Enhancing Economic Opportunity through Transit: Lessons Learned from Denver’s Southeast Light Rail Line
April 17, 2013
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Introduction
The Denver region is currently embarking on one of the most ambitious and extensive investments in new rail and bus service in the United States. In less than a decade, the $7.8 billion FasTracks transportation infrastructure project will connect much of the Denver Metro region with 122 miles of new commuter and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit, 70 new transit stations and a variety of other expanded multimodal options.1 This investment has the potential to expand the reach of opportunity for many people, providing better connections between housing, jobs and other essential destinations. New transit service will provide more transportation options to major job centers and educational institutions that provide career ladders and workforce training for people of all incomes and skill levels. Other regions are watching closely to see how the network is built out and if transit can spur new development and redevelopment of existing assets in station areas, as well…
Filling the Financing Gap for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development: Lessons from Atlanta, Denver, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Twin Cities
April 1, 2013
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Foreword
During the past two decades, transit-oriented development (TOD) has emerged as a powerful tool for creating liveable communities near good public transit through the development of dense housing, work places, retail and other community amenities. As demand for liveable communities grows, land values near transit increase, which can sometimes lead to gentrification. Recently, a particular approach to TOD has been gaining greater attention: equitable TOD.
Equitable TOD prioritizes social equity as a key component of TOD implementation. It aims to ensure that all people along a transit corridor, including those who are low income, have the opportunity to reap the benefits of easy access to employment opportunities offering living wages, health clinics, fresh food markets, human services, schools and childcare centers. By developing or preserving affordable housing and encouraging locating jobs near transit, equitable TOD can minimize the burden of housing and transportation…
Connecting the West Corridor Communities: An Implementation Strategy for TOD along the Denver Region’s West Corridor
July 21, 2011
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Executive Summary
Light rail in the West Corridor presents an incredible opportunity for transit-oriented development to leverage market momentum for new investment and community building. A focus on TOD will support growth near new transit stations, enhance access to opportunity, preserve and enhance the supply of a range of housing choices, reduce the combined costs of housing and transportation, and support walking and biking to stations. However, implementing TOD along the West Corridor will not be a quick or simple process. The overall economic conditions in the country are vastly impacting the pace and magnitude of private sector development activity everywhere. This macro-level challenge, combined with some micro-market conditions along the West Corridor, where residential home values are relatively low and the potential value increases related to transit have not yet been realized, indicates that in the near term, most implementation activity in the West Corridor will fall…
Rails to Real Estate: Development Patterns Along Three New Transit Lines
March 21, 2011|Center for Transit-Oriented Development
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Executive Summary
This report documents real estate development patterns along three recently constructed light rail transit lines in the United States. This topic is important for local planning practitioners, transit agencies, community members and other stakeholders in their efforts to plan for new transit investments and foster transit-oriented development (TOD). Setting realistic expectations about the scale, timing and location of private investment along new transit lines is especially critical where new development is expected to help pay for needed transit improvements, neighborhood amenities, or other community benefits.
The three transit lines examined in this report are the Hiawatha Line in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, the Southeast Corridor in the Denver region, and the Blue Line in the Charlotte region. The report examines residential and commercial development that occurred within a half-mile of stations along the three lines. Development is evaluated in the…
GIS Analysis of Population and Employment Centers in Metro Denver Served by RTD’s FasTracks
December 8, 2010
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Abstract
The Denver regional transit provider, RTD is involved in one of the most ambitious passenger rail expansion projects in the country. Known as FasTracks, the project will add 122 miles of rail and 18 miles of BRT to Metro Denver. Given the scrutiny RTD has faced over budget shortfalls and the likelihood of raising taxes to complete the project on time, this paper used a GIS analysis to determine just how well Metro Denver residents and employees would be served by FasTracks. GIS was also used to determine which corridors and stations would serve the most people, and which high density areas will not be served by FasTracks. Using population data from transportation analysis zones and half mile and one mile buffers around each station, it was found that 30% of residents and 69% of employees within Metro Denver will be within one mile of a FasTracks station, while only 9% of land area falls within a mile of a station. These results indicate that FasTracks will serve residents…
The Economic Impact of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Development Along Transit Corridors in Metro Denver: Income, Jobs, and Taxes Generated
June 1, 2010|Housing Policy Department, National Association of Home Builders
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This report presents estimates of the metro area impacts of new units built using the housing tax credit during the six-year period starting in 2004 and running through 2009, in the five- county area (Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson) in the Denver metropolitan area. The comprehensive nature of the NAHB model requires that the local area over which the benefits are spread be large enough to include the places where construction workers live and spend their money, as well as the places where the new home occupants are likely to work, shop, and go for recreation. In practice, this usually means a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Based on local commuting patterns, OMB has identified the Denver MSA as a metro area consisting of the five counties mentioned above, plus five others (Broomfield, Clear Creek, Elbert, Gilpin, and Park) in Colorado (see map on the following page).
Restructuring the Commercial Strip
January 1, 2010|EPA Development, Community and Environment Division
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Smart Growth Program commissioned this document to provide communities with guidance on how they can revitalize these commercial corridors to accommodate economic growth, reuse land already serviced by existing infrastructure, and reflect the unique character of the town or city where they are located.
Preserving Affordability and Access in Livable Communities: Subsidized Housing Opportunities Near Transit and the 50+ Population
September 30, 2009
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Executive Summary
INTRODUCTION
A livable community has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive features and services, and adequate mobility options for people, regardless of age or ability. As communities address the general shortage of affordable housing, preserving affordable housing in transit-oriented developments (TODs) is one of the challenges that communities can address to increase their livability.
TODs are compact, walkable, mixed-use communities that are developed around high-quality public transportation. Residents often prize these places for the advantages created by the proximity to transportation and other amenities. One consequence of this desirability is that it can increase land and property values, exacerbating housing affordability challenges.
As policymakers try to extend the benefits of TODs to affordable housing locations, they must ensure that those benefits are available to people of low and moderate incomes and to those with different mobility…
Who Is TOD in Metro Denver? A Business Survey Report
July 1, 2009
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Executive Summary
This report summarizes the findings of a survey conducted in April 2009 of 300 businesses located within an estimated one-mile walk distance of a metro Denver rail transit station. It provides information regarding the types of business, number of employees, ownership, square footage, management's motivations for selecting current location, satisfaction with current location, intent to move, supply and demand for parking, and use of transit management strategies and incentives of businesses located in existing rail-transit station areas.
The Who is TOD in Metro Denver? study is the first original research in the Denver region to benchmark how people’s attitudes, perceptions and behaviors are changing as transit-oriented development (TOD) policy and investment decisions are being made. Metro Denver has a relatively small transit system compared to regions such as Washington, D.C., that have more mature transit systems and TODs. In fact, the three most significant…
Realizing The Potential: One Year Later -- Housing Opportunities Near Transit In A Changing Market
January 1, 2009|Federal Transit Administration
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An update to “Realizing the Potential” study for the FTA and HUD, which assessed strategies to promote mixed-income housing along transit corridors in Boston, Charlotte, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver and Portland.
