DenverInfill Blog

Yes, much is definitely due to Mr. Makovsky. I have a feeling thatwhatever is developed there will stand in stark contrast to the other two buildings that currently do not have plans for redevelopment.
 

I know it's off the subject of your blog, but I have good news, Ken! I read an article just now by CBS4 reporting that 1401 Lawrence plans to break ground in January of 2008! In a video, there's a simulation of what the skyline will probably look like once the tower is complete. Here's the link:

http://cbs4denver.com/consumer/local_story_170234301.html
 

Imagine this scenario: Makovsky, who isn't planning to start construction for a while, gets into a dialog with Cook, who agrees to sell him the Fontius Building (which is really the "Steel Building," for the defunct department store chain that built it in the 1920s). Makovsky would then have a full 125-foot frontage on the 16th Street Mall--perfect for a department store that could use a renovated Fontius Building for its main entrance, and put the bulk of its floorspace in the new construction behind it. Such a project need not interfere with any other aspect of Makovsky's plan--there is enough ground space here to have a hotel, office, and residential component alongside a full-size department store (say about 175-200,000 s.f. on four levels).

Downtown Denver needs a department store, period, and along California or Welton is the most logical spot.
 

Aw shucks, there goes one of my candidates for worst surface lot in Denver. That's a shame...
 

Department store, department store, department store

supplemented by lifestyle center retail -

from 15th to 17th

docroc
 

...and now the bad news, Klipp is
the architect. We can expect another boring Denver 'shoebox set on end' for the model. It should fit in well with the SOM junk from
the late 70's.
 

Hold your horses... seems like the whole city is very, very involved in this project, and it seems certain that Makovsky plans to activate the pedestrian street life on all three sides. I don't see much cause for pessimism on this project, regardless of the architect.
 

Hey atleast another parking lot is going to be wiped out! Ick! I agree, a department store would be lovely...maybe Barneys could put a flagship in denver, that would be exciting!
 

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't denvers tallest building the republic plaza 1 million sq. feet
 

This is much unrelatd, but has anyone read National Geographic articles about the speed of development in China? Whole cities are being constructed in a year as a single project. Its a lot like what's going on in Dubai, but covers dozens of huge cities instead of just one.

As nice as it is to see dense development, especially in a country with four times the population density of the United States and much greater environmental need for density, I am wary of what's going on. First, any city that grows that fast is going to have serious planning flaws that will be discovered later when infrastructure doesn't quite line up with projected congestion.

Second and more importantly, the price of construction materials is going to go through the roof. This has to do with overall economic development in China and India rather than just urban growth. There is a limited amount of copper, iron and aluminum available on Earth, and the more that goes in to thousands of high-rises and millions of mid-rises in Asia, the less is available for future construction anywhere else. The rising price of copper (directly caused by economic growth in China) has already thrown a huge kink in Denver's FasTracks plan, causing construction costs to exceed their budget and dampening hopes that Colorado citizens will vote for similar measures in the future.

I don't know if the lack of these kinds of resources will ultimately be good or bad for urbanism. Maybe transportation-inefficient suburban-style development will be more expensive and encourage density. On the other hand, suburbs can better take advantage of the use of wood, which is renewable, while few high-rises can be built without lots of steel. People should be coming up with creative ideas to deal with that scenario now that there's time, before a crisis emerges that is much more difficult to cure through innovation.

Is anyone else here worried about this?
 

NO! CAN YOU SAY PARANOIA!
 

I'm concerned about rising constructions costs, too, and they just don't effect transit projects. In all the shots taken at FasTracks, a lot of people fail to recognize that highway/road new project and routine maintenance costs are skyrocketing, too. I wonder why that doesn't get as much attention from the Independence from Having a Brain Institute? So whether you want to go by rail transit or on a vehicle using the road, it's going to all cost more. State DOTs and locals are having financial challenges just taking care of the streets and bridges they already have. And then this competition for resources must be having some dampening effect on private construction projects or their affordability for average-income folks (e.g., can't afford a small condo near the city center).

Of course, the Chinese economy and perhaps India's too, could be facing a collapse or at least a downturn soon. What goes up, usually does come down, and often with a thud. But that could still hurt the US, too. Not easy issues to address.
 

Paranoia?

Paranoia is when a person is excessively concerned about something that isn't likely to happen. The increasing cost of construction materials has happened and is happening. If something is actually happening, it is OK to assume that it is possible and also likely. So it is therefore innaccurate to call it paranoi.

Look up inflation in the cost of copper, aluminum or steel over the past 5 years. The growth is exponential.

My father works for Xcel Energy and tells me that people have been breaking into their facilities just to steal copper wiring to sell for a huge profit. Maintainence crews have found burnt dead bodies (or body parts) of people who were likely fried by accidently grabbing a hold of active wiring. If someone is willing to take that kind of risk to get a substance, it indicates that supply of the substance is being surpassed by demand.
 

Just because you and I know that the Independence Institute is making absurd statements doesn't mean that the average voter won't be persuaded to turn down the program's ballot request for additional funding, or kill ballot initiatives for future transit programs. People tend to absorb news information in an intuitive, rather than rational, way. If they hear a word or phrase a few times, they start to believe it without doing much investigating. That's why the Independence Institute has been successfull in killing other transit programs in the past, and similar groups have derailed voter-approved transit programs in other states through recall initiatives (like Florida's canceled train system).

China and India could face an economic plateau or downturn, but that doesn't mean that the demand for these scarce materials is going to drop off. Material shortages seem more iminent now because of rapid growth, but even slow growth, in economies that have over 1 billion people each and are continuing to grow in population, is going to have an impact. I don't think it's reasonable to assume that China and India will ever stop growing, because long-term trends of all economies in the world show growth, regardless of short-term fluctuations.

I'm willing to listen to an economist who says that more expensive materials could be good for urbanism because urban developments use materials more effeciently. I'm also willing to listen to an economist who thinks that increased intrest in recycling or creative use of materials can dampen the rise of construction costs. But the evidence is overwhelming that these materials are going to become significantly more expensive over the next 10+ years. It is doubtlessly going to have some impact.
 

If Mr. or Ms. Anonymous who is complaining about the speed at which One Lincoln Park is rising is that upset, I suggest reading a book called Higher, by Neil Bascomb--it came out in paperback about a year or two ago, and it tells the story of the race in the worst part of the Great Depression to build the Chrysler Building and a skyscraper in New York's financial district called (if I remember correctly) 40 Wall Street. Both developers raced to the sky, not only to see who could build fastest, but who could build tallest, and as most people know about the Chrysler Building, it won the contest by adding on that crazy spire at the last minute, assembled in secret in the building's elevator shaft, and then hoisted up and bolted on in one quick movement. The Chrysler was the tallest building in the world, but already there was rising a mile away the Empire State--an 86-story building (103 if you count the observation deck) that went up in less than 12 months (or something like that), wresting the title of "tallest" from the Chrysler, and keeping it until the WTC rose in the early 1970s. At the peak of construction they were adding a floor every day onto the Empire State.

Personally, given that this is a concrete structure, I'm glad they're going at the speed they're going--steel rises faster because it can (I remember how quickly so many of the late 1970s buildings rose)--concrete has to set and cure before more can be poured on top.

As for the Spire: once it's finished, and knowing there's no basement to anchor the building, I'd worry that a strong wind could knock it over (just kidding). Highrises without basements seem wrong, somehow.

Matt P. is, as usual, correct, and if costs spike too high, a lot of the buildings announced for downtown may (if they don't start soon) find themselves without enough financing to pay the increased costs.
 

I believe there is something simmering concerning the Fontius Building. I was on the mall shuttle and overheard a guy who worked for the city mention it was one of 'his' projects. Couldn't hear everything but he did say something about historical tax credits for the developer. He got off the shuttle and started pointing out particular features of the building to his two companions. If I wasn't late for work I would have jumped off and started asking questions.
 

I work downtown as well and I'm involved with a couple of real estate developers. Evan Makovsky is close to closing on the Fontius property and we should hear an announcement soon. The Cooks are an interesting family to do business with; hence the delays. :)
 

man! matt p, didn't mean to hurt your feelings your so emotional and all, are you building a city in CHINA or something? LOL. and all that talk about new york are you crazy? Are you building a skyscraper there?
 

So do you think that the Urban Target that wanted this area before will be back in the works?