Cherry Creek North Improvements and Fillmore Plaza

Challenge

Threatened by high on-going maintenance costs, deteriorating infrastructure, tired aesthetics and competition from an adjacent indoor mall that drained retail dollars from the stores and activity from the pedestrian realm, the design team faced the challenge of enlivening this stagnant retail district, with an emphasis on Fillmore Plaza. Not all stakeholders agreed on the design direction for Fillmore Plaza, with some wanting the space reopened to vehicular traffic and others wanting the plaza to remain solely pedestrian. If reopened, the new Fillmore Plaza would need to function both as a two-way street and as a hub capable of hosting large and small events. Another challenge was that retail needed to stay open during construction with access to the stores maintained.

Solution

It was determined that the retail in the district was suffering from lack of access and exposure to shoppers. Through extensive visioning, public outreach, and multiple iterations, the design team was able to come up with a design that appealed to all stakeholders. Fillmore Plaza was redesigned as a hybrid street, open to two-way traffic with retractable stainless steel bollards that could close the street to vehicular traffic for events. The design would increase pedestrian space, enhance amenities, and strengthen the retail environment. All retail shops remained open during construction with a 5-ft pathway accessible to each entrance. Movable signs showed changes to parking and access, and weekly meetings informed retail owners of upcoming alterations.

• Fillmore Plaza was reopened to vehicles as a hybrid two-way street. Retractable stainless steel bollards block vehicular traffic through the Plaza for special events. To accommodate both large and small events, the northern half is curbless, has no on-street parking and provides a relatively level area for functions. The southern half, with a 4” rolled curb section and 10 on-street metered parking spaces, has been designed for larger tents and event staging.
• 21,700 new plants, including 196 new trees were planted in the District. 5 mature red oaks and 2 mature locust trees were preserved and transplanted to other locations in the District.
• A computer-controlled, centralized “smart” irrigation system conserves water by eliminating leaks and water loss, preventing overspray, and more efficiently and accurately measuring of the amount of water needed for optimum plant health.

• A linear trench drain in Fillmore Plaza captures runoff and conveys it to an underground stormwater treatment vault where it is detained and filtered before being released into Denver’s storm sewer system.  The vault, located under Fillmore Street south of 2nd Avenue, can manage runoff from up to a 5-year storm. Any excess will bypass the structure internally and externally (depending on the intensity) and exit the site at other downstream inlets.
• LED lights on 360 new pedestrian light fixtures, 83 banner poles and 21 directories save energy and reduce light pollution. One-bulb, custom light poles improve the quality of the pedestrian environment at night. The mercury-free LED street lamp bulbs are safe for landfills.
• 20 new “Art and Garden Spaces,” which contain signature art features, benches, tables and chairs, create distinct areas throughout the district, enrich the pedestrian experience, and encourage people to relax and linger.
• 40 single-stream recycling receptacles are paired with trash receptacles at intersections to encourage recycling and reduce impact on local landfills.
• 160 pedestrian light poles, 12 benches, 10 trash receptacles, and 2,450 cubit yards of organic materials from the existing street were donated to local communities for reuse.
• Bike racks installed throughout the District make it convenient to navigate by bicycle. Two B-cycle stations were located within the District as part of Denver’s bicycle sharing program.
• More than 53 new street signs, 37 street identification banners, 46 new marketing banners, 17 new parking directory signs, and 21 new free-standing directory map structures enhance navigation and walkability in the District.

• Over half of the spray-irrigated turf grass area was replaced with drip-irrigated, water-wise perennials and shrubs. This reduces annual water consumption for irrigation by 3,376,000 gallons, saving $17,600. The low-water plants are estimated to save an additional $10,000 per year in reduced maintenance costs.

• Since this was a renovation project, there were unforeseen objects under the ground, which created obstacles that altered the final design. Some of the biggest obstacles were the existing tree roots, which required adjustments to the planting and hardscape areas, causing project delays and change orders. The initial goal was to provide hardscape access to all of the new smart meters via an 18”-wide step-out strip behind the curb. However, in some instances the tree roots were in conflict with these strips. After deliberation from different city agencies, preserving the roots took priority, and the strips were removed. This has created additional maintenance due to foot traffic in the turf areas and shrub beds near the parking meters.
• Local skateboarders grew fond of the existing planter walls once they were resurfaced. Subsequently the Business Improvement District chose to install stainless steel ‘blades’ cut into the walls with 3’ on-center spacing. This has seemed to deter widespread damage to the walls.

Plants: Valley Crest Landscape Development
Planting soils: A1 Organics
Structural soil: Silver Crown Landscape Materials 
Clay brick pavers: Endicott Clay Products (Medium Ironspot #46, Dark Ironspot, Manganese)
Concrete unit pavers Type 1: Pavestone
Concrete unit pavers Type 2: Steptone
Colorado Buff Sandstone pavers: Arkins Park
Pedestrian light fixture: Louis Poulsen (Kipp)
LED tree uplights: Allscape
Wall lighting: BK Lighting
LED specialty lighting on Fillmore Plaza shade structure: Acclaim Lighting and Lumascape
Specialty lighting controls: Color Kinetics
Trash receptacles: Landscape Forms
Custom wood benches: Weitz
Wood bench Type 1: Forms + Surfaces (Knight Bench)
Wood bench Type 2: Landscape Forms (Wellspring Bench)
Wood bench Type 3: Streetscapes (Wave Bench)
Wood bench Type 4: Forms + Surfaces (Palisade Bench)
Wood bench Type 5: Tides Design (Love Seat)
Bench lounger Type 1: Fermob (Charivari)
Bench lounger Type 2: Landscape Forms (Chill lounge)
Stainless steel table and chairs: Landscape Forms (NYNY)
Granite steps: Coldspring Granite (Mesabi black)
Specialty planters: Kornegay
Stainless steel bollards: Reliance Foundry
Stainless steel handrails: KL&A
Trench drains: Aco
Area drains: Zurn
Irrigation system controls: Hunter
Irrigation system heads and emitters: Rainbird
Concrete wall restoration: Miracote MPC
Tactical warning devices: Neenah Foundry
Custom wayfinding/signage: Urban Fabrication
Custom Wayfinding/signage paint: Matthews Paint
 

Project Team

Client: Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District
Landscape Architect: Design Workshop, Inc.
Environmental Graphics Consultant: Stantec/CommArts
Civil Engineering Consultant: JVA, Inc.
Structural Engineering Consultants: Martin/Martin, and Monroe and Newell
Lighting Design Consultant: Patrick B. Quigley Associates
Electrical Engineering Consultant: SSG MEP (formerly Scanlon Szynskie Group, Inc.)
Irrigation Consultant: HydroSystems-KDI, Inc.
Traffic Consultant: Fehr and Peers
Horticultural Specialist: Bloomin’ Designs
Program Manager: NV5 (formerly Nolte Associates)
General Contractor: The Weitz Company
Unit Paver and Stone Wall Contractor: Gallegos Corporation
Landscape Contractor: ValleyCrest Landscape Development
Electrical Contractor: Weifield Group
Environmental Graphics Contractor: Urban Fabrication
Surveyor: Engineering Service Company
Geotechnical Testing: Ground Engineering
Concrete Wall Renovation Specialist: Restoration Concrete, Inc.
Concrete Paving Contractor: Clem ‘N’ Sons Concrete
Arborist/Tree Care: Swingle Lawn Tree and Landscape Care
Demolition Contractor: OE Construction Corporation
Traffic Control: Highway Technologies
Major Product Suppliers: Endicott Clay Products, Kornegay, Landscape Forms, Miracote, Neenah Foundry, Pavestone

Role of the Landscape Architect

The landscape architect created guiding principles, designed the site, reviewed the quality of construction, and headed a diverse team of specialists in environmental graphics, transportation planning, civil engineering, lighting design, electrical engineering, structural engineering, and irrigation design. In seeking public involvement and consensus, the design team held monthly meetings with extensive stakeholder input.