Lakewood Economic Development

Transit Mixed Use

In 2004, voters approved RTD's FasTracks project, which will include a 12.1-mile light rail transit line, called the West Corridor, between the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver and the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden. Within Lakewood, there will be four commuter stations and three walk-up stations. Construction of the West Corridor is expected to be completed in 2012. The line is expected to open for passenger service in late 2012 or early 2013.

Lakewood will be home to seven stations; Sheridan Boulevard, Lamar Street, Wadsworth Boulevard, Garrison Street, Oak Street, Federal Center, and Red Rocks Community College. In order to prepare for the new line and these new stations, the City has developed and adopted Station Area Plans and a Transit Mixed Use zone district.

The purpose of the Transit Mixed Use zone district is to allow for better transit-oriented development (TOD), which calls for residential or commercial areas designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a light rail or train station, or bus station, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outwards from the center. TODs generally are located within a radius of one-quarter to one-half mile from a transit stop, as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians.

The zone district allows for a mix of uses on individual properties, such as retail shops on the first floor of a building with residential units on the upper floors. The zone district also allows for a mix of residential dwelling types within the station areas, with densities that are intended to support the future light rail transit infrastructure. The City Council adopted the Transit Mixed Use zone district (Article 22 of the Zoning Ordinance) in February 2007, and subsequently rezoned areas around the four key stations to the TMU zone district in June 2007.

A Transit Mixed-Use Zone District Development Manual has been created as part of this effort to provide examples of appropriate Transit Oriented Development around Lakewood’s light rail stations.