GLO Park Community Meeting

January 25, 2024

GLO Park Community Meeting

January 25, 2024

Project Ownership and Scope

• The state owns the northwest corner where the Glo Park is going. 

• NexCore is the company leasing the land from the state. NexCore is building the buildings and will own and manage the buildings.

• Jefferson County (Jeffco) Open Space owns the park land and leases it to Pleasant View Metro District.

  • Note: Any questions or concerns about the ballfields, new South Table Mountain trailhead, and remaining Camp George park space are for Jeffco Open Space, not NexCore.

• This is a separate project than the development of the state patrol area and the former prison. NexCore isn’t working on that project and couldn’t confirm what is happening there.

What’s Getting Built 

• 310,000 square feet of research labs connected by an atrium and surrounded by public outdoor space

  • Note: this is a change from the last update. They decreased the size of the buildings by half to better mitigate drainage and add public parking.

• Parking garage and surface parking. 

  • The parking garage and employee-only surface lots are on the north side of the building, so they will be hidden from view if you’re in the park.

  • 800 parking spots total for as many as 1,200 employees

    • This is a lower ratio than what used to be recommended for commercial buildings, but is expected to suffice for all employees

    • 120 parking spots on the south and east boundaries of the Glo Park will be public parking for park and ballfield users (this will be in addition to the current parking lot on the South side of the fields at Camp George West)

• A new road connecting Research Road to Denver West Boulevard

  • The road will be two lanes and have a speed limit of 25 mph with raised pedestrian crossings

  • The connection to Research Road had to be made for fire/police/emergency access but the vision is to funnel employee traffic to Denver West to quickly connect with 70. The project managers are aware that South Golden cannot handle that much new traffic on Research Road, so this was a purposeful design decision.

  • The road is slightly depressed from the Glo Park, so if you’re on the trails there, you can’t see the road.

• Public Access trails through the Glo Park on both sides of the new road

When It’s Getting Built

• The remainder of the year will be finalizing planning and getting permits approved

• Construction should start in December 2024 or January 2025

• Construction timeline is two years, so the project is planned to be completed in 2027.

• Since NexCore doesn’t have final construction plans, they do not know how or when construction will impact park closure. Jeffco Open Space suggested signing up for closure updates on their website and said they only close parks for intermittent, specific reasons.

Remaining Park Land at Pleasant View Community Park/Camp George West

• The land swap was worth $3.5 million. Since Jeffco owns the land, but Pleasant View leases it, Jeffco Open Space has an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Pleasant View Metro District to invest $3.5 million to make up for the value of the land swap.

• The $3.5 million is being invested in lighting the ballfield and installing artificial turf, as well as building a 10-foot wide concrete path through the park. To my knowledge, this was never discussed in public meetings and Pleasant View residents did not have input on what the $3.5 million should be used for. It was also unclear whether this is final.

• There is a small “Community Area” outlined on the site plans. Pleasant View and Jeffco Open Space will be holding public meetings to decide what goes there. No timeline was provided for when these meetings will take place.

Water Drainage Concerns

• NexCore acknowledged drainage has been one of their main engineering obstacles

• There are underground water retention areas under the parking areas on the north side of the building. 

• Legally, they have to mitigate all of the drainage so that it’s draining as it does currently. NexCore said they will meet all legal requirements and that they are working with Mile High Flood District.

• One neighbor did note that it already doesn’t drain well and there was significant flooding in neighborhoods downstream last year.

More Neighbor Questions

Are the wetlands protected?

• No, not within the bounds of the Glo Park.

Will access to Camp George from 12th and Nile (West side of Research Rd) be resolved?

• Not part of the Glo Park project, but Jeffco Open Space is working to restore access both short- and long-term.

Will the paved path in Camp George West connect to the 10th Avenue bike lane?

• There are no current plans for that.

•  Jeffco Open Space said that they are prioritizing getting access across the property on the west side of Research Road so bikes can be on local roads in the neighborhood.

Do we really need additional public parking?

• The public parking is for overflow and for ball field use. It’s less parking than what is typically recommended (4 spots per 1,000 people versus 6-6.5 spots per 1,000 people was cited. I’m not totally sure what that means.)

Are any improvements being made to Research Road?

• No.

Is this project part of Golden wanting to annex Pleasant View?

• No, no local government has brought up annexing the land into their city as part of this project.

Wasn’t this project supposed to include worker housing?

• No, that is supposed to be part of the “mid campus” area, which is the state land between Lena Gulch and the former prison. NexCore isn’t working on that project so they couldn’t comment.

Are Glo Park tenants required to be sustainable/renewable energy companies?

• No. It’s highly unlikely that anyone would pay the high rent for research space and use it for anything else. 

• NexCore is heavily recruiting sustainable energy companies, but there could be all kinds of companies interested in being more sustainable or transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

What about light pollution?

• The county regulates light levels, and the project will meet those requirements. 

• The brightest areas of the Glo Park will be entrances and parking behind the building for safety reasons.

• The ballfield lighting is a question for Jeffco, which has not made any plans yet for lighting that is tentatively planned for the new field.

Next Community Meeting

• Will be in April

• Sign up for updates on the GLO Park website

  • Tonight 1/25 it still only has “leasing partner” as an option to sign up for updates, but NexCore says they will update the website to have a public interest sign up form too. In the meantime, you can use the leasing partner form.

• Follow Global Energy Park on Facebook and Instagram and LinkedIn

• Another neighbor also suggested using GoldenToday.com as a resource for meeting information

• If you want updates from me (like this or for future meetings), subscribe to this newsletter!