Making Suburbia More Livable
Wall Street Journal
By Glenn Ruffenach
Sitting in his office in Fayetteville, Ga., Ken Steele, the town’s mayor, is poring over a local street map, explaining how this suburb of Atlanta hopes to transform itself into a “lifelong community”—and why neighborhoods across the country need to do the same.
“Every small community has the same problem,” says Mr. Steele, age 69. “We want residents to be able to age in place, to meet their needs…here, without having to move away.”
To that end, he indicates on the map how a new street grid could reduce traffic in the center of town and help Fayetteville become a “walking community”; how new town homes and condominiums, in an area where single-family homes have long been the norm, could give residents of all ages more housing options; and how new greenways and parks could promote social interaction.
…
One such retrofit is taking place in Lakewood, Colo., a large suburb (population 147,000) west of Denver. In the late 1990s, an indoor shopping mall in town had started losing stores, customers and sales. In 2002, local officials and developers began converting the 104-acre site into a mixed-use neighborhood, called Belmar, where people could live, work and play.
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Articles
Our projects have received local and national media attention for their innovative approaches to design and development. Here is a selection of magazine and newspaper articles about them.
- Demo Work Begins Former CU Hospital Campus, The Denver Post
- Demolition underway at 9th and Colorado health-center site, The Denver Business Journal
- Land Sells Former CU Hospital, Business Den
- Continuum Plans Old CU Hospital, The Denver Post
- CUS Former Health Sciences Center Sold $300 Million, The Denver Post
- 9th & Colorado Project Nears Launch Pad, The Denver Business Journal
- Do It Right 9th Facebook page
- A (Really) Big Job
- New Tenants Announced for 9th & Colorado Project
- The History of Belmar, You Tube
- Retrofitting Suburbia article from ULI.org
- Retrofitting Suburbia Facebook pages
- Ted Talk, Retrofitting Suburbia, Ellen Dunham Jones
- 10 Years Later Belmar Exceeds Expectations Lakewood, The Denver Post
- Belmar-Urbanizing A Suburban Colorado Mall, Urbanland
- Belmar Solar Photovoltaic, You Tube
- Belmar Unveils Solar Parking Structures, Renewable Energy World.com
- Festival Italiano Celebrates 10 Years at Belmar, The Denver Post
- Lakewood’s Belmar shopping center to add three retailers, The Denver Post
- Target to Roll Out PFresh Concept, The Denver Business Journal
- Belmar Right On Target, The Denver Post
- School Moving to Belmar, Colorado Community Media
- 12 stores opening in Belmar, The Denver Business Journal
- The most walkable family-sized homes in the Denver area? , The Denver Post
- Lakewood Belmar Goes Hollywood, The Denver Post
- Husted: Odd Coupling bounces, The Denver Post
- Booming Belmar, The Denver Post
- 24 Restaurant Openings We’re Most Excited for in 2016
- HFF Arranges $89.5 Million Construction Loan on Behalf of Continuum Partners, HFF Website
- Continuum Tees Up $98M Hotel Office Project Near Denver Union Station, The Denver Post
- Continuum Unveils plans for $98 Million Hotel-office Complex at Denver Union Station, The Denver Business Journal
- $92M hotel-office project breaking ground near Denver Union Station , The Denver Business Journal
- New Kimpton Hotel, Kimpton Hotel Blog
- Whole Foods Market Bradburn Village, The Denver Post
- Bradburn Village, Westminster, CO, YouTube
- Westminster Development Crafted for Long Term Appeal, The Denver Business Journal
- ULI 2015 Global Awards Excellence – Finalists Announced, Uli.org
- Meet our 54th Downtown Denver Award Winners, downtowndenver.com
- A Terminal Adventure at Denver’s Union Station, Huffington Post
- Secrets of Colorado: 9 secrets of Denver’s Union Station and the Crawford Hotel, The Denver Channel
- New Union Station Project 16th Wewatta Hotel Office Complete, Denver InFill
- Urban Planner, How Union Station Renovation Almost Didn’t Happen, 5280 Magazine
- All Aboard, Denver’s Union Station, 5280 Magazine
- Linchpin of the West, Urbanland.uli.org
- Denver Union Station: A Transportation Model for Urban Revitalization, NAIOP website article
- New Union Station Officially Opens, CBSlocal.com
- Union Station Developers Named, The Denver Post
- Denver Union Station historical video
Recognition
Here’s a glimpse at some of the awards our projects have earned over the years.
- 2006: NAIOP Developer of the Year for 2005
- 2006: Best of the Best: Urban Land Institute (ULI) Awards for Excellence: Awarded for converting a 1.4 million square foot regional mall into a 3.5 million square foot mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented downtown district.
- 2006: Colorado Stormwater Excellence Program (CSEP) Pilot, Stage I Final Report. The report documents the remarkable success of the CSEP pilot program and of the individual participants in developing and implementing innovative practices to manage the water quality of stormwater runoff from constructions activities. Continuum Partners has stood out as a true leader in the construction industry.
- 2006: CBCA Innovation Award - Development, the creative hub for living, working, and shopping in Lakewood’s downtown district.
- 2005: Rocky Mountain Chapter of the ACI (American Concrete Institute) for the Award of Excellence
- 2005: McGraw Hill — Company and Developer of the Year.
- 2005: International Economic Development Council — Public/Private Partnership Award.Award for outstanding public or private development projects that have enhanced the economic revitalization of distressed communities.
- 2005: American Planning Association Colorado Chapter Awards - Outstanding Project
- 2005: American Public Works Association, Award for Public Street System
- 2005: Congress for the New Urbanism — 2005 CNU Charter Award-The Neighborhood, District & Corridor. Award given for the best practices in New Urbanism (publicly announced June 2005).
- 2005: Denver Regional Council of Governments — Third Place, 2005 Metro Vision Awards
- 2005: Colorado Community Revitalization Association - Governor's Awards for Downtown Excellence - Economic Development category.
- 2005: EPA Smart Growth Award
- 2005: IESNA 2005 International Illumination Design Awards. Award of Merit for lights at Belmar.
- 2005: HBA Bar Awards 2005- for McStain - Jesus Orozco, Sales Person of the Year, Leslie Reed, Sales Manager of the Year, Best Sales Office for Belmar, Best Interior Design all three homes at Belmar, Best Attached Home, the Fillmore at Belmar, Attached Home of the Year, the Fillmore at Belmar
- 2004: Colorado Public Relations Society - 2004 Silver Pick Award, Marketing Communications. Award given for top marketing/pr program during 2003.
- 2004: U.S. EPA - The Phoenix Award. Award given for cleaning contaminated sites.
- 2004: US Green Building Council-Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating for a 150,000 mixed-use building at Belmar. Based on a consensus-based national standard for developing high performance, sustainable buildings.
- 2002: Denver Business Journal -- Ground Breakers Award "Deals" Category. Award given for excellence in real estate.
- Marketing & Graphics
2002: Creativity 31--Award of Distinction.Awarded to Ellen Bruss and Continuum Partners for Belmar Logo \ Design. - Marketing & Graphics
2002: LOGO - Certificate of Recognition of a logo design in the LOGO 2002 Competition.Awarded to Ellen Bruss Design for Continuum Partners' Belmar Logo.
- 2005: City of Westminster- Excellence in Design, 11746 Bradburn Blvd Farm House
- 2005: City of Westminster - Excellence in Design, Bradburn Postal Office
- 2005: City of Westminster - Excellence in Design, Live/Work Units
- 2005: City of Westminster - Excellence in Design, 11758 Bradburn Blvd Prairie
- 2005: Denver Regional Council of Governments- Second Place, 2005 Metro Vision Awards
- 2004: City of Westminster - Excellence in Design, Goddard’s School
- 2004: City of Westminster - Excellence in Design, New Town Single Family Units
- 2004: City of Westminster – Excellence in Design, Bradburn Green Structure
- Marketing & Graphics
2002: American Corporate Identity--Award of Excellence. Awarded to Ellen Bruss Design for the Bradburn Logo Design. - Marketing & Graphics
2002: LOGO - Certificate of Recognition of a logo design in the LOGO 2002 Competition.Awarded to Ellen Bruss Design for Continuum Partners' Belmar Logo.
- 2014: 54th Annual Downtown Denver Awards – Denver Union Station
- 2014: Colorado Biz Magazine – CEO of the Year, Mark Falcone, Continuum Partners