Fort Collins council approves The Grove

FORT COLLINS – The Fort Collins City Council voted Tuesday to approve a controversial student housing project south of the Colorado State University campus.

The Grove project came before council after members of several homeowners associations in neighborhoods near the proposed site appealed the June decision of the city’s planning and zoning board, which approved both the revised overall development plan and project development plan.

The P&Z board also approved the project when North Carolina-based developer Campus Crest submitted the original plan in July 2010. However, the HOAs appealed the decision and city council ultimately overturned it, citing a violation of land-use codes.

Campus Crest and site designer Linda Ripley of Fort Collins-based Ripley Design Inc. went back to the drawing board, drafting a new plan for resubmission. Campus Crest also worked with CSU’s Institute for the Built Environment to make the proposed building more environmentally friendly.

The proposed project consists of 12 buildings that house 612 beds, and would be located on land owned by the CSU Research Foundation. Campus Crest would lease the land west of Centre Drive and south of Rolland Moore Drive from CSURF.

Both the revised ODP and PDP were appealed by residents of neighborhoods near the property, claiming that the P&Z board “failed to properly interpret and apply relevant provisions of the city of Fort Collins Land Use Code.”

Council approved the ODP as presented, and the PDP with some alterations, including the banning of pets from the units and ensuring LEED certification.

Campus Crest owns 27 other students housing projects nationwide, including one in Evans, serving students at the University of Northern Colorado.