McWhinney withdraws application for Centerra West

LOVELAND — Faced with strident opposition from neighbors and a Loveland Planning Commission that resisted making changes to the city’s comprehensive plan, McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. has withdrawn its application for annexation and high-density zoning of a 52-acre parcel on the shores of Boyd Lake that it called Centerra West.

The Loveland-based developer in late July had requested that the tract be zoned as a planned-unit development to allow a mix of commercial and residential uses, as well as a comprehensive-plan amendment to allow medium- and high-density land uses. Its general idea was to build a mix of single-family homes, multi-family structures and apartments for a total of 650 units.

It had requested low- to medium-density residential zoning on the northern portion of the tract — along Boyd Lake Avenue between Frank Road and the Greeley Loveland canal — and high-density residential zoning for the southern portion.

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Although Loveland’s development-review staff supported McWhinney’s plan, the city’s planning commission rejected it on Aug. 21 after hearing two hours of negative comments from neighbors of the proposed development – including some who live in two nearby subdivisions that had been developed by McWhinney.

A general traffic study commissioned by McWhinney found that the development could generate an additional 44,700 vehicle trips per day on nearby Eisenhower Boulevard (U.S. 34) as well as up to 4,000 more on Boyd Lake Avenue and 500 more on Frank Road. That fueled neighbors’ concerns about the safety of students attending High Plains K-8 School, just across Boyd Lake Avenue at 4255 Buffalo Mountain Drive, which will hold a grand opening Tuesday for its expansion project.

“We were founded in this community, and we take our responsibility of developing here very seriously,” said Kyle Harris, McWhinney’s senior vice president for community development, in an email to BizWest on Wednesday afternoon. “We will continue the thoughtful, engaging, environmentally friendly designs that have been the hallmarks of other McWhinney projects in Loveland. We also acknowledge the feedback we received from our immediate adjacent neighbors and are taking the time to carefully consider the best path forward.”