DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[The Dirt]

The whiter and richer you are the more likely your neighborhood will be dipped in amber and preserved as a museum piece that only the most privileged can afford and enjoy. Housing everyone else be dammed as long as we can keep sprawling into the prairie indefinitely.

For the record, the current owner and occupants could no longer afford the ongoing maintenance of Carmen Court. If you love it so much, please start a fund to buy it and maintain it into perpetuity. Otherwise, keep your selfishness and greed as far away from Denver as possible.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

I feel like we aren't going to see stuff of that scale anytime soon unless we get a read out from the vaccine trials showing super high efficacy. We had more than 80,000 new cases of COVID-19 today and I'm concerned that this winter will be both a public health and economic disaster.

My understanding is that for so-called "Emergency" approval for these vaccines being tested is a threshold of at least 50% efficacy.

I am happy to give the President kudos for the one thing he got right: Operation Warp Speed. It's also why I'd continue to support the private sector piece in healthcare - which doesn't preclude creating a 'public' option.

Originally Posted by The Dirt

The whiter and richer you are the more likely your neighborhood will be dipped in amber and preserved as a museum piece that only the most privileged can afford and enjoy. Housing everyone else be dammed as long as we can keep sprawling into the prairie indefinitely.

It's a conundrum

The 'world' has so changed that certainly there's more questions than answers. (Excellent read)

My best guess (from my centrist position) is the best 'antidote' is somewhere between the two political-philosophical extremes.

[mr1138]

There is one big difference between the homes and structures people cry" historic preservation" about today and the historic preservation legacy of people like Dana Crawford - Floor Area Ratio. I get as upset as anybody when I see a beautiful old and very URBAN building slated for demolition, some of this is even still happening today in places like Arapahoe Square. But we shouldn't pretend that every small bungalow and 2-4 story apartment building is the same as the brick warehouses in LoDo.

The demolition of the DURA era tended to target urban buildings, in my opinion, in part because they were seen as too large and urban for the suburban era. Now it seems people get upset about the potential demolition of something like Tom's Diner or a small bungalow because they are afraid it will be replaced by something that is large and urban.

[mhays]

Great points. I'd add that replacing near-CBD buildings with parking was considered desirable (and profitable), at least as an interim use. That was an extension of the "be more like the suburbs" concept.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by kemachs

Ok so we're celebrating Hines because they want to demolish a beautiful, historic part of Denver's fabric and build...another generic residential building? Now I see you live in the suburbs where most things are generic, and I suppose you'll call me a NIMBY for daring to challenge market forces, but I'm just bemoaning the fact that this town could give two shits about historic architecture. Everyone is always screaming about property rights and the almighty dollar - it's a libertarian's wet dream. If the owner of the Brown Palace wanted to demolish the building, would even that cross a 'property rights' line for you? Would you have celebrated the replacement of the Aladdin Theatre with a Walgreens, back in the 1980s?

I'll first start by saying that suburban/urban has nothing to do with an appreciation for historic buildings. I work for a company that has probably saved more dirty old historic buildings than any other company (at least locally) - so let's correct your condescending assumptions with that fact. I would consider myself well versed in historic preservation, both federal and at the state level (in numerous states) and have preserved many buildings, small and large, during my time. Simply put, there are things worth saving and there are things which should make way for progress. Carmen Court is one of the losers. Denver still has many structures worth saving, but folks confuse old buildings with historic preservation. Preservation is meant to maintain a significant piece of history, not a little 6-plex a rich Gates engineer built way back in the day to make a buck. The building had no notable architect, served no contextual purpose, and isn't prominent. Is it a cool aesthetic? Yes, but that's not what makes buildings historic. I really wish people would stop confusing old buildings with historic buildings and no, the Brown Palace is not comparable to Carmen Court.

I would encourage you to read the criterion for historic preservation on the national park service website. If, after, you familiarize yourself with the program and still feel Carmen Court is worth saving, well then so be it. If you put in the time to understand the process, you will understand this result. By the way, it takes a lot of time!

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by kemachs

Thanks for posting - it's good to know these exist, but IMO there aren't nearly enough. How does the city decide which neighborhoods are worthy? Does everyone here think all historic buildings outside of these patchy zones should be scraped? Has Dana Crawford's legacy of preservationists just given up on this city?

The City determines these districts through an incredibly detailed process of landmark inventory (some of which are submitted by folks like yourself and neighbors) and others which are documented by a fairly large group of really smart and passionate people. There is a lot of effort put into historic preservation in our City - you may not believe that, but it's true. Could we do better? Yes. For example, many states/cities have incentive programs to maintain historic structures - sometimes state tax credits (like Colorado has) but also at the local level many places administer tax abatement. It's a very successful tool in preserving historic structures. I would encourage you to advocate with your local Councilperson to enact tax abatement for historic preservation - if neighbors really cared about historic preservation, y'all would gang up on council to pursue tax abatement...

[Curtis Park]

The owner of the Mercury Cafe is freaking out about a new apartment being built next door. One issue is the concentration of homeless services, which I agree is not a good idea. But her other complaint is the affect the building will have on her solar panels and her (usually still) wind turbines. Now she wants to halt the construction.

She's been there for what, 30 years? I know I saw Henry Rollins there in the early 90s. She's had how long to address the zoning on the property next to her, or better yet buy it when it was cheap.

Her website talks about her getting "squeezed out". Forget the fact that she did not choose the option to purchase "perpetual sunlight" when she bought the building.
http://mercurycafe.com/homeless-housing-issues/

[coolmandan03]

Originally Posted by kemachs

Ok so we're celebrating Hines because they want to demolish a beautiful, historic part of Denver's fabric and build...another generic residential building?

As someone that lives 2,790 feet from this property, I am very OK with that. Especially since the exterior is crumbling and would cost hundreds of thousands to repair/replace. I would be pissed if my 1924 bungalow had a crumbling foundation and I wanted to scrap/rebuild but instead I had to spend 10x that AND devalue the property because some person from a totally different community thinks it's cute.

[DenvertoLA]

As someone who gets Dave's Hot Chicken weekly almost, you all should be excited. Their fries suck, but that's not what you go there for.


https://businessden.com/2020/11/05/nashv...to-open-on-south-broadway-platte-street/

[SirLucasTheGreat]

That is exciting! I was not expecting much movement on the new restaurant front for a while but that will be great!

[The Dirt]

Does anyone know what's happening on the west side of Logan between Colfax and 16th? I remember hearing mention of a new project a long time ago, but I don't remember what that was. The old 3 story house was just demolished yesterday.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7411767,...frzQNo0_tRY7qLfMm2e4g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Does anyone know what's happening on the west side of Logan between Colfax and 16th? I remember hearing mention of a new project a long time ago, but I don't remember what that was. The old 3 story house was just demolished yesterday.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7411767,...frzQNo0_tRY7qLfMm2e4g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

A beautiful parking lot?

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

A beautiful parking lot?

12 story 281 unit complex from Carmel Partners was proposed there this year. They did great work on The Henry in Platte Park so I hope this happens as there really is a nasty gap between downtown and uptown there and this could help facilitate that transition. Im fairly surprised there wasn't more of an opposition to tearing down that existing building.....

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

12 story 281 unit complex from Carmel Partners was proposed there this year. They did great work on The Henry in Platte Park so I hope this happens as there really is a nasty gap between downtown and uptown there and this could help facilitate that transition. Im fairly surprised there wasn't more of an opposition to tearing down that existing building.....

Since I had the privilege of knowing Kal Zeff (only casually) I often made a mental note on projects by Carmel but The Henry escaped my radar; that is a nice project.

[ams5280]

Westend by Carmel Partners leaves a lot to be desired. I’d have rather seen the area integrated as TOD for the 41st and Fox station, but until then I just don’t know what the thought process was behind the neon green. That being said, I have high hopes for the uptown development.

Speaking of demolition, there’s a notice for demolition posted at 21st and Larimer. I know the building has been vacant for a while, is there anything proposed there? It’d be a shame for a decent corner building to become a parking lot if nothing is going to replace it.

[rds70]

Some new information about the Avalon Governor's Park project from the Denver Business Journal today:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...nors-park-apartments-racines-denver.html

The building will now only encompass the old Racine's site and the single story commercial building on 7th Avenue. It will not extend to Grant as originally planned.

The number of units will drop to 305. Commercial space will still be provided along 7th Ave.

Construction is proposed to start in mid-2021.

Neighbors (of which there are none for several blocks) are complaining about traffic, parking, noise, etc., etc.

Here is the latest rendering:

[BG918]

Originally Posted by rds70

Some new information about the Avalon Governor's Park project from the Denver Business Journal today:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...nors-park-apartments-racines-denver.html

The building will now only encompass the old Racine's site and the single story commercial building on 7th Avenue. It will not extend to Grant as originally planned.

The number of units will drop to 305. Commercial space will still be provided along 7th Ave.

Construction is proposed to start in mid-2021.

I've been impressed by the recent build-up of this part of Capitol Hill around Governor's Park. So this will take up half the block with the Wendy's on the 6th Ave. side. I noticed the homeless have created a new tent city across the street from this site by the Denver7 parking lots.

[TakeFive]

Come on down, contestant number four

X Denver marks its new X spot.

18-story apartment tower planned to replace surface parking lot in downtown Denver
Nov 9, 2020 By James Rodriguez – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

An 18-story, 409-unit multifamily tower has been proposed at the intersection of 20th and Welton streets in downtown Denver, according to a concept plan recently submitted to the city. The roughly half-acre site at 2000 Welton St. is currently home to a surface parking lot.

X Denver 4, as currently proposed, would total roughly 320,000 square feet, with 3,174 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Levels 2-5 would include a mix of residential units and 144 parking spaces, according to the concept plan.

The X Social Communities brand, which offers both full-unit rentals and rent-by-the-bedroom options, was originally created by Property Markets Group, a New York-based developer. PMG and The X Company have partnered on three other projects in Denver, according to The X Company's website:

Earlier PMG had indicated they had gone off on their own - well, at least with respect to Miami with "Society Las Olas." But in Denver (and Phoenix) it's obvious that PMG and X Company are still combining their talent and resources.

Originally Posted by rds70

The Downtown Design Advisory Committee will be reviewing the final design for the Evolve Towers at next weeks meeting. The project is at Park Avenue West and Champa Street.

Evolve Towers Receives Unanimous Approval
November 4, 20200 - Mile High CRE

Evolve Towers, 23-story residential development in Arapahoe Square, designed with a “net zero” energy goal, received unanimous approval by Arapahoe’s Downtown Design Advisory Board (DDAB) last week.

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

Originally Posted by rds70

Some new information about the Avalon Governor's Park project from the Denver Business Journal today:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...nors-park-apartments-racines-denver.html

The building will now only encompass the old Racine's site and the single story commercial building on 7th Avenue. It will not extend to Grant as originally planned.

Here is the latest rendering:

With respect to nosy neighbors a couple of things worth mentioning.

Travis Leiker, president of CHUN, told Denver Business Journal... Because AvalonBay's plans match the zoning for the site, he said CHUN's role will focus less on the zoning and more on partnering with the developer to discuss and perhaps address some of the neighbors' concerns.

"The zoning really is what it is," Leiker said.

"Everything about the development will comply with the City’s requirements," Nicotra said. "That said, we value input from the neighbors and are committed to working with them as we advance the design of the building."

Nicotra added that he thinks some of the concerns will be mitigated by the quality and design of the building. The project is on pace to achieve LEED Gold status, he said.

I have owned stock in "AvalonBay Communities Inc. (NYSE: AVB)" in the past so it's fun to see them make a nice investment in Denver. They own some reeeally nice projects back east.

[rds70]

A building permit application has been submitted for the 18th and Glenarm condo project.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by rds70

A building permit application has been submitted for the 18th and Glenarm condo project.

Well that's a nice surprise. Between this, the momentum on Evolve Towers, X3 hopefully getting underway by the end of this year, and the X4 I'm optimistic about downtown Denver recovering and getting back to normal in 2021.*


*Assuming that the downtown workforce does start returning as well.