DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by mr1138

Thank you - yes, this is 100% correct.

And let's just revisit that Wiki definition of trolling for a moment...
inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, a newsgroup, forum, chat room, online video game, or blog, with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses, or manipulating others' perception.

Now, granted this was one of the milder things that this specific forumer has ever posted, but he literally still lobbed a personal insult at another commentor on the forum. He checked at least half the boxes in that definition.



Take a look at one or two of this person's other posts. "Generating an emotional reply or two" was ABSOLUTELY the intent of his post.



Beleive me - I make a concerted point never to address a troll directly. There is a reason I posed my question to the forum as a whole and not to the one who is trolling. There are others who DID react exactly as this person wanted - so he got oxygen.

It just makes me sad because this used to be one of the most civil and well moderated discussion environments on the internet. I no longer think this is true.

Yeah, I do understand and am reconsidering what I think.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

This is all over the city now. This one was just the most egregious example given its location and the notoriety of that alley as a place for all sorts of... interesting... activity.

Was this the spot where the owner of 🞵🞵🞵🞵 Pizza was up to some eyebrow raising activity?

[mhays]

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

I believe this is what the magas call virtue signaling.

As if having a bunch of homeless filling every corner of the city is what we need.
As for your train to cherry creek, lol. That would be utilized by the few heading to cc. Nobody in cc would ever need that stupid train. So as has been mentioned, killing downtown retail would be about all that would ever happen aside from making one of the nicer and cleaner parts of town scary and gross.

Let’s put the homeless camp in your yard first. Fraud.

Yeah, nobody would use that train....but so many would use it that it would hurt Downtown retail.

[TakeFive]

Nice development

Uptown Terrace - 230-240 East 19th Avenue


Uptown Terrace, Denver. Credit: Mediamax Inc.

Historic Apartment Community in Denver’s Uptown Sells for $8.4M
October 27, 2022 - Mile High CRE

The property has two, two-story buildings with one-bedroom floorplans of 515 sq. ft. The buildings were originally constructed in 1927. Historic aspects of the design include a full brick exterior, hardwood floors, molding, transom windows, and arched doorways. Prior to the sale, the seller invested in a renovation campaign that included new paint, landscaping, and signage, and an upgrade of the gated courtyard area to add an outdoor kitchen and patio.

CBRE touted the modest 2.7% cap rate of an all cash transaction but it was a 1031 exchange which always makes a difference to the buyer.

[EngiNerd]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

So my three year old is absolutely intrigued by those rocks. She doesn't understand them. They block things, like bike racks and strollers. But at the same time she wants to pick them up and climb on them, because clearly they must be there for somebody's amusement.

If you want to confuse children about the way the world works, drop 10 tons of riprap behind the curb in front of 7-11, and try to answer their questions.



This is all over the city now. This one was just the most egregious example given its location and the notoriety of that alley as a place for all sorts of... interesting... activity.

They also 🞵🞵🞵🞵 to open your car door next to if you parallel park a car and not a lifted truck.

[TakeFive]

Speaking of Auraria connections

The Larimer Street bridge will be replaced.


Photo courtesy of Kyle Harris/Denverite

GO DOTI

https://denverite.com/2022/10/03/larimer-street-bridge-demolition-reconstruction/

“The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure anticipates that work will begin by December on a full replacement of the Larimer Street bridge over Cherry Creek between 14th Street and Speer Boulevard,” DOTI spokesperson Vanessa Lacayo wrote in an email. “The bridge there now was built in 1958. The new bridge will be more comfortable and safer for people walking and biking, particularly between downtown and the Auraria Campus.”

Once started, the Larimer Street Bridge project would need to be finished within 300 days. Lacayo anticipates work will be wrapped up by next summer or early fall.

According to the City the $6.345 million contract was awarded on Oct 13 as part of the Elevate Denver bond funding.

[Brainpathology]

Originally Posted by Agent Orange

What he said was fine, but this person has a history of making extremely antagonistic, sometimes threatening, comments aimed at specific forumers. And has also called us all racists. mr1138's comment was presumably due his surprise that forum moderation continues to tolerate him.

What a fun time to check in. There was a time the comment would simply have been deleted and Cirrus or whoever would say 'hey be nice'. But for whatever reason that isn't how it's done now. Maybe Elon Musk bought the place The advantage of that style is people get to show who they are. Similar to letting everyone who wants to wear, tattoo, fly or otherwise display the confederate flag. No better way to know a bigot and steer clear. If they're censored you can't ever tell.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by Brainpathology

What a fun time to check in. There was a time the comment would simply have been deleted and Cirrus or whoever would say 'hey be nice'.

Be nice!


But seriously, I've had to say it multiple times lately. It's like herding cats around here...

[TakeFive]

Good point; there's always a bright side

Originally Posted by Brainpathology

What a fun time to check in. There was a time the comment would simply have been deleted and Cirrus or whoever would say 'hey be nice'. But for whatever reason that isn't how it's done now. Maybe Elon Musk bought the place The advantage of that style is people get to show who they are. Similar to letting everyone who wants to wear, tattoo, fly or otherwise display the confederate flag. No better way to know a bigot and steer clear. If they're censored you can't ever tell.

Consider that one innocuous post brought responses from coast to coast; from California to Florida.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

The office building at 955 Bannock has finally been demolished. There are two buildings planned for around that block between 955 Bannock and Parq II.

[TakeFive]

Families Welcome Here

The Reserves at Green Valley Ranch
4857 N Salida St.


Photo by: Denver7

New mixed-income apartment complex opens in Green Valley Ranch
Oct 27, 2022 By: Micah Smith - Denver7

DENVER - On Thursday morning, Denver City leaders celebrated the grand opening of The Reserves at Green Valley Ranch, a mixed-income apartment complex.

The Reserves — a 216-unit community with 144 units reserved for residents who make less than $62,600 a year — was developed by Overland Property Group and is managed by Mission Rock Residential.

Image per Apartments.com

Units range from 828 - 1,239 sq ft including 3-bedroom units.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

You know how we know you haven't set foot in Denver in years? Defending DOTI. I am not sure even DOTI defends DOTI these days.

Spot on. Really, truly, honestly, I don't think there is a single fan of the DOTI institution. That includes city workers, citizens, developers and yes, even DOTI employees. The institution is immobile, unable to keep up with the pace Denver is on, and has turned into a static organization unable to make any decisions - they can't even agree on stuff internally. It's profoundly affecting the built environment in Denver.

Let me say it another way. There's a plethora of rules and regs which, if translated and applied to each site by empowered employees could work ok enough - give a little take a little. Unfortunately, the worker bees are not empowered and so they try to force everything into a manual of written words which can't possibly foresee every condition. So every project comes through and no single project fits the conditions, then DOTI clams up, wastes time, and sits on decisions until they get escalated to the top two or three people at DOTI who are reluctantly forced to make a decision or push you off into variance land (aka kill project).

[rds70]

Here are renderings of two of the projects planned along Lincoln Street:

700 Lincoln (18 stories, 325 units, 3,400 sf of retail, 205 ft tall):




800 Lincoln (18 stories, 332 units, 8,000 sf of retail, 205 ft tall):



Here is a massing study showing many of the buildings planned for the area:

[SirLucasTheGreat]

rds70 always delivers

[TakeFive]

The Sky is Falling

The question for Denver: "Is it in the form of snow?"

Apartment Investment Sales Grind To A Halt As Capital Costs And Vacancies Rise
November 1, 2022 By Dees Stribling, Bisnow National

Sales of U.S. multifamily assets essentially collapsed during the third quarter of 2022, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions.

NMHC Chief Economist Mark Obrinsky cited the higher cost of debt and equity, along with generalized economic uncertainty, as the drivers of the slowdown. The survey also reported higher vacancies and slower rent growth compared with the second quarter.

Essentially, Buyers are now wanting better rates of return and Sellers aren't (yet) friendly to discounting their projects.

Cap Rate Anxiety Dragging Down Multifamily Market
October 30, 2022 Jarred Schenke, Bisnow Atlanta

Essentially, investors who normally like new construction have lost their appetite for investing in new projects primarily due the lack of visibility for interest rates and rates of return for new projects.

With respect to Denver

Despite a gazillion units supposedly under construction there has been a limited number of new units reaching completion and becoming available. As a result Denver's rents and vacancy are still solid.

A guess that Denver could still see specific projects break ground especially from longer term holders. I wouldn't be surprised to see new projects in some suburban markets like in Boulder County or Douglas County where they still suffer from not enough apartment units.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by laniroj

Spot on. Really, truly, honestly, I don't think there is a single fan of the DOTI institution. That includes city workers, citizens, developers and yes, even DOTI employees. The institution is immobile, unable to keep up with the pace Denver is on, and has turned into a static organization unable to make any decisions - they can't even agree on stuff internally. It's profoundly affecting the built environment in Denver.

I don't doubt there's cause for frustration and I assume every new project has questions come up, has glitches as they try to move forward.

Never in my memory has DOTI (or its previous equivalent) had such a large package of new projects dumped on them by the City and its voters. The Elevate Denver Bonds included nearly 500 project and the RISE Denver Bonds included an additional 80 project including offbeat stuff for the homeless etc. If they appear to be overloaded it's because they are.

Additionally every project currently under consideration or in the early phases of construction are dealing with nasty cost increases.

Just like President Biden or Mayor Hancock (or DOTI) everybody expects they should have some kind of magic wand they can wave.

[TakeFive]

Good Stuff

Originally Posted by rds70

Here are renderings of two of the projects planned along Lincoln Street:

700 Lincoln (18 stories, 325 units, 3,400 sf of retail, 205 ft tall):

800 Lincoln (18 stories, 332 units, 8,000 sf of retail, 205 ft tall):

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

Hotel rooms planned for upper floors of Evans School in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood
November 1, 2022 By Thomas Gounley - BusinessDen via The Denver Post

1115 Acoma St


Image via Loopnet.com

Hotel rooms are planned for the upper floors of the historic Evans School in the Golden Triangle. An application submitted to Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission, which will consider aspects of the project on Tuesday, specifies the planned use.

“An event space on the second level will host large gatherings,” the document states. “The remainder of the upper floors will house hotel rooms and hotel amenity spaces.”

The three-story former elementary school at 1115 Acoma St. was purchased in 2019 for $11 million by Denver-based development firms City Street Investors and Columbia Group. The city landmark built in 1904 has sat underutilized for decades, with sporadic use as office and event space.

The owners had debated between doing office space or hotel rooms on the upper floors. Guess they decided to proceed with the hotel concept.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

It's amazing how averse Golden Triangle developers are to new office construction. Oh well, hopefully a few more projects will break ground in the next few months. I can think of at least five multifamily projects currently under construction in Golden Triangle and two to three that seem on the precipice.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I don't doubt there's cause for frustration and I assume every new project has questions come up, has glitches as they try to move forward...

Don't need a magic wand, just a functioning government. It's not that they are frustrating for projects, it's that their process is entirely broken for all projects, including the plethora of their own that you spoke of. They need drastic change in that department. Not to mention they are still trying to plan infrastructure for a 1970's city when it's the 2020's and things have clearly changed.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

The Sky is Falling

The question for Denver: "Is it in the form of snow?"

Apartment Investment Sales Grind To A Halt As Capital Costs And Vacancies Rise
November 1, 2022 By Dees Stribling, Bisnow National

Essentially, Buyers are now wanting better rates of return and Sellers aren't (yet) friendly to discounting their projects...

I propose a friendly wager on this topic for the forum. What's the over/under for how many projects break ground from the pre-affordable housing fee concept plan rush this summer? Anyone interested? Maybe RyanD or RDS70 can help us track it?

I'll peg my guess at 20% in the next 2 years.