DENVER | Main Development Thread #6

[comoneymaker]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

This is one sharp looking building:

Denver Cityscape 5/27/16

It's got the added bonus of blocking that white POS Barkley Tower.

If by "sharp looking building" you mean a nicer version of another crap brown box then yes.

[The Dirt]

Please post a picture of a building that you actually like.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Please post a picture of a building that you actually like.

Agreed. This has some nice setbacks, edges, and is a great compliment to 16M!

[corey]

That 16th and Market hotel has got to be the most BORING building I've seen in a long time! And I HATE the color.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by corey

That 16th and Market hotel has got to be the most BORING building I've seen in a long time! And I HATE the color.

Wait... The one that hasn't broken ground yet?

[comoneymaker]

[lumos]

Originally Posted by comoneymaker

Fully agree on One Lincoln Park. Airy lightness and soaring to the heavens.

[seventwenty]

Come on guys, there is no housing shortage because of all these spare rooms and the sharing economy.

Originally Posted by Denver Post

Metro Denver’s housing shortage could take years to resolve, but there is one source of supply that could help take some pressure off the market if it gains acceptance.

Across Colorado, there are 790,074 spare bedrooms potentially available to rent, the personal finance website Finder.com estimates. Assuming a rent of $100 a week, those spare rooms have the potential to generate in $4.1 billion a year in rental income.

I will rent my spare SLV bedroom to the first degenerate with questionable credit who needs to commute to Fort Collins.

[Robert.hampton]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

True, many of the developers that have fueled Denver's growth will build an occasional nicer tower in select markets. That North Texas ie. Dallas market is so huge I gave up trying to follow it (or maybe it was a different time priority). TCR is very active there and this nicer project may be one out of a dozen. Fair point about the zoning though.

Zoning might not help but that doesnt give TCR a pass for continually putting some of the worst developments in the area to market.

Not only is the architecture continaully awful but I dont see much thought in any of the Alexan products to creating a sense of community or tying in the building into the surrounding neighborhoods. Its all about maxing out their zoning allowances with cheap materials. One City Block, across the street from the Alexan, could have been a 5 story monolith but the developers actually took the time to create a building that blends and contributes the fabric of uptown while having nice community spaces for its residents and thoughtful retail.

I still love the CPR show where someone from TCR was bitching about bad design in Denver and the host called out TCR for being responsible for some of the worst design in the city. So spot on!

[Stonemans_rowJ]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

One Lincoln Park made this list by the same Westword architectural critic who published the recent rant "The Hateful Eight":

http://www.westword.com/arts/the-ten-worst-21st-century-buildings-in-downtown-denver-6882500

Really like the rendering for that Lodo hotel...

[comoneymaker]

Well one out of 100 would think that building is ugly. Side note stop wasting your time reading the Westword. That crap is only good for finding a escort or a new place to get your weed.

[TheNightfly]

Plansit posted a building permit request for block 173 a while back. Did anyone ever get the scoop on that?

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by Robert.hampton

Zoning might not help but that doesnt give TCR a pass for continually putting some of the worst developments in the area to market.

Not only is the architecture continaully awful but I dont see much thought in any of the Alexan products to creating a sense of community or tying in the building into the surrounding neighborhoods. Its all about maxing out their zoning allowances with cheap materials. One City Block, across the street from the Alexan, could have been a 5 story monolith but the developers actually took the time to create a building that blends and contributes the fabric of uptown while having nice community spaces for its residents and thoughtful retail.

I still love the CPR show where someone from TCR was bitching about bad design in Denver and the host called out TCR for being responsible for some of the worst design in the city. So spot on!

While I wouldn't disagree with your points, since I don't have any formal background in Good Taste, I would offer a different perspective.

Ultimately, I see urban living as a tapestry of The Good, The Not-so-Good, occasionally The Exceptional and even The Awful. TCR's projects are hardly awful but certainly more pedestrian than some others. They are also presumably, once the New Shine wears off, tomorrow's 'B' quality apartment product relative to downtown. They will offer a bit more affordable option for a market segment that is woefully under-supplied. Residential (apartment) product, on the whole, is not where you look for distinctive quality or architecture. So long as there's a few distinctive buildings here and there then it's how it should be.

I suspect that Denver will remain somewhat understated to other notable growing cities whether Seattle or other west coast examples but it is still so much better than most places. It's like a crossroads from America's heartland to west coast glitz. It's pieces fit and function nicely.

[PLANSIT]

Originally Posted by TheNightfly

Plansit posted a building permit request for block 173 a while back. Did anyone ever get the scoop on that?

Word on the street is Hotel, > 20 stories, between 250 and 300ft.

[RyanD]

The Confluence:

With some facade action...

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by RyanD

[B]
With some facade action...

Uhmmm... wtf..???

What the hell is that siding??? For a 30 floor building????? It looks like some cheap plastic laminated siding my grandparents used to have on the $100 dollar Sears toolshed they had in the back. And why the hell would you put tiny vertical windows on high rise building facing the downtown skyline and/or a beautiful park???????? Where the hell is Denver finding all of his architects and building designers?? Some drug rehab program??

Ee gads!!

[comoneymaker]

It is just that corner, Rest is almost all glass.

[DenverInfill]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Uhmmm... wtf..???

What the hell is that siding??? For a 30 floor building????? It looks like some cheap plastic laminated siding my grandparents used to have on the $100 dollar Sears toolshed they had in the back. And why the hell would you put tiny vertical windows on high rise building facing the downtown skyline and/or a beautiful park???????? Where the hell is Denver finding all of his architects and building designers?? Some drug rehab program??

Ee gads!!

I agree about the siding.

One nit to pick about your comment however, and it's not just you but it's ubiquitous on social media, comment sections, and this forum: who is this "Denver" you speak of? There is no Denver the developer, unless it's a municipal building. In this case, Confluence is being developed by a Texas developer who hired a Texas architect. As long as the building's design meets the zoning code and building code requirements, "Denver" doesn't have much say in what the building looks like or the materials that are used on it.

If you want to blame someone, blame them:

http://www.pmrg.com/
http://gdainet.com/index.html

[pablosan]

I think it would have looked better if the panels were wider.

[Cirrus]

I for one will be happy when the "random window placement" fad finally ends. It was OK as novelty but sucks as a widespread trend. That said, that building does a pretty good job with it.