Baker School Apartments | Denver, Colorado

Land Development - Civil Engineering, Land Surveying

The 5-acre Baker School Apartments development, part of the Built Green Communities program, occupies the site of a former school. The blighted, vacant lot was reimagined as affordable multi-family housing. The site features a community kitchen, tot lot, dog park, and playground amenities. The apartments sit adjacent to park and trail connections which provide increased connectivity to Westminster public schools, Clear Creek Valley Park, Jim Baker Reservoir, Hidden Lakes Park, and Spashland Aquatic Center.

Challenges to the site’s development included addressing long-term, vexing drainage issues and solving a flooding problem at the intersection of 64th and Lowell Boulevard. CORE designed a pumping system to effectively drain the site and solve flooding issues within the public right-of-way. CORE relied on their extensive drainage experience to present an affordable solution to Adams County to resolve this issue which ultimately removed ponding from the street and allowed the discharge to pass through a water quality system, solving both problems. Increased density and traffic safety and mobility were a concern of the community. CORE acknowledged these issues at public hearings and satisfactorily resolved resident complaints by adding a new traffic signal and a dedicated turn lane at the intersection of West 64th Avenue.