This open parcel of land south of Castle Pines Parkway and west of Lagae Road in the City of Castle Pines is the location that is being considered for a 200-unit apartment complex.

Article and photo by Steve Baska

A national apartment complex developer is considering building a 200-unit complex on 10 acres on the southwest corner of Castle Pines Parkway and Lagae Road.

Carmel Partners, of San Francisco, has submitted a pre-submittal application and site plan to Castle Pines officials and asked about fees, timing and other issues. The project is not officially proposed yet, but Sam Bishop, the city’s community development director, said he has met with the developer and believes a formal application is likely coming.

Mayor Jeff Huff said that city council is supportive of the project and hopes it will be formally proposed. “These would be luxury apartments. We don’t have places for the 20 to 35 year-old age group of dual income people with no kids, the high wage earners who want to rent instead of buy. And given that this property is directly across the road from our business district, these renters will probably be supporting our local businesses.”

Huff also stated that, “Currently residents ages 20 to 29 make up only four percent of the Castle Pines population. Young people increasingly say on surveys that they want to live a lifestyle that isn’t dependent on driving, and they are drawn to the vibrancy and convenience of more walkable communities. Bringing additional residents within walking distance of our business district will help our local businesses thrive, making Castle Pines more attractive for retail and commerce. This is one of the goals of city council as determined in our 2014 Strategic Planning Initiative.”

The pre-application information proposes: a garden-style apartment community, three story, walk-up style buildings, 112 private garages, 228 surface parking spaces, access from both major roads, and construction to begin Spring 2015. The site is surrounded by the Royal Hill housing subdivision on the west, Elk Ridge Park to the south, Castle Pines Parkway to the north, and Lagae Road to the east. A development manager for the apartment project could not be reached for comment.

Castle Pines has one existing apartment complex: Advenir at Castle Pines Apartments (formerly “The Lodge”) consisting of 356 units on 28 acres. According to Bishop, another apartment complex in the city would bring increased sales taxes from increased business purchases and a use tax on construction, but the city does not get property taxes because property taxes collected are passed through to Douglas County to pay for county services, including law enforcement, fire protection, schools, and water and sewer in Castle Pines.

Carmel Partners’ website states “Carmel Partners is a premier national full-service real estate company. We specialize in acquisition, development, renovation, management and forging value-adding relationships with our customers.” The company has a Denver office and its website shows projects in California and one under construction in Broomfield, Colorado (called RockVue) on 10 acres with 220 units and a separate website called www.RockVue.com. The RockVue website shows one-bedroom apartments starting at $1,237 and two-bedroom apartments starting at $1,677.

For more information about Carmel Partners, visit http://carmelpartners.com. For more information about Castle Pines city government visit http://www.castlepinesgov.com/.