mandate parking for guests and spots can be determined entirely by the number of residential units.
"The hope is that residents and guests will be using transit, micro-mobility and arriving by foot," Teferfiller said.
He also referenced the city's new free shuttle service on Tejon Street and said there is a high likelihood that metered parking will be added to South Weber Street in the future.
Denver-based real estate company Formativ first submitted a proposal for the work in February. The firm is known for developing the RiNo Arts District in Denver. This would be the agency's first project in Colorado Springs.
Sean Campbell, founder and CEO of Formativ, said he sees the area as a great neighborhood starting to fake flight.
"This project will be integrated around the active outdoor downtown lifestyle and the Colorado experience," Campbell said.
The plan includes significant greenery and landscape, including an approach to tree-planting the firm hopes will lead to healthier, longer living street trees.
Tefertiller said building permits for the apartments will likely be pulled in August.
