DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by rds70

Here is a rendering of the 94 unit, seven story affordable residential building that DaVita Healthcare hopes to build at 2000 Welton St. Craine Architecture is designing the project:

It's perfectly serviceable, but it's woefully undersized for the site and for the need.

[TakeFive]

Colorado's economic growth fell from 5th in the nation to 41st, according to new report
Dec 10, 2024 By: Brandon Richard -- Denver 7 News

Note: Part of this covers the previous 15 years.

The University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business released its 60th Annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook on Monday. While it shows Colorado’s economy is still growing, it's doing so at a slower pace.

When comparing the prior 15 years to this year, Colorado’s economic growth has fallen significantly — from 5th in the nation to 41st, according to the report. ... The report said slower growth "may be the new reality for Colorado as population growth, especially through net migration, remains slow..."

The usual 'cost of living' is one issue. Then there's the Colorado Chamber of Commerce who speaks for all those nasty, evil businesses and developers.

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce said there’s another reason for slower growth: too many regulations on businesses. The chamber released a report of its own on Tuesday, showing Colorado ranks sixth in the nation for regulations on businesses. The report said there were nearly 200,000 restrictions on businesses in Colorado.

“A lot of these regulations could be considered as redundant or otherwise excessive, and approximately 45% of these regulations do fall in that category,” said Irina Piatselchyts, a senior partner and consultant for StratACUMEN, a business analysis and research firm.

“A lot of these regulations have been in the area of labor and employment, energy and environment. So those would be some of the areas we would be focusing on in terms of our legislative solutions,” said Loren Furman, the president and CEO of the Colorado Chamber of Commerce.

Recently I googled "Site Selectors" to see what their latest take is. They complemented Denver for its tech talent etc. But for those looking for a more affordable business-friendly place they recommended Colorado Springs and Greeley/Weld County.

[Fritzdude]

The ads on the site make viewing this on mobile very onerous.

[TakeFive]

Accounting firm subleases DaVita space near Union Station
December 10, 2024 By Matt Geiger -- BusinessDen

An accounting firm is trading in two nickels for a dime.

CliftonLarsonAllen, based in Minneapolis, is closing its offices in Broomfield and Greenwood Village in favor of one in downtown Denver. The firm plans to open in 21,000 square feet at 2001 16th St. near Union Station in May. Its sublease with dialysis firm DaVita will run another eight years.

2001 16th St




Courtesy of DaVita

Back Story

DaVita owns the building at 2001 16th Street in downtown Denver, Colorado. In 2015, DaVita built a new 410,000 square foot space at this address, across the street from their original headquarters. DaVita leases 265,000 square feet of the building

Someone who works for DaVita had mentioned recently on Reddit that their space was mostly empty or barely used so this lease in not a surprise. Leasing 21,000 square feet will make a nice dent and is presumably a good deal for both parties.

[TakeFive]

Lender forecloses on coworking firm’s downtown office tower
December 10, 2024 By Thomas Gounley -- BusinessDen

LoanCore Capital, a real estate lending firm, owns Trinity Place at 1801 Broadway in Denver, Colorado:

On November 21, 2024, LoanCore Capital took ownership of the building after no other bidder appeared at a foreclosure auction. LoanCore submitted a credit bid of $34.6 million, which was the remaining principal on the 2019 loan.

Trinity Place -- 1801 Broadway


Photo courtesy (via) LoopNet

[TakeFive]

Lender forecloses on pair of Glendale office buildings
December 6, 2024 By Thomas Gounley -- BusinessDen

Two office buildings in Glendale are now in the hands of a lender following a foreclosure auction. Phoenicia Real Estate Holdings foreclosed on the Cherry Creek Plaza I and II buildings at 600 and 650 S. Cherry St. on Oct. 2, according to Arapahoe County records.

Cherry Creek Plaza I & II -- 600 and 650 S. Cherry St.


Image via LoopNet

AI Overview isn't always precisely accurate; Close and almost but this is a bit humorous:

Yes, a lender foreclosed on two office buildings in Glendale, Arizona owned by TerraCap Management on October 2, 2024:

• Property: The Cherry Creek Plaza I and II buildings at 600 and 650 S. Cherry St.
• Lender: Phoenicia Real Estate Holdings
• Buyer: Phoenicia submitted a credit bid of $29 million for the buildings

TerraCap Management, a Florida-based investment firm, purchased the buildings in March 2020 for $54.6 million. The company faced challenges with the property, including a decline in occupancy. As of June, Cherry Creek Plaza I was 65 percent leased and Plaza II was 60 percent leased.

Everything but the 'state' is correct.

These building have a nice location (sort of) being so close to Cherry Creek.

[TakeFive]

Potential Central Park/RTD developer for 900 affordable units?

First Residents at The Meadowmark Senior Housing Move In
December 11, 2024 -- Mile High CRE

Ulysses Development Group – a Denver-based mission-driven developer and owner of affordable and workforce housing – is excited to announce that residents are beginning to move into its first new construction community in Colorado — The Meadowmark — in The Meadows neighborhood of Castle Rock.

The Meadowmark is an affordable housing community for seniors 55+ with units set aside at 30%, 60% and 70% area medium income (AMI) — at a time when housing is at a premium in Douglas County.

The Meadowmark -- 3223 Timber Mill Pkwy, Castle Rock




Images courtesy Ulysses Development Group

New law change could pave way for more affordable housing on RTD property
June 27, 2024 By Andrew Haubner -- CBS News Denver

On Tuesday, a long-discussed effort in Denver to convert an underutilized portion of the Central Park Station parking lot into affordable housing is advancing. The RTD Board approved entering exclusive negotiations with Ulysses Development Group to create a complex that offers up to 900 affordable units at a park-n-ride lot on the west side of the station area.

This initiative is part of RTD's broader strategy to increase transit-oriented housing developments near rail and bus stations. "What we're seeing is a change in parking utilization and ridership, and also we're seeing an affordable housing crisis in the region," said Chessy Brady, the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) manager for RTD.

Originally, I had noted that Ulysses Development had a rather thin resume of completed projects (including one in So Phoenix). Basically, they started by building 'Affordable' projects and quickly moved to include 'workforce' projects. To their credit they now have a several years of experience. It appears that they started their strategy at a perfect time.

[TakeFive]

Denver Holds 19M SF of Office Redevelopment Potential
December 12, 2024 -- Mile High CRE

CommercialCafe recently published a study analyzing how much office space in urban cores represents feasible opportunity for conversion to residential use.

As we approach 2025, many U.S. cities face two pressing issues — increased levels of vacant office space and a shortage of affordable housing. Yet, this challenge also presents an opportunity.

Whatever, color me skeptical as to the data's conclusions, not that there isn't merit to the concept.

The study used the CommercialEdge Conversion Feasibility Index (CFI) for this analysis, focusing on the 30 largest cities by urban core rentable office stock. We examined how much office space could potentially be converted in each location, and ranked them accordingly.

The article does have a map of cities analyzed and places properties into either Tier I or Tier II.

[TakeFive]

You aren't wrong

Originally Posted by EngiNerd

A good thing...until the banks that back all of this can no longer absorb these hits.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/12/flushing-financial-seeks-to-raise-70-million.html

Flushing Financial, a New York-based commercial real estate lender, is seeking to raise $70 million to shore up its capital, CNBC has learned.

The bank’s CEO, John Buran, has told potential investors that he intends to sell low-yielding bonds and loans backed by commercial real estate, including multifamily buildings, moves that would generate a loss and necessitate the sale of fresh stock, people with knowledge of the deal told CNBC.

Generally Speaking

Most of the U.S. banks under pressure are community banks with under $10 billion in assets, like Flushing....

Now, with a rebound in bank stock prices this year and the start of a Fed easing cycle in September, investors expect more banks to raise capital in the coming months.

Behind the scenes, regulators have been prodding banks with confidential orders to improve capital levels.

[laniroj]

It's getting pretty lonely on this page. I've really been hoping to see a wave of office conversion announcements but it's just not happening. Regulatory barriers - why aren't cities moving fast(er) to do away with these? For the life of me I cannot understand it - we don't need "study groups" we need action. We need the fire department to not request a second stairwell, we need code waivers for operable windows, we need energy efficiency and electrification requirements waived. Is this really so hard or do we just have a bunch of do-nothing nobody's leading our cities? Is it that hard to amend laws which create urban renewal districts en masse? What happened to bold leadership???? I was happy to see 6A passed by the peeps and then by Council, but that's just money. The real barrier to re-use is in the zoning, building codes, and city amendments.

https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/which-cities-would-benefit-most-converting-offices-housing

Rant over but seriously, municipalities need to act fast before American downtowns all turn into a 1970's NYC mad max scenario. We need not look very far back to see where this is headed.

Anybody on this page in the industry working on anything in this space? Anybody working in government and knowledgeable here? Any elected leaders reading this? Let's start talking and if that doesn't work, let's start screaming.

[mhays]

My area has streamlined code requirements and process and cut fees at the state and local level, but I can think of just one announced building looking into a conversion. (Looking at Seattle's code changes I don't see mention of operable windows or second stairs, though I haven't looked at all the referenced sections.)

Some might be today's general poor development economics. Some is building owners hanging on to offices in hope of more workers returning. Some is the opposite: developers waiting for rock bottom sale prices, which aren't happening due to banks propping up borrowers.

Worst of all, conversions still cost way more than new construction...or so I'm told, even after a lot of costs have narrowed.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by laniroj

It's getting pretty lonely on this page. I've really been hoping to see a wave of office conversion announcements but it's just not happening. Regulatory barriers - why aren't cities moving fast(er) to do away with these? For the life of me I cannot understand it - we don't need "study groups" we need action. We need the fire department to not request a second stairwell, we need code waivers for operable windows, we need energy efficiency and electrification requirements waived. Is this really so hard or do we just have a bunch of do-nothing nobody's leading our cities? Is it that hard to amend laws which create urban renewal districts en masse? What happened to bold leadership???? I was happy to see 6A passed by the peeps and then by Council, but that's just money. The real barrier to re-use is in the zoning, building codes, and city amendments.

Relaxing regulations doesn't justify government expenditures and endless rounds of studies by urban planners. Just think of it as a jobs program for those with the right mindset.


I mean, look at the development review and permit process and subpar improvement to those timelines to see that the city doesn't give too fucks about improvement. They'd rather backslap each other over building 60-units with public money then enable the construction of 600 units leveraging private money.


Hope I'm wrong on this pessimistic assessment, but I'll by cynical for now as Denver leadership doesn't appear to be terribly pro-private sector solutions.

Rant over but seriously, municipalities need to act fast before American downtowns all turn into a 1970's NYC mad max scenario. We need not look very far back to see where this is headed.

Anybody on this page in the industry working on anything in this space? Anybody working in government and knowledgeable here? Any elected leaders reading this? Let's start talking and if that doesn't work, let's start screaming.

The optimistic side of me wants to say that Denver leadership want to see how the completion of the Sixteenth Street Mall affects the CBD before pushing further on office to residential conversions. Also, building owners may be looking at how RTO mandates continues to play out (look at Amazon realizing they cut space too much space to have all their employees RTO). You're seeing a swing back on the pendulum that will affect occupancy levels and that will hit which projects need the public money for commercial to residential

[TakeFive]

This may not be new to you but it was news to me

Originally Posted by mhays

My area has streamlined code requirements and process and cut fees at the state and local level, but I can think of just one announced building looking into a conversion. (Looking at Seattle's code changes I don't see mention of operable windows or second stairs, though I haven't looked at all the referenced sections.)

Some might be today's general poor development economics. Some is building owners hanging on to offices in hope of more workers returning. Some is the opposite: developers waiting for rock bottom sale prices, which aren't happening due to banks propping up borrowers.

Worst of all, conversions still cost way more than new construction...or so I'm told, even after a lot of costs have narrowed.

BTW, while we speak I'm listening to Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite.

Very nicely done AP article by Jenny Kane

How one village became the Christmas capital of Washington state
December 24, 2024

(AP) — The scent of bratwurst and pretzels filled the air as horses clopped down the main street, hauling a carriage full of tourists. Nestled in her mother’s arms, a baby reached out to touch a shop window display, peering toward the sequin-covered reindeer behind it, as colorful ornaments twirled nearby.

Welcome to Leavenworth, Washington, the Christmas capital of the Pacific Northwest.

AP Photo/Jenny Kane

Having lived in the Roaring Fork Valley from Aspen to Glenwood Springs helps me relate to this story.

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

Where have I seen you before


Image via LoopNet

RiNo’s Rev360 office building, empty since 2020 completion, given to lender
December 24, 2024 By Thomas Gounley -- BusinessDen

The unluckiest office building in Denver has been given to its lender. San Francisco-based Shorenstein gave up the keys to the Rev360 ...

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

5775 DTC Blvd, Greenwood Village


Image per CBRE

Local firm buys DTC office at 75 percent discount in bankruptcy auction
December 16, 2024 By Thomas Gounley -- BusinessDen

An office complex in the Denver Tech Center has sold through a bankruptcy auction for a quarter of what it fetched in 2018. Denver-based Valley Equity Group bought the building at 5775 DTC Blvd. in Greenwood Village last week for $4.5 million, according to public records.

[TakeFive]

On the positive side of the ledger

Aerospace companies choose Colorado over Utah, California for expansion
December 13, 2024 By Judith Kohler -- The Denver Post via Colorado Hometown Weekly

A California aerospace company that develops micro-satellite systems and infrastructure is expanding its operations to Littleton and is expected to create 141 net jobs.

Astro Digital, which also considered locating in Utah, provides satellite mission and flight support for such applications as Earth observation and communications.

And the second company?

Thursday’s announcement is the second in 10 days about an aerospace company expanding into Colorado. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, OEDIT, announced Dec. 3 that Safran Electronics & Defense, a global equipment supplier for defense and space, will open a manufacturing facility in Parker to produce electric propulsion thrusters and locate a workshop for space telemetry ground equipment.

Not sure how big a deal but it's a Big Deal to see companies moving to the metro area.

Colorado’s aerospace industry is the country’s second-largest, behind California’s. Colorado has the highest per capita concentration of people in the aerospace industry, with 55,000 direct employees and another 184,000 employees who indirectly support the industry, according to OEDIT.

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

MBH Architects Relocates Denver Office to LoDo
December 16, 2024 -- Mile High CRE

Award-winning architecture and design firm MBH Architects has relocated its Denver office to 1708 Wynkoop St., in the heart of Denver’s LoDo neighborhood. This move, led by Studio Director Joe Irwin, reflects MBH’s commitment to growth, deeper client engagement, and expanding its range of services to support a broadening portfolio...

This historic building in the Streetcar Stables complex combines modern functionality with classic design features, like exposed brick, high ceilings, and wood floors — a space that supports MBH’s focus on creativity and forward-thinking design.

Streetcar Stables Building -- 1700-1736 Wynkoop St


Courtesy Visit Denver

Again, not sure how big a deal but it's progress even if small.

MBH, based in Alameda, California opened a Denver office back in June of 2019 in the Republic Plaza Building.

[TakeFive]

Statistics can make me go ballistic but since it's modestly upbeat we will post it.

Tech Companies Accounted For About 20% Of Denver Office Leasing In 2024
December 13, 2024 By Jonathan Rose, Denver -- Bisnow

Denver has cemented its place as one of North America’s tech hubs, according to CBRE’s 2024 Tech 30 report, but office vacancy rates are still high and negative absorption plagues landlords and developers.

Tech companies accounted for 21.4% of Denver’s office leasing activity in 2024, on par with the national average of 21% in CBRE’s Tech 30. Venture capital funding also poured into the city’s tech ecosystem, with $1.1B secured in the first half of the year across 47 deals, including $38.1M for artificial intelligence-focused companies.

THIS IS COOL


Bisnow/created with assistance from OpenAI's DALL-E

The Denver metro ranks among the top markets for year-over-year office rent growth, according to the report, with rates climbing 5.7% as of the second quarter...

Downtown was the only Denver submarket to show positive absorption in Q3, thanks largely to UK-based online sports betting firm Bet365 moving its U.S. HQ into the Mile High City. The entire metro area saw nearly 1M SF of negative absorption in the same period.

We posted this earlier; it's downtown writ large as they absorbed a couple of floors in One Platte. It is 120,000 square feet which is a nice lease.

CBRE Senior Vice President Nic Weld told Bisnow... Despite challenges, Weld expressed optimism about Denver’s future. He highlighted the city’s highly educated workforce, tech diversity and increasing office attendance as reasons for long-term growth.

Nationally, the CBRE report says “most Tech-30 markets are entering the stabilization phase of the office market cycle.”

Even though tech companies have become more judicious about their space requirements their view of what and where they want to be is often different from many more ordinary businesses.

[TakeFive]

Whatever you are drinking... pour me a couple of glasses; It's 2025

Originally Posted by mhays

Some might be today's general poor development economics. Some is building owners hanging on to offices in hope of more workers returning. Some is the opposite: developers waiting for rock bottom sale prices, which aren't happening due to banks propping up borrowers.

Worst of all, conversions still cost way more than new construction...or so I'm told, even after a lot of costs have narrowed.

Denver deserves better than this:

Denver’s affordable housing shortfall could find an answer in its empty office towers
Sept. 4, 2024 By Aldo Svaldi -- The Denver Post

The Pew Charitable Trusts and the architectural firm Gensler have a proposition for Denver renters struggling to find a place to live that won’t bust their budgets. Would they take a studio apartment in a renovated skyscraper for $850 a month, under half the going market rent, with the catch being that they would have to share bathroom and kitchen space and likely skip a parking spot?

Pew and Gensler are proposing a co-living, aka dormitory approach, as the answer to two problems — creating more affordable housing units and saving Denver’s aging skyscrapers, many of which face economic obsolescence.

Problems; Issues but funky solutions are not the answer.

Plumbing water and sewer to the edge of a high-rise is expensive, and the large floor plates of buildings, especially those built after the 1970s, result in a lot of wasted space in the center. Design models that include windowless apartments are non-starters, and those with long stretched-out skinny apartments aren’t far behind.

I don't want just to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic; rather Denver should help to provide the same fate as the Titanic by demolishing "Plain Jane" office towers. It's the best way to use the $570 million bond measure to revitalize downtown Denver that I can think of by providing a share of the demo costs. Then let the market work its magic.

Thinking of Seattle

What little I know is enough. While Denver has RiNo, Seattle has at least three different neighborhoods as a part of the greater downtown footprint. mays might know the numbers but Seattle has built a slew of apartment and/or condo towers often reaching 40 stories or more.

Thinking of Phoenix

While downtown Phoenix may not be the hot office market location there has been I'd guess a dozen or more apartment towers built over the last dozen years as well as some nice mid-rise projects. IIRC, most are ~20 stories due to height restrictions from Sky Harbor. But 20 stories is plenty to make an amazing difference and impact which has really helped to activate the urban core.

Thinking of Denver

Denver deserves a variety of new residential towers right downtown that provide primarily market rate housing. I'm all for affordable units but I'd have to believe that an excess of hotel rooms would be so much easier to convert to affordable units.

[TakeFive]

Developing Developments for Denver

Props to Westword for being the 1st local media outlet to break the story.

Just for Kicks: Denver Is Getting a National Women's Soccer League Team
January 2, 2025 By Catie Cheshire -- Westword

Denver will soon have a professional women's soccer team in the National Women's Soccer League, since the ownership group made the first payment to the league required to start the team on December 31, 2024.

According to a report from Sportico, the group will pay $110 million to the NWSL as an expansion fee to establish the team. Supporters have called for a professional women's soccer team in Denver for years, formalizing that demand with the For Denver FC effort that began in June 2023 and used the excitement around the World Cup to show evidence that Denver's soccer fans were ready for a team.

When Angeli, Hubbard and Dunmore started For Denver FC, they told Westword that the lack of a pro women's soccer team in Denver was shocking. The $110 million expansion fee is more than double the previous NWSL record for new teams and is also the biggest expansion fee ever paid in U.S. women’s sports.

Who are the drivers behind this amazing new Denver sports franchise?

The controlling owner of the new team will reportedly be Robert Cohen, CEO of IMA Financial Group, a financial services company and longtime sports booster in the metro area. Cohen will be joined by Lakewood-born Jordan Angeli, a Major League Soccer and NWSL analyst based in Denver who played professionally herself. Ben Hubbard, Parsyl insurance company founder; Ton Dunmore, a former member of the Obama administration who has a background in sports marketing; and venture capitalist Nicole Glaros are also members of the ownership team.

Who is Robert Cohen, CEO of IMA Financial Group? Their offices are located at 1705 17th St #100, Denver, CO


Courtesy IMA

Who is Ben Hubbard, Parsyl insurance company? Their HQ is located at 2800 Walnut St. They also have an office in London.


Courtesy LoopNet

The new Franchise could start playing as early as 2026 at a temporary location. They do intend to develop their own exclusive facilities. This is nice achievement for Denver and just one more reason to like their future.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I don't want just to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic; rather Denver should help to provide the same fate as the Titanic by demolishing "Plain Jane" office towers. It's the best way to use the $570 million bond measure to revitalize downtown Denver that I can think of by providing a share of the demo costs. Then let the market work its magic.

IDK about your proposition to use the DDA bonding to conduct a DURA Skyline redux. Feels a bit icky and counter-productive. There will certainly be demolition of some towers downtown over the coming decades, but I suspect there is a good chunk of the B and C towers that are decently positioned for residential conversion as is (say 33%). This Pew/Gensler proposal is likely only applicable to one or two towers where a semi-market solution would work along with subsidies. But if you can get ~1,300 units into a building where ~300 units would normally go. I'd support putting $25M into doing such a conversion.

Thinking of Seattle

What little I know is enough. While Denver has RiNo, Seattle has at least three different neighborhoods as a part of the greater downtown footprint. mays might know the numbers but Seattle has built a slew of apartment and/or condo towers often reaching 40 stories or more.

Thinking of Phoenix

While downtown Phoenix may not be the hot office market location there has been I'd guess a dozen or more apartment towers built over the last dozen years as well as some nice mid-rise projects. IIRC, most are ~20 stories due to height restrictions from Sky Harbor. But 20 stories is plenty to make an amazing difference and impact which has really helped to activate the urban core.

Thinking of Denver

Denver deserves a variety of new residential towers right downtown that provide primarily market rate housing. I'm all for affordable units but I'd have to believe that an excess of hotel rooms would be so much easier to convert to affordable units.

Feels like you're talking about RiNo, Ball Arena, River Mile, and Golden Triangle that are/will provide a ton of market-rate units as well as some affordable options in towers ranging from 6 to 40-stories. Be remiss to not mention Amacon's four-tower development in downtown proper that will bring 1,000 units of for-sale housing.

So the development is occurring, the question is how to address the office situation downtown. Do you just start tearing down towers with public money, put public money towards office conversions, incentivize new residential development, or (the most likely) do all three?

[TakeFive]

We can agree to disagree

Originally Posted by wong21fr

IDK about your proposition to use the DDA bonding to conduct a DURA Skyline redux. Feels a bit icky and counter-productive. There will certainly be demolition of some towers downtown over the coming decades, but I suspect there is a good chunk of the B and C towers that are decently positioned for residential conversion as is (say 33%). This Pew/Gensler proposal is likely only applicable to one or two towers where a semi-market solution would work along with subsidies. But if you can get ~1,300 units into a building where ~300 units would normally go. I'd support putting $25M into doing such a conversion.

For starters the Gensler idea makes me nervous. To a point I love affordable housing but downtown Denver already has enough of an image problem to potentially add a project filled with 'trash' - OK, over-exaggeration perhaps but worth considering.

Additionally, I was relying on mhays whose expertise concerning construction is much smarter than mine

Worst of all, conversions still cost way more than new construction...or so I'm told, even after a lot of costs have narrowed.

Let me correct myself

since I couldn't even speak intelligently about where I live. Doing rideshare has me mostly avoiding downtown but I end up there from time to time but don't have time to count the number of stories etc.

For starters the height limit in downtown Phoenix is ~30 stories (for apartments). For example

Discover urban luxury living at PALMtower, a striking new addition to the Phoenix skyline by renowned Phoenix architect Will Bruder, a 29-story residential tower. Experience the epitome of luxury urban living ... where PALMtower is the hottest new destination for high-rise apartment living.

I hope you're not saying that other than say The Quincy that downtown doesn't deserve nice new things? The difference in architectural appeal and living style from a new-build rather than a converted warmed over blah is striking.

How about some downtown TOD

Central Station* – Expected completion 2025

This mammoth architectural undertaking by Multistudio balances a number of factors to transform the area into a “vibrant urban hub” of activity, including multiple residential towers, a transit center, and ground-floor retail space to greet the City of Phoenix bus and Valley Metro light rail commuters and shoppers. The 32-story residential and 21-story student housing towers add 655 units to Downtown’s inventory, with seven percent allocated as workforce housing. The project is set to open within the next two years.

Credit Holland Partner for building many quality projects in Denver but their most notable "The Platform" in DUS is 21 stories but on the whole DUS is much more mid-density than tall boys. BTW, they just broke ground on a 45-story apartment in Seattle -- that's what I'm saying that downtown Denver deserves: new construction from say 25 stories and up. For example The Quincy is 28 stories.

To think that Denver (downtown) would settle for way less that the nice apartments in downtown Phoenix sounds really strange.

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Feels like you're talking about RiNo, Ball Arena, River Mile, and Golden Triangle that are/will provide a ton of market-rate units as well as some affordable options in towers ranging from 6 to 40-stories. Be remiss to not mention Amacon's four-tower development in downtown proper that will bring 1,000 units of for-sale housing.

I'm talking about downtown and not the nearby neighborhoods. Who knows in what decade or what River Mile will end up looking like. They haven't even started the So Platte river redevelopment. But yes, props to Amacon Towers. We need more like this in the CBD.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

...I don't want just to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic; rather Denver should help to provide the same fate as the Titanic by demolishing "Plain Jane" office towers. It's the best way to use the $570 million bond measure to revitalize downtown Denver that I can think of by providing a share of the demo costs. Then let the market work its magic.
...

THE MARKET IS COMMUNICATING to the City what it wants. Relax the building code for conversions, relax the fire code requirements to allow for conversion at all, remove all existing zoning barriers, streamline the permitting process, get rid of energize denver which kills ALL of these conversions B4 they even start, and distribute a giant pile of money to 5-10 projects. Will it be perfect, NO, but it will be a good result with a TON of downtown residential presence. We can require perfection and achieve nothing or we can roll with the punches and achieve great things. Will there be waste? Yeah. Will there be fraud? Yeah, probly. Back in the day, government and the people who ran it understood there would be waste and fraud but that was the price of moving fast and achieving big things. This concept seems to have been forgotten or abandoned in favor of overwhelmingly complex feel good regulations which....still lead to the same waste and fraud.