A development company wants to build a facility for aging seniors on the former site of the LDS church at West 32nd Avenue and McIntyre Street.

On June 11, Colcon Development hosted a digital community meeting where a representative stated that the company intends to file an application to rezone about 7 acres of property on the northwest side of that intersection to construct the facility. That proposed facility would include assisted living, independent living and memory care sections.

Colcon wants to rezone both properties to a planned development, a customizable zoning category that could be tailored to allow such senior living uses on the site. That rezoning process must be completed before Aardex can move forward with the facility.

Jonathan Hostager, a project manager with Colcon who presented on behalf of the company during the meeting, said during the meeting that a new senior living facility called Rolling Hills Senior Living would fill a gaping need in the area. Currently, there are no such senior facilities in the nearby Applewood West and Pleasant View areas.

“Those that are reaching an age where they desire to be in a facility such as ours will not be able to stay in the neighborhood because of the lack of facility availability in the community,” said Hostager. “Based on the demographic studies that our team has done, there is a shortage of over 300 senior living beds within a six-mile radius of our site.”

Hostager also pointed to several studies and report that further underlie the need for more senior facilities of the type proposed in the area. One report from Jefferson County Human Services found that the number of Jeffco residents 75 and over is expected to grow by 146.67% by 2040.

According to Hostager, the two properties are surrounded by properties zoned for agricultural, residential and industrial uses. He said the requirements of the proposed planned development would match or exceed the requirements and limitations for building heights and setbacks pertaining to those surrounding properties.

The development would not add parking spaces to the site. Instead, existing parking spaces would be “redistributed around the site.” The proposal would also provide for over 40% of the site to be open-space and would involve the creation of a trail system that would be open for community use.

The Golden Transcript reached out to Colcon for information about how many people would be able to live at the proposed development but did not recieve an answer by press time.

Second meeting

Golden residents who missed their first chance to ask questions and provide feedback about the project during the community meeting will get another later this month.

That’s because the June 7 meeting was beset by a glitch that led to many residents being unable to access the meeting via a provided link. The second meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 28 and will also be held virtually. Residents can access that meeting at www.jeffco.us/2680/Community-Meetings.

Colcon will then have until July, 28, 2021 to file a formal rezoning application with Jefferson County, which will ultimately need to be approved by the county commissioners.