DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[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.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by jhwk

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.

I've also noticed the deterioration of this area. It used to be somewhat of an island but is now like the rest of downtown. Hopefully they can get it under control.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by BG918

I've also noticed the deterioration of this area. It used to be somewhat of an island but is now like the rest of downtown. Hopefully they can get it under control.

I don't know. The Wynkoop side of Union Station is always vibrant, no vacancies and a great place visit, including the station itself.

You have to expect some level of transient poor in a big city transportation hub and "the rest of downtown". I feel its a safe place, but obviously open drug use, camping and shoplifting need to be controlled aggressively.

Fortunately Hancock is enforcing the camping ban. Arapahoe Square is finally free of almost all tents for the first time in 2 years. The civic center park is once again a nice place to walk.

The city's fencing strategy to restore areas seem to work. The troubled area in Union Station (by the Whole Foods) is now fenced in and they have a mobile command unit trailer stationed there. They also fenced a section of Skyline Park. I think when RTD light rail ridership and downtown workforce gets closer to normal, those areas also improve in terms of vacancies and foot traffic.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

I don't know. The Wynkoop side of Union Station is always vibrant, no vacancies and a great place visit, including the station itself.

You have to expect some level of transient poor in a big city transportation hub and "the rest of downtown". I feel its a safe place, but obviously open drug use, camping and shoplifting need to be controlled aggressively.

Fortunately Hancock is enforcing the camping ban. Arapahoe Square is finally free of almost all tents for the first time in 2 years. The civic center park is once again a nice place to walk.

The city's fencing strategy to restore areas seem to work. The troubled area in Union Station (by the Whole Foods) is now fenced in and they have a mobile command unit trailer stationed there. They also fenced a section of Skyline Park. I think when RTD light rail ridership and downtown workforce gets closer to normal, those areas also improve in terms of vacancies and foot traffic.

I've lived in Union Station since 2019. It really isn't super safe at the moment. I've been threatened multiple times around my building, been followed down Chestnut, had homeless follow me inside my apartment building, dealing with 11 straight months of break-ins, hard drugs (mostly meth) being used in my hallways, stairwells, trashed areas inside and outside the building. We are moving next month and couldn't be more excited to get out of this neighborhood. We aren't super happy about moving but it's become such a background stress, it's the only right thing to do.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by RyanD

I've lived in Union Station since 2019. It really isn't super safe at the moment. I've been threatened multiple times around my building, been followed down Chestnut, had homeless follow me inside my apartment building, dealing with 11 straight months of break-ins, hard drugs (mostly meth) being used in my hallways, stairwells, trashed areas inside and outside the building. We are moving next month and couldn't be more excited to get out of this neighborhood. We aren't super happy about moving but it's become such a background stress, it's the only right thing to do.

wow! that's crazy.

[CONative]

Originally Posted by RyanD

I've lived in Union Station since 2019. It really isn't super safe at the moment. I've been threatened multiple times around my building, been followed down Chestnut, had homeless follow me inside my apartment building, dealing with 11 straight months of break-ins, hard drugs (mostly meth) being used in my hallways, stairwells, trashed areas inside and outside the building. We are moving next month and couldn't be more excited to get out of this neighborhood. We aren't super happy about moving but it's become such a background stress, it's the only right thing to do.

Where are you moving to?

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by RyanD

I've lived in Union Station since 2019. It really isn't super safe at the moment. I've been threatened multiple times around my building, been followed down Chestnut, had homeless follow me inside my apartment building, dealing with 11 straight months of break-ins, hard drugs (mostly meth) being used in my hallways, stairwells, trashed areas inside and outside the building. We are moving next month and couldn't be more excited to get out of this neighborhood. We aren't super happy about moving but it's become such a background stress, it's the only right thing to do.

That 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵. I'm sorry to hear about your extremely negative experiences (no one doesn't want to feel safe in their own home) and basically being forced out. Hope the new place is better for your family.

Ryan's experience is anecdotal, but it's an example of how DPD/RTD Security have been soft striking because they feel 🞵🞵🞵🞵-hurt from the public backlash they have received over the last year. But, the RTD Board is still on the social justice bandwagon as is a certain City Council member so they probably are celebrating the open air drug markets and the downtrodden who feel emboldened enough to break and enter anywhere they feel fit.

[TakeFive]

See ya; I'm outta here



https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/lo...-cites-homelessness-for-downtown-closure

Despite its name, Teriyaki Madness was tired of the chaos surrounding its location near Union Station.

The Denver-based fast-casual Asian chain, which serves rice bowls with proteins and vegetables, closed its only corporate-owned store at 1920 17th St. in downtown Denver in June. It opened in 2019.

Was it the location?

“Things like protests and lack of office traffic really caused a lot of business disruption,” said CEO Michael Haith. “The homeless issue down in that area was unsafe. We had a terrible time operating the restaurant, and we didn’t see any end in sight. I will not mince words.”

Haith said the company negotiated a deal with the landlord to get out of the lease, which still had years left.

This was in the Cadence Apartment building that was one of the 1st projects to break ground along the Promenade.

Denver Infill had the news: May 8, 2012

In September 2011, we first blogged about Zocalo Development’s proposed residential project at 17th and Wewatta in Downtown Denver’s booming Union Station district. This is a short update to let you know that the 13-story, 220-unit project, now named Cadence Apartments, is about to begin construction.

According to Zocalo:

CADENCE. THE FIRST LEED® APARTMENT HIGH-RISE IN THE UNION STATION NEIGHBORHOOD

Completed in 2014, Cadence was the first multifamily development to open in Denver’s Union Station neighborhood, which was one of the most ambitious multi-modal transportation and neighborhood redevelopments in the nation. The community offers the best in LEED®-Gold certified urban development, and will likely achieve energy savings approaching 50 percent compared to EPA apartment averages.

Cadence was recognized as Project of the Year by the Downtown Denver Partnership and New Business of the Year by the LoDo Limelight Awards.

Courtesy Rent.com

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by CONative

Where are you moving to?

Originally Posted by wong21fr

That 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵. I'm sorry to hear about your extremely negative experiences (no one doesn't want to feel safe in their own home) and basically being forced out. Hope the new place is better for your family.

We're going back to Baker. I know it's not going to be perfect over there but it's a hell of a lot better than Union Station right now. Plus, being by Alameda Station is great for access to many areas.


Unfortunately, we were going to keep saving and think about purchasing property next year, but the goals have shifted and leaving Union Station is the #1 priority. This will also shift our other goal another 1.5 years or so due to leases. But we're moving to a brand new building, so that will be pretty cool.



I'm very sour about all of this and ultimately incredibly disappointed with the city, RTD, and my councilperson for just giving up and going home the past year.


Speaking of the "open air drug market", 100% of the time I walk in this neighborhood people are lighting up meth in plain sight. On a typical day, I will see about a half dozen different instances whether it's in building crevasses, by my parking garage, or just on the street. I have become familiar with the smell and have had it run through my HVAC system multiple times a week from people breaking into the stairwell just down the hall from me and hot-boxing my side of the building with their meth. I witness drug deals from my balcony almost daily even with a full blown construction site next door. These people don't care and just want their dizzy crystals. Don't get me started with the needles I see on the street.