The development team for Miller’s Landing — one of Southeast Denver’s newest, mixed use commercial development projects — announced that restoration work is underway to address stream degradation within the property’s gulch. Implementing a plan by WaterVation, the work will help to attend to damage caused by more than 63 years of land use changes that adversely impacted the water channel.
“Not only will this work contribute to the infrastructure work that will support the overall Miller’s Landing development, but it will allow for the channel and floodplain to become hydrologically connected and enable the re-establishment of the corridor,” said Scott Springer of P3 Advisors, the master developer of Miller’s Landing. “Native seeding and willow plantings are planned within the restored floodplain to establish a vegetated community that provides stream stability, riparian habitat, and a beautiful natural urban river corridor. Our on-site crews are making great progress on this restoration, and we are thrilled to be a part of this stream system coming back to life after years of degradation.”
The gulch is an intermittent sand-bed stream system that only flows during rainfall events or during snowmelt, making it very sensitive to land use disturbances and extreme rainfall events. The stream restoration design plan for Miller’s Gulch was founded on the principles of Natural Channel Design, which focuses on restoring the natural stream shape, which is proven to efficiently mitigate erosive storm flows.
One of the objectives of this design was to work within the naturally occurring environmental amenities that provide riparian and upland diversity within this watershed. Specific focus was given to the preservation of mature Rocky Mountain Scrub Oak, which can take decades to grow to even a moderate size. Natural appearing rock features were added throughout to provide additional channel stability and protection for adjacent infrastructure.
Miller’s Landing is on a 65-acre mixed-use site, perched above Interstate 25 and Plum Creek Parkway and offers panoramic views. The team saw an opportunity to redevelop the site positioned between the 320-acre Philip S. Miller Park and downtown Castle Rock, converting the unimproved land site into an economic engine and complementing nearby amenities such as parks, bike trails, zip lines, local shops, restaurants and urban living opportunities. P3 Advisors, the Town of Castle Rock and the Castle Rock Economic Development Councilworked together to form a partnership that has attracted the private investment necessary to complete the overall development of the site.
P3 Advisors is the master developer of the property. In addition to P3 Advisors, the development team includes Crown Community Development, a part of the Chicago-based Henry Crown and Company.
