DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[TakeFive]

This is kinda sad... thinking back to promising times

I can recall Ken/DenverInfill providing great coverage on this site during the redevelopment of La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood which dates to the early 2010's. Denver Infill's initial coverage of 1099 Osage is dated November 15, 2010. In May of 2011 Denver Infill carried this piece. I assume you long-timers can recall this.


Denver Closes La Alma Rec Center After Deadly Shooting, Rising Crime
April 28, 2022 By Tori Mason - CBS4

DENVER (CBS4) – Children in one Denver neighborhood are without their beloved rec center after the city deemed the area unsafe. Denver Parks and Recreation put gates around the La Alma Recreation Center and nearby playground after a shooting took the life of a longtime resident.

DPD says Arellano was in the park when he witnessed a fight. Arellano was shot while attempting to break up the altercation. The next day, Arellano’s friends and family held a candlelight vigil and released balloons near the spot he was killed.

“He shot him in his face and in his chest four times and took off walking like if he didn’t do nothing,” said Jami. “My uncle lost his life trying to protect by standards. He took a good man away from a family that needs him. It was senseless.”

With a new Bill working its way through the legislature it's nice to see that finally the realization is sinking in that "Enough is Enough".

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Terrible tragedy. Terrible solution

[DenverInfill]

Concept plans for the next phase of Denargo Market were submitted yesterday consisting of 10-, 16-, and 17-story buildings (mix of office and res).

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Is that the platte river abutting parcel?

[DenverInfill]

No, the big parcel between the first phases and Arkins Court.

[TakeFive]

I assume this is site by Denver-based Formativ and Chicago-based Golub & Co

Denverite covered the previous rezoning for the entire site May of 2021.

The zoning approved Monday would still allow mixed-use buildings, but increase maximum heights to 250 feet at 2650 Arkins Ct. and allow some buildings among the four parcels to rise up to 110, 150 and 200 feet, with the lower heights closer to the river and the taller heights allowed more in the center of the development.

Not sure if this is slightly different need for approval or just a proposal for the taller buildings on the site.

[rct]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I assume this is site by Denver-based Formativ and Chicago-based Golub & Co

Denverite covered the previous rezoning for the entire site May of 2021.





Not sure if this is slightly different need for approval or just a proposal for the taller buildings on the site.

I was blown away at the amount of parking behind those buildings on Blake St. Is that for Rockies games or something?

[DenverInfill]

That's all Rockies parking.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

Up to 17 stories is going to be huge for that area. I hope that the Platte River near that area is revitalized, much like we saw right outside REI at Confluence Park.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

BusinessDen had an interested story on Stan Kroenke wanting to redevelop the parking lots outside of Ball Arena. According to the article, these parking lots couple with River Mile would expand downtown by 40%

https://businessden.com/2022/05/02/kroen...acres-of-parking-lots-around-ball-arena/

[SirLucasTheGreat]

One more photo of the Ball Arena/River Mile vision

[mayco]

It will certainly be interesting to watch the area transform over the next couple of decades. I do wish it would be as quick as all the development around Union Station, but I think that is very wishful thinking.

[DenverInfill]

Originally Posted by mayco

It will certainly be interesting to watch the area transform over the next couple of decades. I do wish it would be as quick as all the development around Union Station, but I think that is very wishful thinking.

I totally understand the desire for it to build out quickly, but spreading it out over a couple of decades will ultimately provide a more eclectic mix of architecture and infrastructure design as trends emerge and evolve over time. At some point in the future, the DUS area will be easy to tag as being "so 2010s" in its look and feel. Time will tell if that's a good or bad thing, but I like urban neighborhoods with some decade diversity.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

How realistic, even over the course of decades, will it be to have other downtown districts that are comparably vertical to the Central Business District? The vision I have seen for River Mile and the Ball Arena seems to include a forest of 50 plus story towers. Weren't the bulk of our towers built during an oil boom in the 1980s where many developers built towers on spec? I'm just curious whether it is reasonable to expect our market to produce that sort of height even with time.

[mhays]

The rendering appears to suggest a lot of housing (skinnier towers) in addition to some offices. With the Downtown fringes filling up, tall towers seem very doable, particularly if the district is nice enough or close enough to jobs that people will pay a premium for it. I'd expect more of these on the other Downtown fringes too.

Separate topic: What about Auraria? I just glanced at their 2017 20-year plan. There are two student residential projects, both in the five-year horizon, i.e. hopefully done or underway by now. Is there a chance at more intensive use, like more student housing, a hotel or two, a couple buildings for start-ups related to the institutions...? For such as huge campus, it doesn't seem to be pulling its weight in urban terms. Student housing seems particularly important as Denver housing gets more expensive.

[TakeFive]

Nice comment

Originally Posted by DenverInfill

I totally understand the desire for it to build out quickly, but spreading it out over a couple of decades will ultimately provide a more eclectic mix of architecture and infrastructure design as trends emerge and evolve over time. At some point in the future, the DUS area will be easy to tag as being "so 2010s" in its look and feel. Time will tell if that's a good or bad thing, but I like urban neighborhoods with some decade diversity.

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

Originally Posted by mhays

Separate topic: What about Auraria? I just glanced at their 2017 20-year plan. There are two student residential projects, both in the five-year horizon, i.e. hopefully done or underway by now. Is there a chance at more intensive use, like more student housing, a hotel or two, a couple buildings for start-ups related to the institutions...? For such as huge campus, it doesn't seem to be pulling its weight in urban terms. Student housing seems particularly important as Denver housing gets more expensive.

Ken could give you a street-level view and feel for Auraria.

It has certainly 'grown up' a lot over the last 15 years. Density has been added simply by going from one-story to 3 or 4-story new buildings. Other than for some student housing I don't see higher or more vertical development happening in the near term.

I rather like its urban-campus footprint which has grown by taking over what used to be industrial uses. Light rail was also added and the campus still serves many suburban commuter students.

[TakeFive]

Latest migration trends

These are the cities everyone wants to move to right now, according to a top relocating company
May 2, 2022 By Tristan Bove - Fortune via Yahoo.com

Two years into the pandemic, people continue to hunt for greener pastures in more affordable towns better suited to a pandemic-era lifestyle than big coastal cities.

Larger homes, gardens, and a more affordable cost of living suddenly became much more important, and data reflecting last year’s moving patterns is beginning to reflect these new considerations.

So, let's see the list.

1. Houston - - 2. Las Vegas - - 3. Phoenix - - 4. Charlotte - - 5. Denver
6. San Antonio - - 7. Dallas - - 8. Orlando - - 9. Austin - - 10. Chicago

Cities in Sun Belt states have become the new hotspot for Americans looking to move, according to a new survey by moving truck rental company Penske,

Just as interesting is what is NOT included - No West Coast cites.

Office Sublease Space Might Be Peaking In The Bay Area, But Don't Relax Yet
April 26, 2022 By Joseph Gordon, Bisnow

Notably, San Francisco is struggling with over 6 million square feet of sub-lease space. A few new tenants are taking advantage of the sub-lease space rates to grow their city presence while other sub-lease space is being turned back to the landlord.

Note: There seems to be a back-to Silicon Valley trend.

Americans are moving out of urban counties like never before
April 28, 2022 By Grace O'Donnell and Adriana Belmonte - Yahoo! Finance

Americans leaving urban counties reached a new high in 2021 as droves of people settled in suburban and exurban counties.

More than two-thirds of large urban counties saw their populations decline, according to a recent report by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) that used federal statistics. This marked the first time in 50 years that counties with an urban center and more than 250,000 people experienced negative growth as a category.

Denver is clearly bucking the trend
as development in the city (center) surges on. I tribute this to Ken/DenverInfill

Seriously though, I see Denver benefitting immensely from their infill development as apposed to (just) city-centered high rise development. It has created different nodes of (denser) development and interesting new/redeveloped neighborhoods, whether along Brighton Blvd, 38th and Blake, Golden Triangle etc etc.

Investors Are Still Buying Denver Real Estate — They're Just Choosier Now
April 24, 2022 By Molly Armbrister, Bisnow Denver

Institutional investors still like Denver but are pickier about what they buy than they were before the coronavirus, seeking quality buildings and high-credit tenants to entice them to part with their money in a recovering capital markets environment rife with uncertainty.

Office and industrial sales in metro Denver topped more than $1B in the first quarter of 2022, a marked improvement over the past two years, according to data from CBRE. “There are pockets of strength and pockets of weakness,” said John Jugl, vice chairman of the western region for Newmark and regional lead of the Denver office’s institutional investment platform.

Across all asset classes, buyers are looking for high-quality buildings, particularly new ones, as the flight to quality continues, Jugl said.

This article is about the metro area as apposed to being city center focused so certain attractive suburban markets are equally investable.

[mhays]

That 4/28 population article is talking about 7/1/20 to 7/1/21. I wish the papers would all phrase that as a long-ago COVID-era trend that might have nothing to do with today.

[Sam Hill]

Yep. The covid-induced fleeing of cities was a very temporary blip that is meaningless now. A good journalist should at least phrase it in the past tense.

[TakeFive]

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Originally Posted by mhays

That 4/28 population article is talking about 7/1/20 to 7/1/21. I wish the papers would all phrase that as a long-ago COVID-era trend that might have nothing to do with today.

Reasonable point; however in order to be 'credible' by using Federal data it will necessarily lag some. But 7/21 isn't that old. And if you look at the map it does indicate that western urban areas are doing relatively well, still. I'd agree that urban centers haven't lost all their luster (certainly not in Denver) but general trends may not be in their near-term favor.

Where's the Missing Middle?

Off topic - but when I read Alitos's 'early' release of Roe v Wade by Politico it was just awful. It read much more like a political propaganda diatribe than a well-reasoned legal decision. It's sad when SCOTUS joins the mob of rabid conservatives by beating their chest in this manner. That said...

How much can MIGRATION be attributed to POLITICS?

Haha, this could be one fun debate but histrionics aside I'd guess quite a lot, unfortunately. True, statistics don't talk but the picture is pretty clear.

Seattle - still benefits from a solid Moat with its Bell Cows like Amazon, Microsoft etc.

Portland - for many years the Poster Child seems to have fallen into an abyss.

Minneapolis - they're trying figure what happened and clean up their mess for when things boomeranged on them.

Denver - clinging to the edge of the middle is losing altitude. Colorado Gov Jared Polis who sorta went 'all liberal' a year ago is now trying to walk back some of those (new tax) provisions.

Phoenix - Arizona meanwhile is taxing their businesses less and less while Denver wants to see businesses as the answer to wanting more and more. And Denver is not alone; it was suggested that San Francisco's Prop C which taxed wealthier companies more may be an issue.

No wonder Arizona/Phoenix is On Fire. They were recently rated to have the fastest growth in Biotech. And if you think I'm bragging then you forget I'm "Old School" and preferred Phoenix much better before it became a Hot Ticket.

BTW, I read where Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash) wants to double down with the progressive push into la la land. I assume she lives in an Echo Chamber so that defeating her is wishful thinking, no?