Remember the 1490 Delgany proposal? That’s the 6-story mixed-use office/residential infill project planned by Urban Market Development for the corner of 15th and Delgany in Downtown Denver’s Central Platte Valley (see Project #31 on the CPV page). The project was to consist of ground-floor retail, about 100,000 SF of office space on the next four floors, and six residential units on the sixth floor. The project was announced back in 2005 but nothing has happened with it since. Here’s a rendering of what was proposed:

Recently, the small one-story building at the site (that would need to be demolished to make way for the project) was given a bright coat of white paint by the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art and is now serving as their short-term home (appropriately named Temporary Contemporary) while they wait for their new building across the street to be finished this Fall.

Well, 1490 Delgany is back, but it has a whole new program, look, and name. It’s now known as “Komorebi,” a Japanese term for the interplay of light and structure. The project’s new design is to complement the Museum’s modern glass façade with a striking glass façade of its own. Check it out:

The re-envisioned project has also gained a floor, and will consist of 43 residential units. Construction is planned to begin late this year, with completion in 2009. There’s also a new website for the Komorebi project: www.komorebidenver.com. My thanks to Len for getting the scoop on this exciting development.
Architecturally, I find the new design an improvement over the original. The 1490 Delgany design had some of that “neo-LoDo” look to it that we’ve seen so much of over the past few years. The new design has a more compelling modern quality to it that should, indeed, interplay nicely with the David Adjaye-designed Museum. Downtown Denver’s Central Platte Valley just keeps getting better and better!
Downtown Denver: Rebuilding the Core.