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REDTAIL RIDGE - Déjà Vu All Over Again
REDTAIL RIDGE - Déjà Vu All Over Again
May 6, 2021
--by Chris Wheeler, a Louisville-based photojournalist and documentary producer
--by Chris Wheeler, a Louisville-based photojournalist and documentary producer
Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame baseball player and master of malapropisms, supposedly coined the phrase: “Déjà vu all over again.”
Yogi could have been describing the ongoing debate over Redtail Ridge, the former StorageTek land in southeast Louisville that is now owned by Denver developer Brue Baukol Capital Partners. A year ago, Brue Baukol planned to transform the 389 acres of prized real estate along U.S. 36 into a commercial and residential complex that was to be anchored by Medtronic, the Fortune 500 medical device maker. However, Brue Baukol ran into a groundswell of resistance from Louisville residents who passionately opposed Redtail Ridge. Last October, Medtronic pulled out for less green pastures in Lafayette, and the bucolic lands in southeast Boulder County appeared safe from the bulldozer. But in a new twist, Brue Baukol announced last December that they had purchased the Redtail Ridge lands from oil titan ConocoPhillips. Now, a year later, the City of Louisville is again evaluating a proposal by Brue Baukol to develop Redtail Ridge. It's déjà vu all over again, a fight pitting powerful corporate interests versus a determined local citizenry.
Redtail Ridge 2.0 should concern every resident of the metro area who understands and appreciates the values of open space. Since the 1970s, Louisville’s city leaders have fought hard to preserve the designated lands that today encircle the historic mining town southeast of Boulder. But the times they are a changin’. Brue Baukol, which is supported by wealthy corporate investors, has demonstrated it will be relentless in its pursuit to transform undeveloped land into a 389-acre office and industrial park --- one that is surrounded by asphalt.
In their new proposal, Brue Baukol has made some concessions, which at first glance seems reasonable. The Denver developer is slashing building density from 5.8 million square feet to 3.1 (not including parking lots). The proposal is now consistent with Louisville’s Comprehensive Plan. So what’s the problem? Open space – or lack of it.
Brue Baukol is promising 59.3 acres of public land dedication. Just thirty-nine acres are targeted as open space. Despite less density, the footprint of Redtail Ridge remains stunningly the same. And that’s what concerns many. “They are going to destroy a historic wildlife habitat,” says Stephanie Rowe of Louisville Wildlife Advocates.” It’s horrible, hideous sprawl.”
Storm Clouds over the Site, May 2021
Louisville Wildlife Advocates is not alone in their concern about Redtail Ridge. In March, Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting issued a critical review of Brue Baukol’s new proposal, stating: “…central concerns remain, particularly the proposed development’s scale and the applicant not fully addressing the associated regional impacts on housing, traffic and the environment.”
The plan for Redtail Ridge is emblematic of the unchecked, unrelenting growth that has sprawled across the Denver/Boulder metro area the past 25 years. The Redtail Ridge land was first approved for commercial development by the City of Louisville in 1978. In 2009, at the request of then-owner ConocoPhillips, the City rezoned it to a Planned Community Zone District – Commercial (PCZD-C).
Much has changed in our world since these designations. For the past decade, nature has been reclaiming the current Redtail Ridge land. Foxes and coyotes search for prey. Native plants are once again emerging. Prairie dogs, a keystone species, scurry about. Bald eagles, and yes, “redtailed” hawks, soar overhead and nest in the trees. Brue Baukol may hold legal title to the Redtail Ridge lands, but try telling that to the plants and animals who inhabit this place.
There are other larger questions that need to be asked. In our post COVID-19 world, will companies rethink office space needs? Does our town really need a 20+year construction project that will produce more concrete, more steel, more asphalt, and more pollution? Why does new development always seem to come with destruction of the environment? And what happens if Redtail Ridge is built, then fails? Residents of Louisville need look no further than to the suburban blight along McCaslin Boulevard to realize that the lofty promises of developers do not always come to fruition. Finally, will the new office space at Redtail Ridge lure Louisville businesses to vacate their current spaces, robbing Peter to pay Brue Baukol?
Yogi Berra also said: “When there is a fork in the road, take it.” On Thursday, May 13, the Louisville Planning Commission will face such a fork as they discuss the Brue Baukol proposal. The Planning Commission has the authority to demand that the developer set aside more open space at Redtail Ridge. Will they use it? If so, how many acres will the Planning Commission ask for? And what will Brue Baukol demand in return? Likely, the developer will promise more open space IF the City of Louisville grants a waiver to raise the height of the new buildings at Redtail Ridge. Currently, the City caps height at three stories.
The stakes are high and so are the risks for the City of Louisville. How the Planning Commission responds to Brue Baukol’s proposal will likely set the tone for an eventual Yea or Nay vote by City Council. Open space is in the DNA of Louisville residents, and they will fight fiercely to protect it from Brue Baukol’s armada of steamrollers. The Denver developer may have a treasure chest of financial resources to lobby the City of Louisville and its citizens, but the people of Louisville have something Brue Baukol lacks. They have the power of “home.”
In the ongoing debate, the wise words of Yogi Berra seem to hang over the city: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
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