Newman Article on Trinity Site

Newman Article on Trinity Site
County: Trinity site plan 'not favorable'

Darryl Newman, lareporter@lamonitor.com

Los Alamos County staff shared some criticisms of the site plan in store for the Trinity Place development after receiving an initial proposal from the Boyer Co. on June 27.

In two open houses sponsored by Boyer in early July, concepts described as "very preliminary" in nature, called for a two-story, 18,000 square foot anchor store at the center of the site to serve as the heart of the development. Parking was disbursed throughout the development and an underground parking lot was figured into the preliminary development concepts.

The open houses were meant to serve as a communications tool between the developers and the public.

The proposal currently depicts a one-story anchor store (138,000 square feet), located on the far west of the development along Knecht Street, with a large parking lot to the east. Restaurants and some retail remains along the canyon rim, which borders the area to the south.

A courtyard and plaza will run along the canyon through and around the retail and commercial lofts overlooking the canyon.

Assistant County Administrator Anthony Mortillaro, who is the lead county staff member on the Trinity Site redevelopment project, said Friday that he will air concerns that he has with the initial proposal as submitted by Boyer .

"Initially, the site plan and building layout are not favorable," Mortillaro said. "Maybe they need to explain why they changed that."

Boyer representatives did not return phone calls by the Monitor seeking comment, but wording in the proposal states, "Many comments were helpful and generated changes in our thinking which are reflected in the new site plan."

Copies of the Trinity Place proposal have been disbursed to the seven-member county council and the Los Alamos Board of Education.

Mortillaro will meet with a reconstituted committee on Aug. 21. Business at the meeting will include familiarizing the team with the proposal.

Afterward, the committee will meet with Boyer representatives to discuss a path forward, Mortillaro said.

"This is simply their initial proposal and there is still quite a bit of dialogue to take place in the process," he said. "We'll reach a plan that is acceptable to the county, to the public and to Boyer. The challenge lies within getting to that happy medium."

The Trinity RFP Advisory Committee consists of the following members: Denny Erickson, White Rock townsite resident representative; Lou Santoro, Los Alamos townsite resident and business owner, Gary Nicholds, Los Alamos Medical Center CEO, Bill Enloe, president of Los Alamos National Bank; Kevin Holsapple, executive director of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Association and the Chamber of Commerce; George Chandler, county resident and attorney; Steve Lynne, chief financial officer for Los Alamos County; and Jan Van Prooyen, principal/associate director for operations at Los Alamos National Security.

A "festival plaza" has been included in the proposal that would "overlook the canyon and provide setting for public gathering space," the proposal states. A lower-level boardwalk, jogging and bike trail also will be included near the canyon rim.

The proposed Trinity Place will be composed of 243,350 square feet of retail, office and entertainment space.

Parking under the proposal will consist of 1,015 stalls. Boyer representatives explored the concept of an underground parking garage, but axed those plans because of high construction costs, according to the proposal.

The proposal also adduces traffic impacts and cites a traffic impact analysis prepared by Wilson & Company in November 2005 that recommends the construction of a traffic signal at the intersection of Trinity Drive and DP Road.

"We think lanes to keep traffic flowing along Trinity as well as a slip lane into a roundabout will help traffic considerably," the proposal states. "Traffic coming into Trinity Place as well as DP Road would be accessed from the roundabout." Additional traffic measures include the implementation of interior bus stops that would keep traffic flowing and bring more foot traffic to the area.

After Boyer receives final site plan approval, anticipated by December of this year, it has proposed the following timeline:

# December 2006 - Lease executed with the county and the school district.

# January 2007 - County and school district begin on new replacement facilities and Boyer. with a chosen housing partner, close on land Parcel A-8 and work on civil and architectural drawings for the residential area.

# February-March 2007- Finalize all drawings and obtain all entitlements for residential on A-8.

# April 2007- Begin construction on A-8 residential.

# March 2008 - First residential units available for move-in.

# June 2008- County and school district move to new facilities.

# September 2008- Begin site work on Trinity Place.

# September - October 2008- Complete construction and finalize A-8 residential.

# September 2009- Grand opening of Trinity Place.

Copies of the Trinity Place proposal are available for review at the Kan Du Center, located in the Municipal Building and also are available at the Mesa Public Library.

A follow up report on the Trinity Site proposal as submitted by Boyer Company is scheduled for Tuesday's Monitor.


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