DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[CherryCreek]

Sad (and somewhat scary) story about the impact of Denver housing costs on a limited income senior.

https://www.denverite.com/homeless-denver-ballpark-neighborhood-19558/


There are a vast number Americans approaching the retirement age without nearly enough resources to support themselves in the coming years. The spectre of massive senior citizen homelessness is a real threat.

This article paints a dire picture:

"If you're overwhelmed by the financial responsibilities of day-to-day life and more focused on making it to the end of the month than on the possibility of being able to save for the distant future, you're not alone. In fact, the vast majority of Americans have under $1,000 saved and half of all Americans have nothing at all put away for retirement.

"Nearly half of families have no retirement account savings at all," the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported, even in savings vehicles such as IRAs and 401(k)s. The median for U.S. families is just $5,000, and the median for families with some savings is $60,000.

And, according to a 2016 GOBankingRates survey, 35 percent of all adults in the U.S. have only several hundred dollars in their savings accounts and 34 percent have zero savings.


Even older workers who can see retirement on the horizon aren't prepared for it. The median savings for families whose wage earners are between 50 and 55 years old is only $8,000. For those who are between 56 and 61, it's $17,000, reports the Economic Policy Institute.


https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/13/heres-ho...nothing-at-all-saved-for-retirement.html

[DenverPoke]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Sad (and somewhat scary) story about the impact of Denver housing costs on a limited income senior.

https://www.denverite.com/homeless-denver-ballpark-neighborhood-19558/


There are a vast number Americans approaching the retirement age without nearly enough resources to support themselves in the coming years. The spectre of massive senior citizen homelessness is a real threat.

This article paints a dire picture:

"If you're overwhelmed by the financial responsibilities of day-to-day life and more focused on making it to the end of the month than on the possibility of being able to save for the distant future, you're not alone. In fact, the vast majority of Americans have under $1,000 saved and half of all Americans have nothing at all put away for retirement.

"Nearly half of families have no retirement account savings at all," the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported, even in savings vehicles such as IRAs and 401(k)s. The median for U.S. families is just $5,000, and the median for families with some savings is $60,000.

And, according to a 2016 GOBankingRates survey, 35 percent of all adults in the U.S. have only several hundred dollars in their savings accounts and 34 percent have zero savings.


Even older workers who can see retirement on the horizon aren't prepared for it. The median savings for families whose wage earners are between 50 and 55 years old is only $8,000. For those who are between 56 and 61, it's $17,000, reports the Economic Policy Institute.


https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/13/heres-ho...nothing-at-all-saved-for-retirement.html

The looming retirement funding crisis is extremely scary and we should all be concerned...it isn't that far away.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by RyanD

According to site development review, it's a 7-story ~300 unit residential project.

This is from Kephart's website:



http://kephart.com/portfolio/363-south-broadway/

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by BG918

This is from Kephart's website:



http://kephart.com/portfolio/363-south-broadway/

🞵🞵🞵? Is it a treatment center for people with Rickets?

[jbssfelix]

Is that a parking garage on the first two floors?!

Originally Posted by BG918

This is from Kephart's website:



http://kephart.com/portfolio/363-south-broadway/

[HighSt.]

I am excited to see someone, *anyone*, designing a land barge around one anchoring architectural idea.

It seems to me that a common theme of developments during this cycle is a sort of aesthetic cluelesness. The architects who design for land-barge financiers seem to be caught in between embracing the mid-to-late 00's fascination with Mid-Century-Modernism and designing something that has a lot of "Traditional American" and vaguely Colonial design ideas baked in.

If you need a masterclass on why this design approach consistently bombs, look no further than Via Apartments at 828 Broadway. This building literally embodies this idea of a lack of identity; it has two cornices: one up top that's traditional, and another, vaguely International-Style one playing second fiddle underneath it. The rest of the building is a 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 mess too, but that's beside the point I'm trying to make.

Here's hoping that Denver sees more large developments embrace a clearer aesthetic language/inspiration like Kephart has aimed for here.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by jbssfelix

Is that a parking garage on the first two floors?!

And you're surprised because...... ???

I thought that this project was supposed to include some retail along one of the corners. But Kephart's description doesn't make any mention of this.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by twister244

Yeah, agree completely with Atlanta. Funny because a lot of people put it high on the list after the top 20 came out. Several people love to put Austin at the top of the list. However, Austin doeasn't even have half the public transit Denver has (or other cities on the list). At this point it's really hard to tell exactly what Amazon is weighing more/less when looking at their prospects for HQ2.

Who recalls First Gulf Development Corp?

In any case, my Amazon HQ money is on their proposed development in This City.


Rendering of East Harbour project - First Gulf Development Corp

[SirLucasTheGreat]

I did an advanced search for the Sherman El Jebel Tower and came across a website about EB-5 projects that included this rendering. I have no idea how legitimate it is although they have site right. It would be interesting seeing a building of that height that close to the Cash Register building.

Here is the link to the site: http://mercadiacambodia.com/eb-5-project/

[TakeFive]

Given Denver's current booming economy a lot of people are indeed making very good bank, thank you, and nothing is wrong with that (except I was born way too early )

But for the average Joe and Juanita it's very different picture.

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Sad (and somewhat scary) story about the impact of Denver housing costs on a limited income senior.

Just for grins I asked my BFF (Google) a question and The Motley Fool provided the answer.
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/08/30/how-big-is-the-average-persons-social-security-che.aspx

The raw numbers
In the 12-month period ending June 2017, over 2.9 million Americans signed up for Social Security benefits. On average, these retired workers were awarded $1,413.08 in monthly benefits, however, the average benefits payable were quite different for men and women. In the period, 1.4 million women filed for Social Security benefits, and their average award was $1,231.50. Men, however, were awarded $1,583.77, on average.

Also consider that most people have their Medicare payments deducted from their SS checks.

[Stenar]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/01/amazon-hq2-denver-housing/

This survey gives Denver a decent chance at HQ2. It seems like a lot of the research has Atlanta near or at the top, but I really think the state has destroyed their chances withe the latest NRA/Delta debacle. I can’t see Amazon getting excited about a state where high level leaders are so keen to tie social issues with business. It certainly helps Denver and I don’t think Atlanta is in the top 10 anymore.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be in the D.C. suburbs.

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

I did an advanced search for the Sherman El Jebel Tower and came across a website about EB-5 projects that included this rendering. I have no idea how legitimate it is although they have site right. It would be interesting seeing a building of that height that close to the Cash Register building.

Here is the link to the site: http://mercadiacambodia.com/eb-5-project/

I did a little research on this proposal about a year ago and came to the conclusion its merely a prop to be used by wealthy foreigners with ostensible financial interest to take advantage of some loophole for gaining permanent residency in the U.S. I couldn't find any real people who actually develop stuff associated with it. I remember they had a certain fundraising goal and weren't even remotely close to reaching it so I just wrote it off. But maybe I just don't get it.

[mojiferous]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

I did an advanced search for the Sherman El Jebel Tower and came across a website about EB-5 projects that included this rendering. I have no idea how legitimate it is although they have site right. It would be interesting seeing a building of that height that close to the Cash Register building.

Here is the link to the site: http://mercadiacambodia.com/eb-5-project/

Someone on here can probably provide exact dates, but that rendering/proposal has been around since the early 00s - it was originally supposed to be a Trump hotel, not sure if the original team ever owned the empty lot, but I do remember something about negotiations with the city to preserve the Shriner Temple in exchange for height allowances and view plane exclusions. Not sure how far along the project got, but this team definitely have the same old renderings...

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

I did a little research on this proposal about a year ago and came to the conclusion its merely a prop to be used by wealthy foreigners with ostensible financial interest to take advantage of some loophole for gaining permanent residency in the U.S. I couldn't find any real people who actually develop stuff associated with it. I remember they had a certain fundraising goal and weren't even remotely close to reaching it so I just wrote it off. But maybe I just don't get it.

It's called an EB-5 Visa. There have been some scams out there, but a whole lot of real estate had also been financed through the program over the past 30 years. Hotels in particular have utilized a lot of eb5 financing.

The latest update on this project is they have all the investors lined up and the project recently (late 2017) gained approval from USCIS. Petitions from the investors have been submitted to USCIS which, if all are approved, would allow the project to start. Around the time the proejct was approved by USCIS fences went up around the temple (not the tower construction site) and reportedly work on restoration of the interior is supposed to begin soon.

I think this is far from a sure deal, but it has some legs. The rendering are all quite old though -- from the Trump Tower era. Not sure what will come if it, but I wouldn't expect a project of this type to spend a lot of money on 'design'.

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by twister244

Several people love to put Austin at the top of the list. However, Austin doeasn't even have half the public transit Denver has (or other cities on the list).

I think Denver's biggest disadvantage might be its relatively small size - and Austin's CSA is about 58% the size of Denver's. I'm surprised Austin is even being taken seriously as a contender.

My best guess would be a larger metro with a substantial presence of quality higher education like Boston or the DC area.

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

It's called an EB-5 Visa. There have been some scams out there, but a whole lot of real estate had also been financed through the program over the past 30 years. Hotels in particular have utilized a lot of eb5 financing.

The latest update on this project is they have all the investors lined up and the project recently (late 2017) gained approval from USCIS. Petitions from the investors have been submitted to USCIS which, if all are approved, would allow the project to start. Around the time the proejct was approved by USCIS fences went up around the temple (not the tower construction site) and reportedly work on restoration of the interior is supposed to begin soon.

I think this is far from a sure deal, but it has some legs.

Interesting. Thanks for chiming in. I guess I should be taking this one a bit more seriously. I'm always rooting for skyline-extending projects on the CBD's periphery. This would be a good one.

[rds70]

I thought I might break up this thread with a few photos from New Zealand and Australia where I have been for the last couple of weeks (aboard the Atlantis Auckland to Sydney big gay cruise). All of these cities are amazingly vibrant. Something for Denver to strive for:

Auckland (see if you can spot their new tallest under construction):


Wellington:


Hobart (you can see the big gay boat):


Melbourne:


Sydney:


More photos to come in a My City Photos thread.

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by rds70

I thought I might break up this thread with a few photos from New Zealand and Australia where I have been for the last couple of weeks (aboard the Atlantis Auckland to Sydney big gay cruise). All of these cities are amazingly vibrant. Something for Denver to strive for:



Sydney:


More photos to come in a My City Photos thread.

Nice photos. The Aussie cities are amazing, as are most of the Pacific rim cities. Americans who don't travel outside of the US don't really realize how much our cities lag compared to cities in Canada, Australia, and Europe. We are fortunate that Denver is at the better end of American cities but considering its metro size, the core city significantly lags non-American, developed country cities of similar size. We think US cities are booming but here's a statistic from 2016:

RLB estimates that there were more cranes in use for apartment construction in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (454) than there were in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto and Calgary combined (419).

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/there...here-are-in-all-of-north-america-2016-10


Hopefully the urban transformation that is happening to some extent in the US continues.

[twister244]

UGH.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...rowth-control-measure-gets-go-ahead.html

[DenBronco8]

Originally Posted by twister244

UGH.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...rowth-control-measure-gets-go-ahead.html

How many signatures does he need to get it on the ballot?