Louisville to develop urban renewal plan for former Sam’s Club site

LOUISVILLE — The city of Louisville is getting involved in the revitalization of the 13.2-acre site at 550 McCaslin Blvd. that was vacated by Sam’s Club in 2010, and has been used sparingly since.

The city council Tuesday night voted 5-2 to have the city’s staff develop an urban renewal plan for the site that consists of a 127,000-square-foot building and a 600-space parking lot.

Colorado law gives cities the right to form urban renewal authorities that can use public money to eliminate blight and help develop properties, providing an array of options, including incentives to developers, among other things.

Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club’s parent company, sold the property in 2014 for $3.65 million to Centennial Valley Investment LLC, a group of Boulder and Denver investors, and Seminole Land Holdings Inc., an entity formed by Thomas Garvin of Boulder.

The current owners have been unable to fill the space with a retail tenant, leasing portions of it instead to Ascent Community Church, which uses it on Sundays, and Low Cost Office Furniture, a small business run by Garvin’s son, Travis Garvin, which leases warehouse space from time to time.

Councilwoman Ashley Stolzmann said on Wednesday that the city is creating the plan at the request of the property owners who addressed the council previously.

Thomas Garvin did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Colorado law requires that property must meet at least four of 11 blight factors before a municipality can create an urban renewal area.

Last year, Louisville hired Urban Revitalization Consulting to conduct a conditions survey, and the consultants identified four blight factors — faulty layout, deterioration of site, title conditions making the property unmarketable and underutilization. The city council in October passed a resolution that deemed the property as blighted.

The city believes the plan can be prepared internally for a cost of $5,000 with assistance from Malcolm Murray, a Denver-based attorney who specializes in urban renewal law. If the council wants an outside consultant to prepare the plan, the city’s staff estimates the cost could be as much as $30,000.

Once the urban renewal plan is developed, it will be subject to public hearings and council approval.

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