DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[Curtis Park]

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

it's not that sad. we might get our golf course and much needed driving range back.

if bicyclists gets hundreds of bike lanes for their hobby, it's not unreasonable to have one legitimate driving range in denver. city park doesn't count with it's limited space and distance restricted balls.

park hill golf course's demise was a massive loss for the residents for the area, even if it's not nimby or yimby approved.

I really hope this is tongue-in-cheek. If not, you're a total wack-job.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Curtis Park

I really hope this is tongue-in-cheek. If not, you're a total wack-job.

I think the Top Golf idea might be the best that can be done now with that land. And even that is hard within the easement language. Worth a shot, though.

The voters are wack-jobs. Will take a wack-job idea to make use of that land now.

[Curtis Park]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

I think the Top Golf idea might be the best that can be done now with that land. And even that is hard within the easement language. Worth a shot, though.

The voters are wack-jobs. Will take a wack-job idea to make use of that land now.

I'd love to see Top Golf, with an 80' fence on the east side, right next to all the houses. And tons of parking, with the exit going to the east so visitors have to drive through the neighborhood.

And to protect the land from trespassing, they can get dogs with bees in their mouths so when they bark they shoot bees at you.

[wwmiv]

Did anyone here volunteer with the campaign?

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by Curtis Park

I'd love to see Top Golf, with an 80' fence on the east side, right next to all the houses. And tons of parking, with the exit going to the east so visitors have to drive through the neighborhood.

And to protect the land from trespassing, they can get dogs with bees in their mouths so when they bark they shoot bees at you.

I want the fence on the north side right next to Harry Doby's house. It would be wonderfully poetic.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by bulldurhamer

it's not that sad. we might get our golf course and much needed driving range back.

Admittedly it's hard for me to hate preserving open green space. It will still be there years from now when perhaps the neighbors will change their mind.

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

A Marvelous Idea

Originally Posted by bunt_q

I think the Top Golf idea might be the best that can be done now with that land. And even that is hard within the easement language. Worth a shot, though.

The voters are wack-jobs. Will take a wack-job idea to make use of that land now.

Saturday evening, I got a big kick out of picking up three immigrants from India (all living at different apartment complexes), jumping on the 101 to the Top Golf which was maybe 10 minutes down the freeway. Good chance none of them owned golf clubs but they can whack away at Top Golf.

[bunt_q]

Originally Posted by Curtis Park

And to protect the land from trespassing, they can get dogs with bees in their mouths so when they bark they shoot bees at you.

LOL. This imagery will keep me up at night for the next month.

[TakeFive]

We went for the margaritas, stayed for the food

We've long since said our Good-bye's; now there's just the memories.

La Loma Restaurant


Photo courtesy Adam Larkey - Eater Denver

https://www.westword.com/location/la-loma-restaurant-5161190

We didn’t just go to La Loma for the great Den-Mex food; we went because La Loma was a north Denver institution, with an old-school vibe that gave you the sense that you were part of this city’s history — not to mention big margaritas that almost made you history.

In with the new




Images courtesy of Oz Architects


Photo courtesy of BG Buildingworks

https://milehighcre.com/the-weitz-company-celebrates-26th-and-alcott-topping-off/

Grand Peaks‘ for-rent high-rise apartment development has topped out at the intersection of 26th Avenue and Alcott Street in Denver’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. The first tower of the 15-story, 626-unit property houses 93 short term rental units while the second tower houses 533 apartment style units.

Construction began in October 2021 and is on schedule for completion in April 2024.

[wwmiv]

Den-Mex? LMFAO.

[TakeFive]

Park Hill is one thing but now we have too much density in Aurora?

https://www.denverpost.com/2023/04/10/echelon-at-eagle-bend-aurora-lawsuit-housing-development/

Sixteen residents in Aurora have sued the city’s mayor and city council in an attempt to stop the construction of an apartment complex near their gated golf course community.

The Garrett Cos., an Indiana-based builder of apartment complexes, intends to turn a vacant 15-acre lot at East Aurora Parkway and South Quemoy Way in southeast Aurora into Echelon at Eagle Bend. The complex would have 260 units inside a dozen buildings.

Oh My

“I am requesting, on behalf of 800-plus residents who have signed petitions, that the Echelon development not be allowed to move forward as designed,” said Harry Brust, the lead plaintiff in the case, during a March 8 hearing before the planning commission.

“Shoving 12 buildings — five the size of hotels — parking garages and parking lots on 14 acres while maintaining 45-percent usable open space is impossible,” he said.

What was Aurora City Council's position?

Despite those objections and others, commissioners voted 7-0 that day to approve the proposal without debate. Four weeks later, the residents filed their lawsuit.

[TakeFive]

"We need urban residential density, tons of it"

Backstory:

I'm lying in bed listening to Red Eye Radio, a couple of talkers out of Dallas that appeal to the truckers out there - the guys (and gals) that deliver everything that we need.

I caught the tail end of a discussion of one of their favorite cities (to use as a punching bag) - San Francisco. I was so intrigued I jumped out of bed to search for the relevant articles by the San Francisco Chronicle.

This was the 1st article:

Cities are struggling. San Francisco could be in for the biggest ‘doom loop’ of all

Interconnected forces trap the city in economic free fall: Workers remain primarily remote; office space sits empty; businesses shutter; mass transit is sharply reduced or even bankrupt, making it even harder for low- and middle-wage workers who enable restaurants and small businesses to operate, causing major budget shortfalls from declining tax revenue that imperil numerous city services, trigger mass layoffs of city workers and shred the social safety net, all of which causes more people to leave.

San Francisco could be on the verge of collapse. What should California do about it?
April 4, 2023 By Chronicle Editorial Board

Downtown San Francisco is at risk of collapsing — and taking much of the Bay Area with it.

Experts say post-pandemic woes stemming from office workers staying home instead of commuting into the city could send San Francisco into a “doom loop” that would gut its tax base, decimate fare-reliant regional transit systems like BART and trap it in an economic death spiral.

The article draws a comparison with NYC and 9/11 (not sure I like it) for monetary reasons.

Further defining the problem

Despite our housing crisis, it was years into the COVID pandemic before our leaders meaningfully questioned the logic of reserving some of the most prized real estate on Earth for fickle suburbanites and their cars. Downtown, after all, was San Francisco’s golden goose. Companies in downtown offices accounted for 70% of San Francisco’s pre-pandemic jobs and generated nearly 80% of its economic output, according to city economist Ted Egan.

And the solution is?

That means rebuilding the neighborhood’s fabric, which won’t be cheap or easy. Office-to-housing conversions are notoriously tricky and expensive. Demolishing non-historic commercial buildings that no longer serve a purpose in the post-pandemic world

The 2nd article is a bit long but well worth the read; at least I found it highly interesting. The reason for the hilarity of skepticism from the 'radio guys' is their plan calls for many $billions coming from both the state and federal governments.

Does anybody remember the Good Old Days in San Francisco? Tony Bennett can remind us.

Sadly, if you keep up on the news then you know two prominent people were viscously attacked by homeless individuals within the week, one who died and the other seriously beaten but still alive. Then there's this CNN piece from today:

Whole Foods closes San Francisco flagship store after one year, citing worker safety

The San Francisco Standard, an independent news website, reported that this Whole Foods location had previously reduced operating hours last year because of theft and changed its bathrooms after employees found syringes and pipes.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Matt Dorsey said on Twitter that he was “incredibly disappointed” by the closure.

“Our neighborhood waited a long time for this supermarket, but we’re also well aware of problems they’ve experienced with drug-related retail theft, adjacent drug markets, and the many safety issues related to them,” Dorsey wrote.

Post Script: If Denver is at a Fork in the Road, I hope they don't choose the same path that San Francisco has.

[rds70]

It looks like the old Sears store in Cherry Creek will finally be demolished and redeveloped. A Concept Plan was recently submitted to the City with the following description:

A new mixed-used residential development with ground-floor retail located along the west side of Clayton Lane between 1st and 2nd Avenues in the Cherry Creek North District. The project will feature an outdoor retail paseo lined with a variety of shops and dining options. The site currently hosts the vacant Sears Department Store Building, 2nd Avenue Parking Garage, Clayton Lane Residential Condo Building, and Crate & Barrel Building. As illustrated in the provided drawings, the Sears Building will be demolished and replaced by an 9-story mixed-use Residential High Rise with two new levels of below-grade parking that connect to the existing below-grade parking on the site. Levels 05 – 09 of the Residential High Rise will extend over the existing 2nd Avenue Garage, which is to remain. The Crate & Barrel Building will also be demolished down to grade level, though the parking garage below will remain. A new 5-story mixed-use residential building will be built above the existing below-grade parking garage in its place. The existing Condo Building to the north will remain, and its ground floor retail interiors and storefronts will be renovated.

According to BusinessDen, the project will be developed by BMC and Prism Places. The project architect is Tryba. 453 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail are proposed.

That will be a ton of new residences at that intersection, with 600 being proposed as part of the Cherry Creek West project.

I wonder where Crate & Barrel will relocate to?

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Post Script: If Denver is at a Fork in the Road, I hope they don't choose the same path that San Francisco has.

Fascinating stuff. I've spent time in San Francisco over the years (now decades). In some ways, this is the path that City has always followed, the boom and bust. It is currently in a very bad place if you haven't been recently. Not pockets of it, the majority of the center City. It's sad, but I suspect it will reinvent itself as it always has.

Denver, and Colorado more broadly, are barreling in the direction of SF. Between the rent control bill, the ROFR bill, leftovers of the eviction moratorium and related bills, the energy efficiency bills, green roof ordinance (in a semi arid desert), likely reform of special financing districts, and many others, I give us 10 years before we reach full Californication. That's just housing related. Factor in the anti business measures like the minimum wage increases (which are meaningless bc the market has already moved past them), paid family/medical leave, consumer protections bill, and the list goes on.

Over the past 5 years, the legislature has pursued and mainly passed an incredible amount of red tape regulation and their pursuit velocity increases each year. Are some of these things good and worth pursuits? Yes, but at what point does it become too much and inordinately restrict businesses and entrepreneurs from job growth? Clearly that hasn't happened yet, but once all this catches up to Coloradans, the change happens quickly but the reforms do not.

We need only look to other large progressive Cities to see what happens as many, perhaps most, of these measures have been implemented in those places. The answer, for me, has been the choice to grow outside of the State of Colorado.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by rds70

It looks like the old Sears store in Cherry Creek will finally be demolished and redeveloped. A Concept Plan was recently submitted to the City with the following description:



According to BusinessDen, the project will be developed by BMC and Prism Places. The project architect is Tryba. 453 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail are proposed.

That will be a ton of new residences at that intersection, with 600 being proposed as part of the Cherry Creek West project.

I wonder where Crate & Barrel will relocate to?

The concept plan is pretty different from the article. There was no mention in that one of incorporating the Crate and Barrel store. Wonder which way they will go?


EDIT: Nevermind. According to the DBJ the developer is still working on plans for the Crate and Barrel building and whether the retailer will remain (which I would assume mean not building the five-story building) or will go. Sounds like the first phase is the Sears Building/parking garage replacement/renovation with the two buildings fronting Clayton Lane to be done at a later date.

[TakeFive]

Hot off the Press

Serious Question: Are presses still a thing?

City leaders call Polis’ sweeping land use bill ‘fundamentally flawed’
April 12, 2023 By Nathaniel Minor/Denverite

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced on Wednesday the city’s opposition to a sweeping — and controversial — state bill that would force many local governments to allow denser housing.

“SB23-213 is a laudable, but fundamentally flawed, top-down approach, and Denver is opposed to the bill as currently drafted,” Hancock and City Council President Jamie Torres wrote in a statement.

That's not all of the opposition.

Leaders of many other local governments, as well as the Colorado Municipal League and the Metro Mayors Caucus, also oppose the bill. Denver’s opposition is particularly notable because it’s the state’s largest city and some parts of it have rapidly densified over the last few decades.

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

It only took ten years but 'we' got her done

The GSA has sold off the 59 acres of federal land owned at the Federal Center to a developer from Dallas.

[TakeFive]

This is fascinating

Originally Posted by rds70

It looks like the old Sears store in Cherry Creek will finally be demolished and redeveloped. A Concept Plan was recently submitted to the City with the following description:

According to BusinessDen, the project will be developed by BMC and Prism Places. The project architect is Tryba. 453 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail are proposed.

I remember when OliverMcMillan bought the property in 2016 but I forgot that Invesco was their financial partner. I also forgot that Brookfield Residential Properties later bought OliverMcMillan.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/...x_testVariant=cx_26&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s

Multiple groups have tried, unsuccessfully, to develop the Clayton Lane site over the years. In 2016, OliverMcMillan and Invesco Real Estate purchased retail portions of the site for $169.6 million, according to previous reporting, with plans to redevelop the site that never came to fruition. In 2018, Brookfield Residential Properties Inc. acquired OliverMcMillan, and took over the plans for redevelopment.

Joblon said that Invesco bought out Brookfield approximately 18 months ago, and is now the sole owner of the site. Invesco hired Newmark broker John Jugl to spearhead a request for proposal process from some of the country’s top developers.

Not sure how Prism Places and BMC hooked up but PRISM has done mixed-use development in Los Angeles. Whether Invesco is interested in adding additional equity on top of the land, I duno but they're capable

Originally Posted by rds70

That will be a ton of new residences at that intersection, with 600 being proposed as part of the Cherry Creek West project.

I wonder where Crate & Barrel will relocate to?

Love the residential development there.

BMC plans to demolish the former 150,000-square-foot vacant Sears building and replace it with an eight-story apartment building with studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. In compliance with Denver’s new affordable housing requirements, 10% of those units will be restricted to 60% of the area median income.

With respect to Crate & Barrel my guess is they go across the road to Cherry Creek West.

[rds70]

Some more Cherry Creek news: Waldorf Astoria branded condos planned along 2nd Avenue:



Story at businessden.com - https://businessden.com/2023/04/13/condo...rry-creek-to-be-branded-waldorf-astoria/

[rds70]

For those who say that Denver is becoming the next San Francisco (in a negative way), maybe:

San Francisco Company Relocates it’s HQ, Another Feather in Denver’s Cap:

https://www.denverpost.com/2023/04/13/redaptive-moves-headquarters-to-denver/

[Sierra Obscura]

Originally Posted by rds70

Some more Cherry Creek news: Waldorf Astoria branded condos planned along 2nd Avenue:



Story at businessden.com - https://businessden.com/2023/04/13/condo...rry-creek-to-be-branded-waldorf-astoria/

The skyline in Cherry Creek is nice to look at from the ground, and I love all of the streel-level retail/activation, but it's a shame about the height plateau. It has, or had, the potential to be Denver's version of Buckhead.

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Sierra Obscura

The skyline in Cherry Creek is nice to look at from the ground, and I love all of the street-level retail/activation, but it's a shame about the height plateau. It has, or had, the potential to be Denver's version of Buckhead.

Denver has a particular problem with respect to Cherry Creek: the mountain view that wealthy homeowners to the west have a vested interest in preserving (which adds to their land value). Hence, the plateau is beneath the level that would obstruct views.

Quite honestly, we could remove the view question altogether by passing a citizen initiated petition that protects certain views and authorizes the city to remove height caps when they don’t conflict with those views and to disallow protected views from private land.

Calls it “Peaks from Parks” or something else catchy and deliberately protect all remaining views of the mountain crest from all major public parks and select sites. It’d remove the question from contention—it’d be settled by voters, and thus allow city council greater maneuverability with respect to developing height. e.g. they can always say “well, this doesn’t conflict with the voter passed initiative, therefore it has voter support to go taller.”