A Denver committee postponed advancing a rezoning for a property located inside of, but separate from, the proposed Kroenke redevelopment of the Ball Arena parking lot after a councilmember lambasted the applicant and property owner.
The properties, located at 500, 501 and 551 Wewatta Street, are currently occupied by a two story office building though its current zoning allows a mixed use building of up to eight stories and has two soccer fields on site. It is surrounded by the massive, 70+ acre parking lot area of Ball Arena.
The property owner, Landon Scott, said the properties have been owned by his family since the 1970s and said they do not have any development plans in place if the zone change were to be approved. Options ranging from student housing to office space have been considered, Scott said, adding the city encouraged him to look into rezoning as the Kroenke Sports Entertainment (KSE) group started to move forward with its plans.
“As we got engaged from Kroenke Sports Entertainment talking about their rezone, we were encouraged by the city to look at it from a continuity standpoint and thought it was a good idea to rezone (our properties),” Scott said. “There was not a plan of attack but we were encouraged by the city to look at rezoning as part of what KSE was doing with their property.”