DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[TakeFive]

Always a Big Fan of Infrastructure

Originally Posted by mhays

Some sectors are overbuilt, clearly. But public spending is surging thanks to new infrastructure dollars.

Believe it or not a lot of this money will be dependent on who wins the 2024 elections.

Conservatives would love to take a hatchet to Amtrak's big buckets. I think much of the iija's money for transit is being spent already. RTD has been eliminating deferred maintenance system wide but especially along the light rail lines. CDOT has started one major project and indeed will be kept busy on two major freeway projects for a few years.

With respect to the CHIPS and Science act most of that money will be a suburban event. With respect to IRA money that will also be cut back if Republicans win in 2024.

I think my primary point is that infrastructure money won't benefit urban centers for the most part.


Well Done

Originally Posted by BG918

Ha that's exactly what I did. Received my architecture degree but went to work as a construction project engineer. I was making nearly double what my architecture buddies were making and learning a lot more about how buildings are actually constructed. I am now on the development side telling architects what I want them to draw

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Concrete should enjoy the surge in road and bridge spending I'd think.

Not so much in blue states.

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I think my primary point is that infrastructure money won't benefit urban centers for the most part.

I would mostly agree with this. Mainly because urban areas can't, for the most part, figure out what infrastructure means to them. Our transit ambitions are (necessarily) modest in most urban cores. And bike lanes don't need IIJA-type money. Road diets and trying desperately to figure out how to fund increased (or restoring what we had) transit operations isn't what major capital spending programs are designed for.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

CDOT has started one major project and indeed will be kept busy on two major freeway projects for a few years.

Note that this project was quietly carved out (or rather, deemed green enough) when CDOT implemented its new greenhouse gas rules a few years back. That (and politics) is why this one is moving ahead when no other road projects to speak of are.

[mhays]

I agree that urban centers won't get as much as rural areas, particularly expensive ones.

Chip plants go to cheaper locales than ours.

A lot of money will go to rural-heavy stuff like green power generation and transmission, high-speed internet, roads, and rails.

That said, a lot of money will flow to urban areas too.

[AHS1983]

Can someone please identify the building being demolished? It was across the street from Trinity United Methodist at 18th and Broadway.

Thank you!

(My dad took these pics and I recently scanned them in)

https://i.imgur.com/bCCHM1c.jpg

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by AHS1983

Can someone please identify the building being demolished? It was across the street from Trinity United Methodist at 18th and Broadway.

Thank you!

(My dad took these pics and I recently scanned them in)

https://i.imgur.com/bCCHM1c.jpg

That's the Cosmopolitan Hotel demo.

Want to take bets how much Denver would pay to have that sitting around today for homeless housing?

[AHS1983]

I've run across some interesting Denver webcams on YouTube that I'd like to share.

16th Street Mall renovation:

https://www.youtube.com/@forsight8378

View of downtown from the Elevate building at 4100 E Mississippi.

https://www.youtube.com/live/Fq68_K0YlIA

(currently having technical problems but due for a fix very soon)

[AHS1983]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

That's the Cosmopolitan Hotel demo.

Thanks! I knew someone here would know.

Of course there's a video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kku-0jzFEbo

Want to take bets how much Denver would pay to have that sitting around today for homeless housing?

Lots and lots more.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

I would mostly agree with this. Mainly because urban areas can't, for the most part, figure out what infrastructure means to them. Our transit ambitions are (necessarily) modest in most urban cores. And bike lanes don't need IIJA-type money. Road diets and trying desperately to figure out how to fund increased (or restoring what we had) transit operations isn't what major capital spending programs are designed for.

I was able to find some stuff.

One item, while mostly jibberish to me appears to be some DCC/DOTI applications for Elevate Denver Bond projects which voters approved in 2017. I had guessed that given the inflation of costs that this might come in handy for helping with these projects.

This was already in the news but it reminds how beneficial the iija is for Denver.

https://www.cdfa.net/cdfa/cdfaweb.nsf/0/D6E83E923A2578178825882B004A38E0/$file/Bond%20Buyer-New%20P3s%20on%20tap%20in%20Denver%20.pdf

Denver may be the first to benefit from the new federal funding, which will advance a long-planned ecosystem restoration of a section of the South Platte River, including a section that runs through downtown Denver. The IIJA provided $350 million in federal funding for the Urban Waterways project, which has been in the planning stages for 10 years.

I also found RTD's "Transit Corridor Funding Matrix" of fine print listed projects but we already know about this stuff.

Add This to the Pile: Denver to Receive Grant Funding for Safer Streets

[TakeFive]

Kiss of Death?

Originally Posted by mhays

I agree that urban centers won't get as much as rural areas, particularly expensive ones.

That said, a lot of money will flow to urban areas too.

So Seattle is rated 2nd for tech talent (CBRE 2023) to only San Francisco.

Seattle is rated 3rd in number of homeless people (May 2023).

But if this is San Francisco, can Seattle be far behind?

Hundreds of government employees in San Francisco told to work from home due to the high levels of crime in the area
August 12, 2023 By Jyoti Mann

Hundreds of employees at the Department of Health and Human Services in San Francisco have been told to work from home due to the high level of crime in the area around its office, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The department recommended that employees worked remotely "for the foreseeable future," the report says, citing an August 4 memo sent to staff, a copy of which the Chronicle said it had obtained.

I also happened to find this 'breaking news'. Quite hilarious.

Seattle cop says ‘criminals are running this city’ in brutal resignation letter
Aug 9, 2023 by BY Jason Rantz

Lieutenant Jessica Taylor served in the Seattle Police Department for the last 23 years. But she called it quits Aug. 1.

“Chief Diaz, let me tell you, the state of the Seattle Police Department and this city is a disgrace,” ... “The toxic mix of the Seattle City Council’s absurdity, the spinelessness of the Mayor, the leniency of the prosecutor’s office, and your failed leadership has accelerated this city’s downhill slide straight to rock bottom. The problems were already brewing before you came on the scene, but since your arrival, it’s been a free fall into anarchy & chaos.”

Welcome to the Emerald City

[Brainpathology]

Originally Posted by jhwk

The worst part of architecture school is that it is very abstracted from practice. It trains you to think you will actually be designing grandiose buildings that make an impact on your community. When you get out of school you actually detail toilet partitions 50 hours a week for $45k a year until you claw your way up the ranks, after which you spend most of your time managing your subconsultants and fighting the GC when they build it wrong.

Maybe if you pay literally no attention to what's going on around you in the first 2 months of school. The most important thing Architecture school taught me was to leave and finish med school. And that an arch adjacent medical specialty like pathology would make me happy.

It was obvious after maybe a week (and really I should have seen this BEFORE school) that talent was secondary to politics and the ability to make connections, schmooze, etc to get the chance to build visionary and important things. I could look around the room and honestly say yeah I could keep up with these people in design and the technical aspects of architecture... but could I kiss ass and work a room or meeting as well as all of them (because in any one clase you'd have to be the VERY best at that to even have a chance and doing that).. Nope.

[Brainpathology]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I also happened to find this 'breaking news'. Quite hilarious.

Seattle cop says ‘criminals are running this city’ in brutal resignation letter
Aug 9, 2023 by BY Jason Rantz

Welcome to the Emerald City

My niece just had her truck stolen in Denver, They (my niece and her parents) spotted it literally every day for a month.. called the police each time. They kept refusing to show up to recover it. The truck was basically a billboard with a very distinctive paint job. It was recovered after being towed for illegally parking AFTER it was painted. To get her own car back she had to pay 300.00 to get it out of the police lot.

You could maybe tell them the police are overwhelmed. sure maybe. but try to tell them why they have to pay to get their own car back. Which criminals are running things exactly?

Please tell me why anyone should care when police feel like their feewings are hurt or they are under siege. I can see the need for police.. I'm not about to advocate for defunding them completely. But my niece and aunt/uncle sure are. They are legitimately wondering how their life would be worse with no police at all (how many people would actually be prevented from being robbed or shot - police only get involved after those happen and usually just throw the first off-white person they see in the area in jail over it anyway - their words not mine). I have a hard time blaming them.

[rds70]

In development news:

The latest proposal for 650 17th Street, a 39 story hotel/apartment building. 223 hotel rooms, 320 residential units, 430 feet:

[mhays]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Kiss of Death?


So Seattle is rated 2nd for tech talent (CBRE 2023) to only San Francisco.

Seattle is rated 3rd in number of homeless people (May 2023).

But if this is San Francisco, can Seattle be far behind?

Hundreds of government employees in San Francisco told to work from home due to the high levels of crime in the area
August 12, 2023 By Jyoti Mann


I also happened to find this 'breaking news'. Quite hilarious.

Seattle cop says ‘criminals are running this city’ in brutal resignation letter
Aug 9, 2023 by BY Jason Rantz

Welcome to the Emerald City

You'll have to speak up...our population grew by over 2% last year within city limits. The city has problems but it's trending right...and don't fall sucker to everything you hear.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Originally Posted by rds70

In development news:

The latest proposal for 650 17th Street, a 39 story hotel/apartment building. 223 hotel rooms, 320 residential units, 430 feet:

I'd certainly take that over the parking lot. Does this proposal have a serious developer behind it?

Also, it looks like the old retail buildings have been demolished in Golden Triangle at the site of Parq II. I wonder if Parq II will actually begin construction though with 955 Bannock under construction right beside it.

[AHS1983]

Originally Posted by AHS1983

I've run across some interesting Denver webcams on YouTube that I'd like to share.

View of downtown from the Elevate building at 4100 E Mississippi.

(currently having technical problems but due for a fix very soon)

This cam is fixed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-9LrAFMTXM

[Matt]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

I'd certainly take that over the parking lot. Does this proposal have a serious developer behind it?

Also, it looks like the old retail buildings have been demolished in Golden Triangle at the site of Parq II. I wonder if Parq II will actually begin construction though with 955 Bannock under construction right beside it.

Not a fan of anything that isn't a supertall on this site. Once hope was let out of the bag, I can't settle for anything less than 1,000' here.

For historic reference, this is the building that was demolished to make way for the parking lot on the site:

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

I'd certainly take that over the parking lot. Does this proposal have a serious developer behind it?

Also, it looks like the old retail buildings have been demolished in Golden Triangle at the site of Parq II. I wonder if Parq II will actually begin construction though with 955 Bannock under construction right beside it.

Greystar is also the developer of 650 17th Street.

Originally Posted by rds70

In development news:

The latest proposal for 650 17th Street, a 39 story hotel/apartment building. 223 hotel rooms, 320 residential units, 430 feet:

Looks nice!

The DBJ is reporting that the site of the recent homeless sweep is now being demoed for what they call the Ballpark 659 unit residential towers.

Chicago-based CMK Companies brought forward their initial plans for two 25-story residential towers resting on top of a four-story podium at 2215 California St. last year.

Now, the developers have reached another milestone in the project by beginning demolition on the site. In addition, the developer’s formal site development plan, which needs to be approved ahead of securing building permits, was submitted in June and is currently in review with the City and County of Denver.

[TakeFive]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention

Originally Posted by AHS1983

This cam is fixed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-9LrAFMTXM

If I didn't pull on your chain, who would?

Originally Posted by mhays

You'll have to speak up...our population grew by over 2% last year within city limits. The city has problems but it's trending right...and don't fall sucker to everything you hear.

Any city that is Amazon-powered with 55,000 employees in 10 million square feet of office space hardly has anything to worry about. And that doesn't include the up to 3 million more square feet and 10,000 employees across the water in Bellevue.

You were right about investment locations. Three writers with POLITCO map the 1st 200 projects approved under IRA.

Side Topic

‘Bidenomics’ delivered a once-in-generation investment.
August 15, 2023 BY Lisa Mascaro - AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — There are so many dots on the maps they blur into blobs — each one reflecting trillions of public and private dollars flowing in the U.S. this past year to build thousands of roads, bridges and manufacturing projects in communities large and small, in states red and blue.

Now rounding year one, it remains a work in progress. The Inflation Reduction Act, the Chips and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act are coming into fruition at a time of economic churn and stubborn inflation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Politics aside, this is a Good Read.

Then on the same day we get this:

Fitch warns it may be forced to downgrade dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase
AUG 15 2023 By Hugh Son - CNBC

A Fitch Ratings analyst warned that the U.S. banking industry has inched closer to another source of turbulence — the risk of sweeping rating downgrades on dozens of U.S. banks that could even include the likes of JPMorgan Chase

Makes you wonder if we aren't living in two different realities. While much of the infrastructure investment may not help office space in San Francisco or Chicago I have to believe while there may be some damage from older office buildings for example but most banks are holding construction loans and they should weather the turbulence IMO.

It is fair to say given the interest rate environment refinancing's will be more difficult and new starts will be few for the balance of this year. Then we'll see.

[TakeFive]

Thanks Matt; fun retro look.

Originally Posted by Matt

Not a fan of anything that isn't a supertall on this site. Once hope was let out of the bag, I can't settle for anything less than 1,000' here.

For historic reference, this is the building that was demolished to make way for the parking lot on the site:

-----------------------------

There's a lack of respect for older things IMO

Can somebody go by the 112-year-old Alameda Bridge over Interstate 25 and the South Platte River and pass along my last respects. Apparently they're just going to throw this out as if it were trash