DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[Arapahoe]

Denver's ugliest development?



BusinessDen - A rendering shows the 94-unit condominium complex developers are planning for 2137 Glenarm Place, currently a parkling lot. To be named "Archie". WTF


UPDATE:

Here is the same development on the developers website, looks a bit nicer than the render in BusinessDen. (notice its located right behind one of the giant cruise ships lining Welton.)

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

Denver's ugliest development?



BusinessDen - A rendering shows the 94-unit condominium complex developers are planning for 2137 Glenarm Place, currently a parkling lot. To be named "Archie". WTF

Strange - the rendering on the developers website looks quite a bit different (and much more palatable

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

Strange - the rendering on the developers website looks quite a bit different (and much more palatable

jinx you owe me a coke. clearly not the same project, thankfully!

[bunt_q]

I assume the first one is just massing. And actually, given the proximity to the landbarge, I think the massing is much smarter than the rendering from the developer's website. And better for Glenarm to have that building frontage, maybe. But I think you have to pull those units - front windows and back windows - as far off the alley as you possibly can, given the awfulness across the alley.

Also, the stilts and carports... very LA. Every planner's favorite. But probably makes sense here. Until the homeless move into those carports, at least. What's the current interpretation on Colorado's make-my-day law for defending oneself in a carport on an alley?

[Robert.hampton]

Uptown neighbors want temporary traffic circles removed after several cyclist crashes


Curious what people on here think of this seemingly awful shared street experiment. During the pandemic they had 'road closed to through traffic' barricades which were clunky, but were effective in eliminating through traffic and making the streets prioritized for pedestrians and bikes.

The second rendition of shared streets brought about roundabouts which have been a complete disaster that seemingly could only be designed by an inept and thoughtless bureaucracy. First, roundabouts don't work if you have stop signs. Drivers are utterly confused (for good reason) and I've seen a million near misses because of it. Second, the roundabouts diverts cars directly into the bike lanes. Was the thought of shared streets to force bicyclists to share their lane with cars? And finally it doesn't do much to eliminate or divert traffic -- it just seems to slow traffic down. You could achieve the same impact in a safer manner by just adding speed bumps into the traffic lane.

Shared streets was a great idea in concept, but holy awful execution by the city.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Have I ever mentioned that I enjoy mixed density; appropriate preservation too?

At least the renderings are rather cool. BTW, this was previously reported but this is a fun update.

Transformation of a 1938 Building Brings the Farm to the Urban Table
November 23, 2021 - Mile High CRE

this is cool. It is currently an eyesore and this new use is close walking distance for me.
This, plus the Blake St festival area across from Coors Field, and potentially the new 8 story apt building on Blake & 20th will be quite impactful for the Ballpark neighborhood.

Also in the area, the XD2 seems much higher quality than XD1 as far as exterior finishes (hooray). I just don't see how they can fit 9 more stories underneath the exsiting tower crane. hmmmmm

[mhays]

Tower cranes can add segments for more height.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

On the shared street, I don't know why they thought round-a-abouts would be a good idea. Like you said, speed bumps would achieve the same goal more effectively. I think anything that slows down traffic and enhances cyclist comfort/safety would be great Personally, I would love to see a protected bike lane or an elevated bicycle track on 11th avenue from the Cherry Creek trail to Cheeseman park.

With 4003 Walnut, wasn't that project originally supposed to be around 16 stories, as part of the opportunity zoning incentives? Also, is Watershed going to happen? I heard some ad on CPR that was sponsored by that developer.

[The Dirt]

It's too bad that their fear of CdeBaca led them to abandon a rezoning to 8 stories. I would have preferred that over the Long Beach condos.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

It's too bad that their fear of CdeBaca led them to abandon a rezoning to 8 stories. I would have preferred that over the Long Beach condos.

Didn’t you hear that Candi just helped to get FIVE affordable houses built in GES? She’s really put a dent in the affordability of housing there.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

It's too bad that their fear of CdeBaca led them to abandon a rezoning to 8 stories. I would have preferred that over the Long Beach condos.

she votes no on everything because she is a commie nut job. She couldn't possibly win again could she? Maybe redistricting will save my neighborhood.

This current height isn't bad considering there are just regular size homes across the street in the Clements district. Although perhaps 8 stories is still a nice transition down from the Radiant mega barge across the alley, especially if the tall part is setback from Glenarm like the current design.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by mhays

Tower cranes can add segments for more height.

that should be interesting to see, not all that much room left (3 crane segments).

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Also, the stilts and carports... very LA. Every planner's favorite. But probably makes sense here. Until the homeless move into those carports, at least. What's the current interpretation on Colorado's make-my-day law for defending oneself in a carport on an alley?

Carports are everywhere in warm weather areas. In Phx everything built which started out as "luxury" and now are more of a bargain have carports. You can find (a few) apartments w/o them but it's more of a novelty.

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

Curious what people on here think of this seemingly awful shared street experiment. During the pandemic they had 'road closed to through traffic' barricades which were clunky, but were effective in eliminating through traffic and making the streets prioritized for pedestrians and bikes.

That's a funny looking roundabout. I run into them frequently (now that I'm out and about) especially in Scottsdale but also in Phx. They're mostly used for neighborhood collector streets.

I don't recall ever seeing roundabouts on streets with bike lanes. I also wouldn't recommend speed bumps as it's not unusual to see drivers veer to one side so that only one set of tires goes over the 'bump.'

Stop signs are the best way to control speed on streets with bike lanes. Or, like Paradise Valley you clearly post the speed limit with signs coupled by cameras for those who ignore the warnings.

[midwestcowboy]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Stop signs are the best way to control speed on streets with bike lanes.

Having moved here a few months ago and frequently bike commuting through Rino/Five Points as well as Arapahoe Square/Capitol Hill, I'm constantly surprised at the lack of 4-way stops. Streets that seem to be roughly the same size/capacity will have a stop sign in one direction and none in the other. It makes it confusing for both cars and bikes, and really pretty dangerous. 4-way stops are the best way to solve all these issues, and really are a minimal addition to traffic congestion.

I'm sure there are better examples, but here's one that I found quickly.

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

That's a funny looking roundabout. I run into them frequently (now that I'm out and about) especially in Scottsdale but also in Phx. They're mostly used for neighborhood collector streets.

I don't recall ever seeing roundabouts on streets with bike lanes.

There's also some irony that literally a block over on colfax they've installed hundreds of ballards for the exclusive purpose of keeping cars further away from pedestrian ramps when they are making turns. Then on 16th theyve installed these roundabouts which deliberately force cars to drive towards pedestrian ramps. The traffic pattern on 16th is probably as dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians as any in the city

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

There's also some irony that literally a block over on colfax they've installed hundreds of ballards for the exclusive purpose of keeping cars further away from pedestrian ramps when they are making turns. Then on 16th theyve installed these roundabouts which deliberately force cars to drive towards pedestrian ramps. The traffic pattern on 16th is probably as dangerous for both cyclists and pedestrians as any in the city

You should expect nothing less than these results from our department of transportation and infrastructure. Their decision making is akin to attending an insane clown posse concert.

[coolmandan03]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

that should be interesting to see, not all that much room left (3 crane segments).

Tower cranes raise themselves by adding more segments, like this video shows

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by coolmandan03

Tower cranes raise themselves by adding more segments, like this video shows

very interesting. they built the original crane height with another crane and thus the jacking part is not on there. Somehow that must get hoisted up as part of the process.

[mhays]

They wrap an exoskeleton on to accomplish this.

The video is from a condo project in Bellevue btw.

[coolmandan03]

Originally Posted by Arapahoe

very interesting. they built the original crane height with another crane and thus the jacking part is not on there. Somehow that must get hoisted up as part of the process.

As you can see in the video, jacking a crane is pretty slow; so the idea is to build the crane with another crane to get you as high as possible or feasible. Then you can jack the little bit you need left. The jacking part drives up on the outside to hoist the crane up to insert the sections.