DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[TakeFive]

(In my best imitation of Jack Nicholson)

"You want affordable housing? I'll give you affordable housing!"
Friend, it's all about demand and supply.

By Proclamation and Decree by the City of Denver henceforth all new apartments (well half of them) will be ten stories or higher. They will have no insulation, cheap-ass windows, energy inefficient appliances, lights that flicker on and off and each apartment will be allowed one space heater.

This way we control the demand since anybody that makes a decent living won't want to live in these shiny new towers. By default the supply should be sufficient for those who truly need a cheap place to live.

What about micro-apartments?

I have to laugh at myself; ten years ago I had trouble wrapping my head around the notion of such tiny apartments (in Denver). Boy, was I wrong. This product has only continued to grow to also include X Denver dorm-style living. Still, I would contend it's just a niche, even if a viable one. Ten years ago it was all about the Great Millennial Migration. Today it's Gen Z's turn to move into downtown. It's merely a part of downtown's revolving door.

Where do you live?

Chances are that if you are over 30 years old you do not live in a 400 square foot 'home.' In fact one thing that the Pandemic demonstrated is there was a pent-up demand for SPACE.

It's kinda like all those who voted for FasTracks (including me); it wasn't b/c I expected to ride that rails; rather I expected other people to ride so that I could drive unimpeded down a freeway.

Conclusion:

Generally speaking, the notion of affordable housing in desirable areas of Denver (which continues to expand) is mostly a ship that has already sailed. The cost of land and the cost of construction make it very difficult to create affordable housing - unless ofc you want to take Jack Nicholson's advice.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

Not likely. This company is buying land to build the "KENECT" brand which is dense urban living in the form of towers that contain both co-living and co-working. That *is* the form. Sure the renderings can change, but a tower is the only thing that would make commercial sense given the land valuations. The only projects that are "higher priority" are the ones that were under construction before the pandemic began. Meanwhile, they continue to acquire land for the Kenect brand.

Sorry. Didn't mean a total redo of the form as is, but rather what Ryan was getting at:

Originally Posted by RyanD

Okay... Stalled then. The last thing was filed 08-2019 so it's been two full years since they've done anything with the city. I wouldn't be surprised if they have to start resubmitting plans since it's been a while.

It's been quiet enough that when Akara does decide to move on Kenect Denver that it is likely they do some changes to the approved plan and will refile.

[rds70]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

One project that appears to be very much alive from a permitting standpoint is the 14th and court hotel. I hope this goes forward as it would add a lot of architectural intrigue to the Civic Center area.

Another project that might be coming back from the dead is the Marriott hotel on 14th Street across from the convention center. A resubmittal was made last month.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by rds70

Another project that might be coming back from the dead is the Marriott hotel on 14th Street across from the convention center. A resubmittal was made last month.

Please let this be true. Filling in the front of the Convention Center with the project would be most excellent.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by RyanD

Okay... Stalled then. The last thing was filed 08-2019

and then we have this thing weird disease outbreak in China. This shouldn't be a shocking new discovery, but people did not understand at the time what impact the virus would have on the populations, cities, economy, etc. So yes, nearly every proposed project in the world was stalled or delayed. Stock market crashed hard and now we have the fastest recovery ever! but still major shock waves in finance, supply chain, materials and labor. Governments printing money like never before. A lot of unknowns. I wouldn't assume that a stalled project means a dead project, or that would mean nearly all proposed projects are dead projects.

[RyanD]

I know this might sound crazy, but there are active developments with permits filed after Kenect and even during COVID that have gotten underway. I really like Kenect and would love to see it break ground. Time will tell.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Ryan, what are some projects that have not yet broken Ground that you have the highest degree of confidence and eventually breaking ground?

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by RyanD

I know this might sound crazy, but there are active developments with permits filed after Kenect and even during COVID that have gotten underway. I really like Kenect and would love to see it break ground. Time will tell.

That doesn't sound crazy at all. Some companies are in a position to move forward, like X Denver and some smaller scale developments and especially government sponsored construction. That is normal and expected, however, nearly every project has felt some impact from the pandemic in early 2020 -- so it is definitely a factor to consider versus prepandemic when it might make more sense to declare a dead project after two years. Here's hoping these delays end soon. I'm expecting Amacon to break ground shortly! (another pandemic delay that some assumed was dead and fencing was too pretty for actual construction... ) Or maybe I might be biased towards optimism, not going to lie.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

and especially government sponsored construction.

This more than anything is evidence to me that you have no idea what you are talking about. Government construction, more than anything, is still stalled due to COVID. Governments still haven’t recovered their capital programs from the initial cuts they made at the start of COVID. And while there is a whole lot of money on its way, in the form of state and federal infrastructure money, I have never seen state and local construction as slow as it is right now. Even in 2009.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

This more than anything is evidence to me that you have no idea what you are talking about. Government construction, more than anything, is still stalled due to COVID. Governments still haven’t recovered their capital programs from the initial cuts they made at the start of COVID. And while there is a whole lot of money on its way, in the form of state and federal infrastructure money, I have never seen state and local construction as slow as it is right now. Even in 2009.

The three largest projects under construction in Denver are government funded. The DIA gate & terminal expansion, Central I-70 rebuild and the Colorado Convention Center Expansion. The latter is building a third level onto the existing structure and is over double the construction value of the next largest private project currently under construction in Denver, which is X Denver 3.

[TakeFive]

Some eye candy?

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Please let this be true. Filling in the front of the Convention Center with the project would be most excellent.

Not a huge surprise but a pleasant surprise.

Should be a no-brainer.

All Focus need do is take their lender-investors to the site; then point across the street to the cranes hovering over the CCC and say: "There's our bread" and "You're the butter" and pass them a pen.

727 14th St.




Renderings courtesy of Stantec via Mile High CRE

Stantec Selected to Design New Marriott Hotel in Downtown Denver
October 16, 2019 - Mile High CRE

Global architecture, engineering and consulting firm Stantec has been selected to provide architecture and design for the new 28-story Marriott hotel at 727 14th St. in downtown Denver. Currently the site of a parking lot on the corner of 14th and Stout streets, the new hotel will break ground in early 2020.

According to the developer, Denver-based Focus Property Group, the 342,000-square-foot space will include 525 rooms conveniently located directly across the street from the Colorado Convention Center...

Sounds like it should be nice.

The new hotel will include underground parking, a ground-floor food hall and bar, a state-of-the-art fitness center, and more than 20,000 square feet of event space with an 8,500-square-foot ballroom. A rooftop bar, outdoor terrace and event space on the 28th floor will offer guests stunning mountain and city views.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

And while there is a whole lot of money on its way, in the form of state and federal infrastructure money,

Let's Celebrate

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by rds70

Another project that might be coming back from the dead is the Marriott hotel on 14th Street across from the convention center. A resubmittal was made last month.

I just took a peek at E-Permits and saw timestamps on processing for this project dated a couple days ago. This one might be a major post-pandemic bet on Denver tourism and convention growth !!

[BG918]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

The three largest projects under construction in Denver are government funded. The DIA gate & terminal expansion, Central I-70 rebuild and the Colorado Convention Center Expansion. The latter is building a third level onto the existing structure and is over double the construction value of the next largest private project currently under construction in Denver, which is X Denver 3.

X3 is also the tallest building currently under construction in Denver at 22 stories.

[Agent Orange]

Originally Posted by RyanD

I know this might sound crazy, but there are active developments with permits filed after Kenect and even during COVID that have gotten underway. I really like Kenect and would love to see it break ground. Time will tell.

Me too! That's my favorite higher rise proposal floating around. That side of downtown needs some decent design to balance out the land barges. The Vancouver towers would be nice too. Good news about the Convention Center hotel as well.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by BG918

X3 is also the tallest building currently under construction in Denver at 22 stories.

Not for long:

Denver Business Journal ran this article this morning.
Downtown Denver's largest condo project since 2009 is set to break ground soon

"The project’s developer, Vancouver, Canada-based Amacon, plans to break ground in the fourth quarter of this year, according to Mark Sheldon, the firm’s Colorado manager."

By James Rodriguez – Reporter, Denver Business Journal
10 minutes ago



https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s

[EngiNerd]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

The three largest projects under construction in Denver are government funded. The DIA gate & terminal expansion, Central I-70 rebuild and the Colorado Convention Center Expansion. The latter is building a third level onto the existing structure and is over double the construction value of the next largest private project currently under construction in Denver, which is X Denver 3.

Those three projects were funded and awarded years ago, not during COVID.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by EngiNerd

Those three projects were funded and awarded years ago, not during COVID.

The point I was making is that government construction is not subject to making a return for investors, and thus a project like Kenect which is being developed by privately held Akara Partners would likely be further scrutinized and delayed versus some other projects in the pipeline.

Akara also had the unfortunate bad luck of delivering a hilton hotel project in Chicago just as the lock down took effect. You can imagine what that can do to a company's financial projections. In fact they subsequently had to take on another partner and lost controlling interest. Just shows you how the pandemic can be a significant factor for developers. Some are in better positions than others, and of course the governments can just issue bonds and spend money. The Convention Center expansion if privately funded would likely be delayed by years otherwise.

[Ndj]

Crazy that downtown Denver can only sustain one major condo development a decade.

[TakeFive]

Anytime I hear about historic preservation happening, it's been a good day

Denver Sports Castle - 1000 Broadway


Photo courtesy of Gart Properties

Denver’s Sports Castle Building to be Revitalized
August 26, 2021 - Mile High CRE

The Denver Sports Castle building located at 1000 Broadway has been purchased by a partnership led by longtime Denver construction leader Tom McLagan, the executive chairman of Hyder Construction, and Cypress Real Estate Advisors. Included in the sale is the parking lot across the street at 972 Broadway. The partnership paid $11.5 million, according to public records.

McLagan intends to renovate the building and have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Current plans are to offer ground-floor retail outlets, with office space on the upper levels. A new penthouse level will be constructed for use as either office space or event space with a large rooftop outdoor amenity area for use by building tenants with fantastic mountain and downtown views.

Since 1971; that's a long time.

The iconic building has been owned by Gart Properties since 1971. Gart Sports occupied the building until Sports Authority purchased the sporting goods retail business in 1993. The building has been vacant since Sports Authority went bankrupt in 2016.

This part was integral to last week's announcement of the Sports Castle Lofts.

It was important to the Gart family to sell the properties simultaneously and bringing CREA and their focus on the apartment development and McLagan and his focus on the adaptive reuse Sports Castle portion together was key to the sale.

Now that I think back, Cypress has been pursuing the property for some time. The missing link was obviously finding someone interested in the Sports Castle itself.

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

DenverInfill also did a great wrap up on X Denver. I honestly think the murals really helped.

The murals are nice.

I noticed the update on Market Station but it wasn't until this morning that I got a chance to go through it. I especially appreciated the shots of the "central paseo, known as Base Camp." That should be a fun addition to retail in downtown I'd think.