DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[SirLucasTheGreat]

One River North renderings:

[bobg]

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/09/motion...l-robotaxi-service-in-las-vegas-in-2023/



everybody here keeps ignoring reality, i guess because they don't teach it in your backyard urbanism 101 classes aimed at pushing antiquated expensive technology on us.


i'll say it as much as it needs to be said. go take your gazillion dollar train proposals and shove them where the sun don't shine.

clean efficient convenient cars should be able to handle all of our needs, probably more quickly and certainly cheeper than all of your ridiculous train ideas.

trains are 19th century technology that we've already abandoned once because they suck.

You know what is another 19th century technology we once abandoned because we thought it sucked at the time?

Electric cars. Which started around 1895 and were mostly abandoned by the end of WW1.

Maybe instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater everytime the next PT Barnum (or Lyle Lanley) comes along selling some "new" form of transit we stick to finding the best proven solutions for the issues we have at hand.

At some point some useful mass transit application could come out of the whims of Elon Musk. But so far we have vehicular tunnels combined with electric vehicles driven manually at top speeds of 40 mph. Nothing about that is revolutionary.

[TakeFive]

There's always a catch

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

clean efficient convenient cars should be able to handle all of our needs, probably more quickly and certainly cheeper than all of your ridiculous train ideas.

trains are 19th century technology that we've already abandoned once because they suck.

I recall reading when the infrastructure bill was passed out of the Senate that not all of the $66 billion for passenger and freight rail is funded. Btw, the target date for completion is 2035 so they're obviously expecting it to take some time.

By deduction, we can figure that Amtrak Joe's $24 billion specifically for the Northeast Corridor is funded. Given that the bones are in place, they have the density and good ridership already this makes total sense.

Logic suggests that the $20 billion for (existing) intercity service, safety grants, and grade crossing improvements is also funded. I'd guess many existing pieces are being held together with bailing wire so this also makes sense.

That leaves $22 billion in “grants” for Amtrak, presumably for new and expanded service UNFUNDED. Who knows if the needed funding for expansion ever materializes? It's always fun to speculate though.

Fairly interesting

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/09/motion...l-robotaxi-service-in-las-vegas-in-2023/

In Las Vegas there's tons of rideshare business along the strip so I'll assume their coverage will be the strip and within the nearby neighborhoods.

I could see autonomous rideshare being rolled out and focusing on urban areas. That also makes a certain amount of sense.

It will, however be a looong time before autonomous rideshare is available over larger, suburban areas.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Denver

I do not think this has been discussed.

New apartment at Buchtel Blvd & S Pennsylvania. 42 units. Targeting 2022 completion. Being developed by Confluent Development

Thanks for the update; you're getting pretty good at this. I remember reading about Confluence buying the site a year ago but there's wasn't any info for what would be built.
Next step is to include the source of your images and/or story.

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

well that escalated quickly. demolition of Greyhound has commenced!

I have to admit that whatever you're using to take those shots is definitely better than my Kodak Brownie camera.

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

One River North renderings:

Long ago, before the apocalypse, there was once a sprawling metropolis here, where millions humans lived. All of these years later, some of the buildings that were once part of a vast, thriving cityscape, still stand, defiantly. But in an ironic twist, these relics have been taken over by nature, and are now part of a vast wilderness.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I have to admit that whatever you're using to take those shots is definitely better than my Kodak Brownie camera.

that construction guy in the middle saw me taking the pic and is posing making the shaka. I didn't notice this until I zoomed in after the fact.

[coolmandan03]

Originally Posted by bobg

You know what is another 19th century technology we once abandoned because we thought it sucked at the time?

Electric cars.

But they really sucked at the time. Electric was limited to 80 miles on a charge at 15mph for a $1,700 car. A Model T was $500 and with a easy refuel process and twice the speed - not to mention that in 1920 electricity still wasn't common place. Once the electric starter was incorporated with an ICE, there was absolutely no way that electric was going forward.

[Curtis Park]

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

there are very few stops on walnut. it was the raceway out of town.

.

It WAS the raceway when it was one-way. I've found traffic to be slower since the two-way with parking on both sides.

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

stop signs at every block are desperately needed here.
.

Totally agree.

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

i'm not really sure what you've noticed, because you've obviously not been here. nobody alive would say this is better for the pedestrian who actually has to play frogger to get across.

It's been at least 15 hours since I've been over there so I'm curious what has changed since then. I walk across Larimer, Lawrence, and Walnut each day, at least once, with my dog. There is a lot of traffic, but it's much better than when it was one-way. And I'm alive.

[rds70]

Construction has finally started on the Evans West project at 11th and Bannock in the Golden Triangle. The CG is GE Johnson.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

That's great news on Evans West! I'm really hoping to see more than one active project at a time in GT because I think that is has the potential to be a nice urban neighborhood. RiNo is seemingly try to achieve full build out like Union Station during the last cycle.

[jama]

In response to TakeFive's post about Union Station on 11/8 - The area is a complete and utter shitshow. The city and RTD have allowed Union Station to become a homeless haven/drug den. I'd venture to say 50% of the retail space in the immediate area is vacant. What only a few years ago was the crown jewel of downtown has now become a sketchy neighborhood that MANY reasonable people avoid visiting and living in out of concern for their own safety. And this is supposed to be the transportation hub of the entire metro area! It's long overdue for the city to recriminalize open air drug use and clear these people out so the core of our city can begin to heal.

[Arapahoe]

I was walking home from Rino and saw an entire side of a block being excavated on the 2400 block of Arapahoe St. in Five Points. This used to be a bus parking lot for the Greyhound maintenance facility on Curtis.

So I looked it up on the city development page:




For folks that have been around awhile-- it just seems like an uprecedent amount of ground breaking happening right now, true?

BTW, walking down Brighton from Broadway to 36th, nearly everything is either demolished or new builds. Incredible.

[TakeFive]

Well stated!

Originally Posted by jama

In response to TakeFive's post about Union Station on 11/8 - The area is a complete and utter shitshow. The city and RTD have allowed Union Station to become a homeless haven/drug den. I'd venture to say 50% of the retail space in the immediate area is vacant. What only a few years ago was the crown jewel of downtown has now become a sketchy neighborhood that MANY reasonable people avoid visiting and living in out of concern for their own safety. And this is supposed to be the transportation hub of the entire metro area! It's long overdue for the city to recriminalize open air drug use and clear these people out so the core of our city can begin to heal.

I have only the vaguest recall but then this is only your 5th comment since 2012. Great comment; feel free to add your opinion whenever you wish.

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

Long ago, before the apocalypse, there was once a sprawling metropolis here, where millions humans lived. All of these years later, some of the buildings that were once part of a vast, thriving cityscape, still stand, defiantly. But in an ironic twist, these relics have been taken over by nature, and are now part of a vast wilderness.

That was well done.

Originally Posted by Curtis Park

And I'm alive.

We're all grateful for that; we'd miss you contribution if you weren't. Speaking of walking your dog that's how I fell in love last Spring.

So I'm out walking the neighborhood when I ran into and met this gal that had moved here from Tennessee. She's walking what I learned was a still young Aussiedoodle; cutest, friendliest dog I've ever met. Being a natural with dogs I always have treats with me when I go walking. Give a dog a treat, he'll remember you forever.

Originally Posted by rds70

Construction has finally started on the Evans West project at 11th and Bannock in the Golden Triangle. The CG is GE Johnson.

I had forgotten just how big that project will be and how nice the rendering is. So that makes three projects that Lennar now has under construction.

[TakeFive]

Denver's Smart City post-COVID comeback story




Images courtesy of Santulan Architecture

Transit-oriented apartment community near DIA sells
Nov 9, 2021 By Jensen Werley – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

We changed our mind before changing it again.

Although the deal closed in November, KG Investors has actually been interested in the property for a few years, Martin said.

In late 2019 and early 2020, KG was looking to buy Elevate. The apartments feature one-, two- and three-bedroom options spread across five three-story buildings. Each building has a tuck-under garage. Amenities include a fitness center, a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse, a pool and others.

However, because of its proximity to the airport, Elevate was hard-hit by Covid-19. The majority of residents either worked at the airport, for airlines or at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center.

So "All's well that ends well?"

“That much exposure to the leisure and transportation industries made it directly impacted by the pandemic,” Martin said. “The buyer pulled out of the transaction and had every right to decline to proceed.”

By June of this year, Elevate saw a major comeback, Martin added. It’s adjacent to Peña Station, which makes it one stop away from the airport and extremely convenient for anyone who works there. During the pandemic, the apartments dropped to about 80% occupancy. Now the community is 100% occupied.

Tell us about your Pandemic strategy during unknown times?

“We intended to sell the property just prior to the pandemic hitting, so we took it off the market last May, did a cash-out refinance of the construction loan, and waited it out until a few months ago," Mike Gerber, co-founder of MGL Partners, wrote to Denver Business Journal in an email. "During that time, rents dropped but then rebounded sharply starting this past April. Elevate’s proximity to DIA and its 30,000+ employees, its adjacency to the Peña Station rail stop and the quality of the development didn’t change during the pandemic, so it remained an highly attractive asset to potential buyers."

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

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

For folks that have been around awhile-- it just seems like an unprecedented amount of ground breaking happening right now, true?

BTW, walking down Brighton from Broadway to 36th, nearly everything is either demolished or new builds. Incredible.

I blame it er explain it by all that Helicopter money sloshing around.

Apartments and Industrial warehouses are the two Pandemic survivors still going strong. Plus people are still migrating from some areas of the country to other areas and Denver is one of the fortunate cities.

I assume much of the current activity, like the sale at Pena Station, are a reactivation of plans put on hold during the Pandemic.

[TakeFive]

Who is MGL Partners?

They're Local: They invest and/or develop Luxury Housing, Workforce Housing, Affordable Housing and Senior Housing

HQ -MGL Partners is a multifamily and senior housing development and investment company based in Denver, Colorado.

According to the DBJ:

Although MGL Partners sold Elevate, Martin said the developer is not done with Peña Station. Nearby, MGL Partners is building out a second phase of the project. That will be comparable to Phase 1, with 198 units. It will be separately branded from Phase 1 but similar in build and size, Martin said.

-----------------------------
This was one of my favorite projects at the time it was built

At the end of September, MGL Partners sold the Cheesman Park apartment building it bought in 2015. The building, previously called The Amaranth, is located at 2190 E. 11th Ave. It sold to Griffis Residential for $90.5 million.

The Amaranth Apartments


Image courtesy of The Amaranth

---------------------
Renovation of Sloan's Lake Senior Housing


Photo courtesy MGL Partners (MGL) and Denver Metro Village (DMV) via Mile High CRE

Renovations Unveiled at Affordable Senior Housing Community Near Sloan’s Lake
September 15, 2021 - Mile High CRE

MGL and DMV partnered with Santulan Architecture on the design and Milender White on the construction of the property, which sits on West Colfax Avenue between Quitman and Raleigh streets. Updates include a new four-story at-grade structure to house 185 parking spaces, 8,123 square feet of commercial space, and 19 newly constructed units. The renovation included significant upgrades to 191 existing units and 5,400 square feet of additional amenity space—all while keeping 191 residents in place during construction.

[TakeFive]

Friday Potpourri

Chicago real estate firm invests in Denver market and expands team
Nov 12, 2021 By Jensen Werley – Reporter, Denver Business Journal

Chicago-based real estate investor Golub & Company is expanding its commitment to the Denver market with the purchase of new property to add to its Denargo Market planned development, and new team members who will be based in the Mile High City.

On Nov. 4, Golub purchased a parcel of land at 3275 Denargo St. for $21.6 million. That site, which was LoDo Self Storage, is across the street from where Golub is planning Denargo Market and would be an expansion of the plans it has overall for Denargo, Glazier said.

​chfa announces 2021 round two housing tax credit
​November 9, 2021

Still nothing for the old CDOT redevelopment site but 2700 Wewatta and Johnson and Wales are among the approved projects.

H/T to BusinessDen
for Littleton's rezoning approval for Aspen Grove Retail at 7301 S Santa Fe Dr. This is noteworthy as the south end of this site is due west (across So Santa Fe Dr) of the Littleton RTD Mineral Station.

https://www.reimagineaspengrove.com/

For twenty years Aspen Grove has proudly served Littleton as a place to shop, dine, and gather.

In this new era, how we live has changed. The convenience of online retail and evolving needs of our community inspire us to adapt. We are excited to meet this challenge through a proposal amending the zoning framework at Aspen Grove to include residential, hotel, community gathering spaces, and other similar land uses along with new retail.

Just to the west of Aspen Grove lies the Carson Nature Center and Mary Carter Greenway Trail. It is a beautiful part of the metro area.

Trail coffee shop

....
Images courtesy of Tripadvisor

Mary Carter Greenway Trail


Source


Source




Source

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Greenway Foundation, check it out. As wong would suggest much of Denver's meaningful history goes back 25 years and more.

The Greenway Foundation is a Denver-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has led efforts, since 1974, to reclaim the South Platte River and its tributaries from a virtual cesspool to a place of environmental and recreational pride.

• Video Link

[Arapahoe]

cool video!

[DenvertoLA]

Originally Posted by jama

In response to TakeFive's post about Union Station on 11/8 - The area is a complete and utter shitshow. The city and RTD have allowed Union Station to become a homeless haven/drug den. I'd venture to say 50% of the retail space in the immediate area is vacant. What only a few years ago was the crown jewel of downtown has now become a sketchy neighborhood that MANY reasonable people avoid visiting and living in out of concern for their own safety. And this is supposed to be the transportation hub of the entire metro area! It's long overdue for the city to recriminalize open air drug use and clear these people out so the core of our city can begin to heal.

That's so sad to hear. Back in December 2016 I got drinks with some buds in Unions Station and I was so impressed at what it had become. I did notice at the time security guards would tell the homeless they could not sleep inside hotel/ station lobby.

As much sympathy as I have for the homeless, Union Station wasn't funded to that extent to become a luxury homeless shelter.

I consider myself pretty progressive, but decriminalization of drug use should not mean open drug use is allowed. It should mean mandatory rehab and earned housing by rehab compliance, constructive action, etc.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Looks like the vacant building on the lot for this project is getting ready to be demolished. I saw a bulldozer on site this morning.

[jhwk]

Originally Posted by DenvertoLA

That's so sad to hear. Back in December 2016 I got drinks with some buds in Unions Station and I was so impressed at what it had become. I did notice at the time security guards would tell the homeless they could not sleep inside hotel/ station lobby.

As much sympathy as I have for the homeless, Union Station wasn't funded to that extent to become a luxury homeless shelter.

I consider myself pretty progressive, but decriminalization of drug use should not mean open drug use is allowed. It should mean mandatory rehab and earned housing by rehab compliance, constructive action, etc.

The historic building is fine, it’s the bus concourse and the above ground walkway between the commuter rail and the light rail that’s gone to hell.

The RTD security guards seem to have gone on a soft strike after a couple of them got caught beating up a homeless person in the bathroom last summer and the RTD board started talking about terminating Allied’s contract.

Extrajudicial punishment is bad. So is a security force deciding they are not under civilian control and throwing a tantrum when held accountable.