Friday, October 13, 2006
Friday the 13th Update at DenverInfill
Happy Friday the 13th everyone! Today I've got a number of infill updates for you:
Spire: The 41-story Spire condo project (Block 131 in Central Downtown) is inching closer to reality. While the groundbreaking has been delayed by a few months to January, the project is currently going through development review with the city, and the project website, www.SpireDenver.com, now has a bit of content (an email sign-up page).
Tower Crane, Part I: The new parking garage at the Denver Justice Center, the first phase of the two and a half block project in Denver's Civic Center, is now under construction, and includes a new tower crane rising above the site.
City House: A preliminary development review application has been filed with the planning office for City House, East-West Partners proposed 23-story and 13-story condo tower on the Union Station side of the tracks in the Central Platte Valley.
1800 Market: A building permit has has been filed for 1800 Market, the 13-story, 300-unit condo and apartment tower planned for the entire half block facing Market on Block 049 in Lower Downtown.
Tower Crane, Part II: A tower crane is now fully installed at both the One Lincoln Park and 816 Acoma sites. In fact, it looks like there will be two tall cranes at 816 Acoma. Here's a pic of the OLP site:
Welton Place: A new rendering and updated site plan have recently been released of the Welton Place project at Park Avenue West and Welton in the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood. Century Real Estate recently celebrated the grand opening of their sales office on the site, and their website, www.WeltonPlace.com is now fully functional with images, floorplans, etc.
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences: A Four Seasons update?! Yep. Just in time for the two-year anniversary of the project's November 2004 announcement, it looks like the Four Seasons sales office is about to open. Folks who had signed up at the project website (www.teatroresidences.com) recently received a letter from the development team. Here is an exerpt (thanks to a couple of DenverInfill regulars for the info):
MCA/Denver: Just as construction was wrapping up at the new Daniel Libeskind-designed Hamilton building at the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver finally broke ground on its new home at 15th and Delgany in the Central Platte Valley. The new building has been designed by London architect David Adjaye. Here's a reminder of what it will look like:
EPA: Last, but not least... the new Region 8 Environmental Protection Agency headquarters under construction on Block 013 in Lower Downtown, is getting close to being finished. If I recall correctly, it was announced that a Heidi's Deli and a Starbucks will occupy ground-floor retail space, plus there's still an additional space for a full-sized restaurant. As I happened to be passing near the new EPA building recently, I was struck by how the morning sun was reflecting off the louvered panels along the upper windows. So I snapped a picture of it just to share with you:
Spire: The 41-story Spire condo project (Block 131 in Central Downtown) is inching closer to reality. While the groundbreaking has been delayed by a few months to January, the project is currently going through development review with the city, and the project website, www.SpireDenver.com, now has a bit of content (an email sign-up page).
Tower Crane, Part I: The new parking garage at the Denver Justice Center, the first phase of the two and a half block project in Denver's Civic Center, is now under construction, and includes a new tower crane rising above the site.
City House: A preliminary development review application has been filed with the planning office for City House, East-West Partners proposed 23-story and 13-story condo tower on the Union Station side of the tracks in the Central Platte Valley.
1800 Market: A building permit has has been filed for 1800 Market, the 13-story, 300-unit condo and apartment tower planned for the entire half block facing Market on Block 049 in Lower Downtown.
Tower Crane, Part II: A tower crane is now fully installed at both the One Lincoln Park and 816 Acoma sites. In fact, it looks like there will be two tall cranes at 816 Acoma. Here's a pic of the OLP site:
Welton Place: A new rendering and updated site plan have recently been released of the Welton Place project at Park Avenue West and Welton in the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood. Century Real Estate recently celebrated the grand opening of their sales office on the site, and their website, www.WeltonPlace.com is now fully functional with images, floorplans, etc.
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences: A Four Seasons update?! Yep. Just in time for the two-year anniversary of the project's November 2004 announcement, it looks like the Four Seasons sales office is about to open. Folks who had signed up at the project website (www.teatroresidences.com) recently received a letter from the development team. Here is an exerpt (thanks to a couple of DenverInfill regulars for the info):
"The design of the Four Season Private Residences is nearly complete. The finishing touches are being added to the floorplans for the Private Residences, and the Presentation and Design Center is in its final stage of construction. The unveiling of the Presentation and Design Center will reveal some of our innovative and very appealing design elements. These design elements, combined with the services and amenities of the Four Seasons Hotel Denver, help create a luxurious living environment that will establish and define Downtown Denver's premiere address."Let's hope a groundbreaking will occur before the project's third anniversary. The 50-story Four Seasons tower is planned for Block 074 in Central Downtown.
MCA/Denver: Just as construction was wrapping up at the new Daniel Libeskind-designed Hamilton building at the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver finally broke ground on its new home at 15th and Delgany in the Central Platte Valley. The new building has been designed by London architect David Adjaye. Here's a reminder of what it will look like:
EPA: Last, but not least... the new Region 8 Environmental Protection Agency headquarters under construction on Block 013 in Lower Downtown, is getting close to being finished. If I recall correctly, it was announced that a Heidi's Deli and a Starbucks will occupy ground-floor retail space, plus there's still an additional space for a full-sized restaurant. As I happened to be passing near the new EPA building recently, I was struck by how the morning sun was reflecting off the louvered panels along the upper windows. So I snapped a picture of it just to share with you:
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I would like to comment on The Spire. I am in the construction industry and was working with the negotiating GC (Hensel Phelps). It is my understanding that the owner and GC could not agree on a Gross Maximum Price contract and that the owner might be shopping for a new contractor. I am not sure how much this might delay the start of this project, but it does not help to be changing the GC this late in the game.
Permalink Posted by 
: 10/12/2006 07:01:00 PM
: 10/12/2006 07:01:00 PM
It is official. The owner has terminated with the original General Contractor (Hensel Phelps) and is looking for someone new. This project could be delayed past a January ground breaking.
Permalink Posted by : 10/13/2006 09:48:00 AM
: 10/13/2006 09:48:00 AM
As a former employee of the LoDo Tattered Cover, the news about Starbucks at 16th & Wynkoop fills me with sadness....I do hope at least a few of the EPA's people will be willing to cross the street for a better cup of coffee.
To history mystery: Are you kidding me? The EPA loves Starbucks because of all their efforts to further sustainability. Take, for example, their full-page ad in last Sunday's NY Times. It wasn't an ad about coffee, it was an ad for compact fluorescent lightbulbs (which last longer and use less energy than traditional lightbulbs). If everyone in the country were to use 1 CFL it would be the equivalent of removing 8 million cars from our roads for a year.
Great update today! A lot going on. Though, to remain consistent with my above comments, I would like to see some sort of information on which of these developments will be green developments. I would also be a proponent of the city of Denver conducting a Green Audit.
Great update today! A lot going on. Though, to remain consistent with my above comments, I would like to see some sort of information on which of these developments will be green developments. I would also be a proponent of the city of Denver conducting a Green Audit.
Sigh, well atleast they got the website for the Spire up and running. I wonder how long its gonna take to find another general contractor. :(
No, I wasn't kidding about Starbucks. While they're to be commended for their efforts at promoting environmental sustainability and other important initiatives, downtown already has enough Starbucks locations. What's not so commendable about them is their practice of blanketing areas with shops in a sustained effort to squeeze out the locally-owned competition--they've done this all over the world. Their shops are attractive and pleasant spaces, and do function as valuable "third places" for a lot of communities without any alternatives (such as the bleak area around my office at I-25 and 120th), but in their very ubiquity they introduce a dulling sameness that is the antithesis of successful urbanism. No, they're not surface parking lots, but if you don't look out the windows of a downtown Starbucks you could be anywhere from Westminster, CO to Westminster, England.
I'm sorry, but I greet their presence across the street from the Tattered Cover's coffee bar as being a negative development, because the TC will lose business when Starbucks opens. The only worse announcement would be a Borders or a Barnes & Noble on that end of downtown. So, Ken, maybe this is a bit off-topic for a blog about infill development, but I had to say it....thanks.
I'm sorry, but I greet their presence across the street from the Tattered Cover's coffee bar as being a negative development, because the TC will lose business when Starbucks opens. The only worse announcement would be a Borders or a Barnes & Noble on that end of downtown. So, Ken, maybe this is a bit off-topic for a blog about infill development, but I had to say it....thanks.
Well, I do agree with you about the blanketing of Starbucks, but that's not going to change based on recent comments by their CEO. However, when the Tattered Cover was in Cherry Creek there was a Starbucks about a block away and whenever I was down there I went to TC for coffee and the place always seemed packed.
Also, I do think this is somewhat on topic for the blog because it brings up the debate between corporate retailers versus local retailers. Which plays into the infill topic, especially in Denver, when we talk about how expensive these buildings are to rent space in.
I love seeing all the construction going on downtown and (hopefully) a new skyscraper canyon along 14th. But we should still be concerned about who's going to be able to afford to be in the ground floor of these buildings as locally-owned businesses keep more (read: all) of the money in the community, which is, of course, better for the city.
Also, I do think this is somewhat on topic for the blog because it brings up the debate between corporate retailers versus local retailers. Which plays into the infill topic, especially in Denver, when we talk about how expensive these buildings are to rent space in.
I love seeing all the construction going on downtown and (hopefully) a new skyscraper canyon along 14th. But we should still be concerned about who's going to be able to afford to be in the ground floor of these buildings as locally-owned businesses keep more (read: all) of the money in the community, which is, of course, better for the city.
The arguement against the Starbucks does fail to take one consideration into account: the presence of 800 additional workers right by the Tattered Cover. Not all of those workers are going to be a Starbucks fan, it a certainty that quite a few would rather take their coffee across the street away from their coworkers.
Permalink Posted by : 10/15/2006 04:15:00 PM
: 10/15/2006 04:15:00 PM
Artistic Mercenary and anonymous: I agree with both of you....I hadn't considered just how many people that rather large building will hold. Downtown just keeps getting better and better.
Great information there, Ken. Where the heck do you go to keep so up to date on these things! I hope you don't mind, but I have actually been using you as a source for the www.skyscrapers.com "Denver Forum". I credit YOU on the forum as "Ken" from Denverinfill, but I don't know how much longer I can do this! You certainly could consider posting on this site as well to update people nationwide, alot of skyscraper buffs would really be interested. Thanks again for the update!
(known as FrancoRey on Skyscapers.com forums)
(known as FrancoRey on Skyscapers.com forums)
Permalink Posted by : 10/16/2006 06:50:00 PM
: 10/16/2006 06:50:00 PM
That's what SSP is for. It's the place where the cool kids hang. :D
Permalink Posted by : 10/19/2006 10:20:00 PM
: 10/19/2006 10:20:00 PM
One more starbucks on 16th street?!?!? I think I am going to gag, when the heck are they going to relaize that the flippin street is saturated.
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Permalink Posted by : 12/03/2006 08:51:00 PM
: 12/03/2006 08:51:00 PM Links to this post:
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