DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by DenverInfill

Let's help you out a bit. Start here:

https://www.denvergov.org/content/denver...velopment/zoning/denver-zoning-code.html

You'll notice there are six "contexts" in the city:

S - Suburban
E - Urban Edge
U - Urban
G - General Urban
C - Urban Center
D - Downtown

Every parcel in the city with a new zoning code designation on it will have a zoning district on it that starts with one of those six letters. So first, start there and open only the PDF for the context you need. That will eliminate about 95% of the pages. (The Downtown "D" section is only 74 pages).

The next set of letters designates the building form/use. Then, when applicable, the last part of the code indicates building height in floors.

For example: G-MU-12 = General Urban Neighborhood Context, Multi-Unit Residential, 12 Floors Max

Within the applicable "context" document, scroll down to the specific section you're interested in and you'll find pretty much what you need to know.

For Downtown, things are a little different, as the second set of letters indicates the geographic subarea and not the building form/use. For example: D-AS = Arapahoe Square, D-GT = Golden Triangle, etc.

The Downtown districts don't have the last set of numbers indicating floor height, because Downtown still uses the old FAR (Floor Area Ratio) zoning approach where gross building square footage rather than height is regulated (except for the areas with height restrictions).

In the case of the "UO-1" part of the hotel site's zoning, you have to go to the "Special Contexts and Districts" PDF where you'll see that UO means a "Use Overlay" district where certain uses are permitted or restricted in addition to the base zoning. Here, UO-1 applies to Adult uses, where they are permitted.

This is a handy "how to use the code" document:

https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/de...nver_Zoning_Code_Article2_Using_Code.pdf

I hope that helps.

That's very helpful. thank you!

[pregersthehobo]

Looks like 1144 has gotten up to the mechanical penthouse. Topping out soon!

[twister244]

Some more interesting follow-up discussion related to the school/hotel site discussed earlier....

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/01/denver-convention-center-expansion-costs/

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by twister244

Some more interesting follow-up discussion related to the school/hotel site discussed earlier....

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/01/denver-convention-center-expansion-costs/

Great link; it's actualy more about the convention center expansion which I'm even more interested in. The estimate for THAT has gone from $104 million to $233 million. Not all that surprised but the mechanism for paying for it is creative but will it work?

Turning Stonebridge's new site into a 2nd anchor hotel is also intriguing.

[CastleScott]

^ Interesting read and if that thin parcel at the Emily Griffith school is built on-perhaps a tall thin tower of 50 stories or so towering up to 600+ feet or so (perhaps higher if you add in condos over the hotel rooms). Maybe some of the exisiting school could be renovated into meeting space and large rooms..

[TakeFive]

Just like everybody else, we're here to rub elbows with our neighbors


Photo credit: Megan Arellano/Denverite

75 new affordable apartments in one of Denver’s “nicest new areas” — Union Station
June 1, 2017 by Megan Arellano - Denverite

What’s so special about the 75 new income-restricted units at Ashley Union Station?

Location, location, location.

Megan also gives the backstory of how this project came together. All of the income-restricted units are pre-leased but there's 32 merket-rate units that will now be leased as well.

[Fritzdude]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Just like everybody else, we're here to rub elbows with our neighbors


Photo credit: Megan Arellano/Denverite

75 new affordable apartments in one of Denver’s “nicest new areas” — Union Station
June 1, 2017 by Megan Arellano - Denverite

Megan also gives the backstory of how this project came together. All of the income-restricted units are pre-leased but there's 32 merket-rate units that will now be leased as well.

Nice.. but it probably could have 3 times the size and rewarded that many more families with affordable housing options.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by CastleScott

^ Interesting read and if that thin parcel at the Emily Griffith school is built on-perhaps a tall thin tower of 50 stories or so towering up to 600+ feet or so (perhaps higher if you add in condos over the hotel rooms). Maybe some of the exisiting school could be renovated into meeting space and large rooms..

Nope. I'll go with a ~30-story slab with about 900 rooms and meeting space in a podium that includes the integration of the historic Emily Griffith Building. I don't believe that Stonebridge has ever done a mixed-used (residences and hotel)- displaying a preference to not do such a thing. Unless the city gets involved in terms of public subsidies and asks for a portion of the block to include an affordable housing project (which another developer would probably have to do and that would require even more public subsidies) the project that will end up here is going to look very much like the Hyatt Regency.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Fritzdude

Nice.. but it probably could have 3 times the size and rewarded that many more families with affordable housing options.

But was the public funding available at the time to do something three times larger?

Same reason we don't have a subterranean light rail station underneath the commuter rail patterns at Union Station. Public funding in the amount needed for such a project wasn't available in that timeframe.

[Ich]

Great remodel for DIA!

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/02/denver-international-airport-terminal-renovation/

[comoneymaker]

Nooooppeee! I could do that renovation for 100k let alone a billion! That looks stupid as shit. All they are doing is putting some wood on the walls. F that. Doesn't need it.

[twister244]

I totally get moving the security lines and opening up the Great Hall. However, how in the world is that going to cost $1 billion? It doesn't look much different than what we have now. Maybe this is a very preliminary design that will modify significantly, but I am not impressed right now.

[mhays]

It won't cost a billion. The article clarifies that.

I suspect they'd put a lot of system upgrades and other stuff in that's not noted in the summary. Though I have no idea where the money would go.

[TakeFive]

The Denver Business Journal also has more detail in their coverage. For an even better breakdown from DEN, there's an easy-to-scroll through pdf.

Originally Posted by mhays

It won't cost a billion. The article clarifies that.

I suspect they'd put a lot of system upgrades and other stuff in that's not noted in the summary. Though I have no idea where the money would go.

Since they'll be replacing and upgrading all of the mechanical/electrical/escalators etc including the latest screening-tech machines being used in parts of Europe I'd assume that would be a yuge percentage of the cost. What would you guess the FF&E percentage might be; 40/50 percent?

[HighSt.]

I sat next to a gentleman at Steuben's a couple weeks ago who works with a firm that is completely replacing DIA's baggage handling system from scratch. He's a Texan who has agreed to live in Denver for three years to get the job done. I have a feeling most of this remodel will take place behind the scenes.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

The Denver Business Journal also has more detail in their coverage. For an even better breakdown from DEN, there's an easy-to-scroll through pdf.


Since they'll be replacing and upgrading all of the mechanical/electrical/escalators etc including the latest screening-tech machines being used in parts of Europe I'd assume that would be a yuge percentage of the cost. What would you guess the FF&E percentage might be; 40/50 percent?

You might mean MEP (mechanical and electrical, aka HVAC, plumbing, high-voltage, low-voltage) plus packages for escalators, AV, lighting, etc. Definitely that stuff can be the lion's share of an upgrade even when there's no obvious change if you walk in afterward. FF&E is bigger in hotels for example, with furniture, mini-fridges, and semi-permanent stuff like light fixtures.

[TakeFive]

I'm Back - Come on Down


Courtesy of Mile High Fungi via Westword

...
Photos: credit CBS


People come from all over to visit Denver and the DUS Farmers Market.

Air service from Salina makes traveling to Denver fast, inexpensive
JUNE 01, 2017 BY MELINDA SCHNYDER - The Wichita Eagle

Summer road trips to Colorado are a rite of passage for many Kansans, but the additions last year of a low-cost nonstop flight between Salina Regional Airport and Denver International Airport and a rail line from the airport to downtown Denver make flying to Denver an easy, affordable summer trip.

How about that Train to the Plane?

Denver International Airport became one of only a handful of U.S. airports with a train connecting passengers to the downtown center... The trip between the airport and downtown Denver’s Union Station costs $9 and takes 37 minutes, with trains leaving every 15 minutes most of the day.

Shouldn't I rent car though?

...you can easily spend a week exploring the Mile High City without a car. Besides walking, there’s affordable and convenient public rail and bus transportation, a bike-sharing system, pedal cabs and ride-hailing options.

What to do; what to do?

The city’s historic train terminal reopened in July 2014 with bars, shops, a boutique hotel and restaurants, including several run by James Beard Award-winning chefs. Have a Colorado brewed beer or a handcrafted cocktail in the station’s old ticket window, enjoy a dish using honey from the building’s rooftop honey colonies, or shop at the weekly farmers’ market.

So if you missed us this week, Y'all come on down next Saturday starting at 9:00 AM.

[Fritzdude]

Interesting discussion

[TakeFive]

Fritzdude... Always happy to hear about preserving what came before.

Originally Posted by HighSt.

I sat next to a gentleman at Steuben's a couple weeks ago who works with a firm that is completely replacing DIA's baggage handling system from scratch. He's a Texan who has agreed to live in Denver for three years to get the job done. I have a feeling most of this remodel will take place behind the scenes.

That's very interesting. I know the plan includes a new system for baggage check-in and screening including the ability to zoom into a concerning area w/o having to open and rummage through the luggage. I didn't know they would re-do the whole underground system if that is indeed the case.

[mojiferous]

Anyone have a take on this? http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2...s-landmark-ruling-for-condo.html?ana=twt

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday upheld the right of condominium developers to require disputes go to binding arbitration