DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[Denver]

I am surprised this has not been posted yet.

Denver-based developer Summit Capital Venture Group has purchased 1158 Delaware Street and 328 W 12th Avenue, an 18,750-square-foot land deal, for the sale price of $5.4 million. Summit plans to demolish the existing apartment buildings on site and build a new 250-unit mixed-use project with 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The project is estimated to cost $90.1 million and will break ground in Q1 2022. Studio PBA is the architect.

https://milehighcre.com/new-250-unit-mix...to-denvers-golden-triangle-neighborhood/

[SirLucasTheGreat]

RDS posted about that project but not the link. RDS tends to be the first to break news of any multifamily development.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

God, I wish we lifted and shifted this whole thread to Skyscraper City. I'm kind of tired of using a version of vBulletin from before smart phones were invented.

haha, amen. the interface does have a bit of a nostalgic 90s charm to it though

[jbssfelix]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

God, I wish we lifted and shifted this whole thread to Skyscraper City. I'm kind of tired of using a version of vBulletin from before smart phones were invented.

Agree 100%. Not to start a fire, but what's keeping us from all going over there and continuing our regularly scheduled bitching.

[SirLucasTheGreat]

The Reddit page is good

[TakeFive]

(This post is dedicated to SirLucasTheGreat)

Laura Bliss a long time favorite writer of mine on CityLab is Johnny-on-the-spot

Car-Free Transportation Gets Boost from U.S. Grant Program
November 29, 2021 By Laura Bliss - Bloomberg CityLab

A federal grant program that had become a honeypot for rural highway-building in the Trump years has pivoted in favor of projects for sidewalks, bikes and public transit.

This is a extension of the former TIGER grants program (since renamed twice) that was started under Pres Obama. Big fan of Barack Obama so props to our former President.

Born under the Obama administration as TIGER grants (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery), the earliest iteration of the program doled out recession-era stimulus funds for streetcar extensions, pedestrian networks and other projects that didn’t easily qualify for traditional sources of funding

Fast forward to right now, today and day after today.

In the new tranche of almost $1 billion in RAISE grant selections from the U.S. Department of Transportation announced earlier this month... only about 5% of RAISE funds will support new roads, and 10% will go to projects that increase road capacity.

The rest will flow to a mix of projects such as a freeway cap in Atlanta, a greenway project in Cincinnati, transit planning in Omaha, Missoula and Charlotte, and pedestrian and bike safety improvements in Denver, Oakland and Wilmington.

[TakeFive]

Just briefly, an update on the American transit scene

https://www.governing.com/now/what-does-history-teach-us-about-pandemics-and-transit-ridership

Across the United States, transit ridership isn’t even close to bouncing back to its pre-pandemic levels. Passenger numbers are rebounding from the 70-to-95 percent declines seen at the start of COVID-19, but they are far from normal.

It’s impossible to know when, or if, ridership will ever fully recover because there’s no comparable analog to this moment in America’s modern history.

“This is a deeper and stranger challenge than we’ve ever faced before,” said Beth Osborne, director of Transportation for America, in a 2020 interview.

The growing work-from-home trend is but one of several key issues.

[midwestcowboy]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

If you like your development neat and clean then head on over to DenverInfill.

I've been actively checking DenverInfill and enjoying every post, Thanks Ryan!

[H. H. Holmes]

Originally Posted by Denver

I am surprised this has not been posted yet.





https://milehighcre.com/new-250-unit-mix...to-denvers-golden-triangle-neighborhood/

OOF that is...messy. I mean horray for the density, but I thought (hoped) Denver was turning the corner architecturally, with some nicer proposals as of late.

Are the principals at these firms just getting drunk and sketching on their iPads, then leaving the execution to the unpaid interns?

[SirLucasTheGreat]

While uninspiring, I don't actively hate that design. It is just a generic land barge. Civic Lofts, however, that is a truly heinous building. Anybody seen whether Amacon has broken ground given that the fees were paid last week?

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by H. H. Holmes

OOF that is...messy. I mean horray for the density, but I thought (hoped) Denver was turning the corner architecturally, with some nicer proposals as of late.

Are the principals at these firms just getting drunk and sketching on their iPads, then leaving the execution to the unpaid interns?

They are probably battling the 20% construction cost increase encountered over the last 12 months and had to cheap up all the facades - low hanging fruit. Maybe if we would stop sending kids to college destined for failure and instead encourage them to explore the trades, we wouldn't have this damn issue.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by laniroj

They are probably battling the 20% construction cost increase encountered over the last 12 months and had to cheap up all the facades - low hanging fruit. Maybe if we would stop sending kids to college destined for failure and instead encourage them to explore the trades, we wouldn't have this damn issue.

I'm all for crushing the trades with hundreds of thousands of new workers that will depress wages. A general laborer shouldn't make more than minimum wage and an apprentice shouldn't see an order of magnitude increase in wages either. Hell, neither should a journeyman.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

I'm all for crushing the trades with hundreds of thousands of new workers that will depress wages. A general laborer shouldn't make more than minimum wage and an apprentice shouldn't see an order of magnitude increase in wages either. Hell, neither should a journeyman.

I've long thought this issue would naturally solve itself, you know people gravitating toward making $70-$80k without college debt to repay instead of $55k with $150k in debt, but it hasn't. Not sure what you do for a living, but I couldn't identify a single laborer or worker on a job site making minimum wage. A sweeper/cleaner from a labor service makes $20+ an hour. Not a soul in the construction industry, from job-site workers to the vast supply and logistics chains that support it make minimum wage.

I'm all for people making sensible decisions and succeeding in life while not having to climb mountains eeking out a living and the opportunity, as I see it, is in the trades.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by laniroj

I've long thought this issue would naturally solve itself, you know people gravitating toward making $70-$80k without college debt to repay instead of $55k with $150k in debt, but it hasn't. Not sure what you do for a living, but I couldn't identify a single laborer or worker on a job site making minimum wage. A sweeper/cleaner from a labor service makes $20+ an hour. Not a soul in the construction industry, from job-site workers to the vast supply and logistics chains that support it make minimum wage.

I'm all for people making sensible decisions and succeeding in life while not having to climb mountains eeking out a living and the opportunity, as I see it, is in the trades.

I work in the construction industry. The skilled trades are very well-paid and even laborers are doing pretty well right now. The construction admin jobs are all $100k+ even for relatively inexperienced younger workers.

[mhays]

I think he was being facetious. The construction trades are one of the last remnants of blue collar family-wage careers.

The trades need workers now. They'll never get a flood. Instead if successful we can shave away some of the scarcity that slows construction onsite and in the supply chain. There's real cost benefit to that even if wages are the same.

BG918, I assume by "admin" you mean project engineers. I don't believe Ops Assistants make that. Actually that sounds high for a new PE too.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by SirLucasTheGreat

While uninspiring, I don't actively hate that design. It is just a generic land barge. Civic Lofts, however, that is a truly heinous building. Anybody seen whether Amacon has broken ground given that the fees were paid last week?

they haven't broken ground, the shoring and excavation permit hasn't been issued. A review is pending due on Dec 9. Last issue noted getting permission for an easement allowing shoring tie-backs to go underneath the neighboring properties across the alley, presumably the 7-11 and parking lot. Appears to be resolved.

[wong21fr]

Originally Posted by laniroj

I've long thought this issue would naturally solve itself, you know people gravitating toward making $70-$80k without college debt to repay instead of $55k with $150k in debt, but it hasn't. Not sure what you do for a living, but I couldn't identify a single laborer or worker on a job site making minimum wage. A sweeper/cleaner from a labor service makes $20+ an hour. Not a soul in the construction industry, from job-site workers to the vast supply and logistics chains that support it make minimum wage.

I'm all for people making sensible decisions and succeeding in life while not having to climb mountains eeking out a living and the opportunity, as I see it, is in the trades.

Yeah, it's ridiculous (the wages on the bottom to lower mid-end as it really is non-skilled labor imo) that the supply side hasn't adjusted. I think it's attributable to the feast or famine aspect of construction (why do that when there are other trades jobs that have a far higher degree of stability?), the perception of it being grunt work (which it is on the lower end), and that the more productive laborers in the market self-select into other professions.

I worked a host of summer construction jobs as an equipment operator (loaders and bulldozers) and there's no way in hell I'd consider doing that for 30-40 years. Let alone swinging a hammer on a job-site. Foreman and site manager options do provide upwards mobility, but not enough IMO.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by mhays

I think he was being facetious. The construction trades are one of the last remnants of blue collar family-wage careers.

The trades need workers now. They'll never get a flood. Instead if successful we can shave away some of the scarcity that slows construction onsite and in the supply chain. There's real cost benefit to that even if wages are the same.

BG918, I assume by "admin" you mean project engineers. I don't believe Ops Assistants make that. Actually that sounds high for a new PE too.

I meant the Preconstruction/project managers and those “overseeing” the projects. The developers are making huge sums right now.

[Arapahoe]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Interesting rezoning going before committee this week. 2000 Blake Street, encompassing about 1/3 of the block across from the Rockies stadium, made up of two parcels is being rezone from a PUD to C-MX-8 (commercial, mixed-use, 8 stories). The property is owned by an LLC formed earlier this year, so it looks like there's interest in redeveloping this empty parking lot. Additionally, the abutting property making up the rest of the block is being rezoned from one PUD to another PUD. However, this is owned by the stadium district, so it looks like whatever they have planned here will be a separate project.

evidently they are requesting rezoning for a structure:

"...rezoning application, the owners say any project would have at least two levels of retail space and that they are working with the city’s Housing Stability department to restrict about 12 percent of any residential units to people making 80 percent of the area median income.

“The proposed mixed-use development would enhance the neighborhood through high-quality urban design, preserve the authenticity of the ballpark and adjacent neighborhood, and celebrate history, architecture and culture,” the owner stated in the zoning application." - DBJ

No plans have been submitted to the city - hopefully this is not a long term vision!

[mhays]

Originally Posted by BG918

I meant the Preconstruction/project managers and those “overseeing” the projects. The developers are making huge sums right now.

Ok, that makes sense. A PM at a major firm would typically earn six figures, and might just be a handful of years from their bachelors in construction management or civil engineering.