New Dorm(s) Planned for School of Mines

First, Foothills Art Center tells me that they have discontinued Toddler Tuesday, so if you were thinking of going there this morning, don’t.

Second, though the City website showed a Historic Preservation Board meeting last night, they didn’t have one. They’re showing a Mobility and Transportation Advisory Board meeting tonight at 6PM, but they have not posted an agenda, so I’m guessing that one won’t take place either.

I’m more confident that there will be a Planning Commission meeting tomorrow night at 6:30 in City Council Chambers. They will consider two special use permits for people wanting to have Tourist Home status. City Council recently put a moratorium on new Tourist Homes, but these two had already applied, so the city is letting them complete the process. The two homes are at 1107 11th Street and 154 Washington Avenue.

The major topic for the night will be a request by the School of Mines for a change in zoning and approval of a development plan for a new Residence Hall between 18th and 19th Streets/Elm and Illinois Streets. The current R-3 zoning restricts building height to 50 feet; thus, the request for rezoning. The new building is designed to be five stories and 64 feet high. Rooftop devices such as chimneys, ventilators, or solar panels may add up to 5 feet more.

The new building, which will include 416 rooms, will replace the parking lot west of the Starzer Welcome Center, resulting in the loss of 70 parking spaces. According to the Golden Municipal Code, 416 rooms require 139 parking spaces. The School says that the campus will have an adequate number of spaces when including the planned new parking garage on 14th Street.

For more information about the cases to be discussed at the Wednesday night Planning Commission meeting, see their meeting packet.

The School has plans for still more new residence halls, including one on the vacant lot across from Safeway, at 18th and Jackson.   They are hosting a neighborhood meeting to gather public input on their Master Plan from 5:30-7PM this Thursday, March 8th, at the Starzer Welcome Center – 1812 Illinois Street (map).

The Colorado School of Mines is developing a new master plan in conjunction with the MINES@150 plan. Mines will hold the first of three neighborhood meetings over the next several months, to gather public input for the master plan. Enter on the north side of the building from 18 th St. Upon entering, the meeting room is to the right. Parking is located in lot E on the west side of the building. Parking is free after 5 p.m.