DenverInfill Blog

This is excellent! Denver's skyline by 2010 should be one to be admired by many!
 

The two extra floors should add another 20-25ft to the height also. At 530-540ft it will stand out a little more. If it is 540 it will only be 5ft shorter than 1999 Broadway! That would be great for that cluster of towers.
 

can we get 10 more stories on this project there are no height restrictions on this plot can we get a denver tallest! please! please!
 

Yeah Denver should get a building that is like 70 or 80 stories...That would look AWESOME!
 

I wish they would just start building it already. Good thing the foundation is already laid, otherwise this thing would take forever.
 

In the spirit of Fox Mulder: I want to believe. But I don't. There is a lot of competition among pending office projects downtown, and there is still relatively weak demand for commercial space. Plus, this project has less flexibility than most given its existing foundation (i.e. they probably wouldn't build a 15-20 story building on that site if that's all they can justify based on preleasing). It's more likely an all or nothing situation. That's why this site has been breaking hearts for 20 years. We'll get nothing. Again. Only more heartbreak for us all. Mark my words.
 

Anon, i dont think the foundation would support a 50 story tower. The orginal was made for 41 or 42 if i remember correctly.
 

To comment on Anon 10:48, just give it time. The original plan was ~30 stories, then it was 38 and now it is 40. Who knows, maybe you will get your wish before they start construction.
 

The News article said they were talking to architects. That bldg is already designed. The Callahan website said KPF was the architect. Someone's info is wrong. A taller bldg.there would be great, it would balance the skyline a little better. And everything at that end is the same height now. However they might be maxed out on the F.A.R. of the zoning.
 

Plus, office towers have a greater height per floor than residential towers, pushing Tabor up a bit higher than the others.

My greatest hope is that they come up with a good design that blends well with Tabor I. The actual square footage seems big, even for the height of the tower, while the footprint is limited - meaning we could get a boxy tower. Lets hope it has an interesting mass that isn't a plain rectangle.
 

isnt republic plaza 56 stories or thereabouts?
 

In agreemont to Anon 12:47, I think that it would be excellent if Denver had a 'signature' tower. One that was taller and perhaps more remarkable than the rest, but still blending in well.
 

^^^ Yes :) ^^^
 

we are probably 15-20 years away from a signature tower. There are far too many surface lots open to make the cost of a sig tower justifiable. Once a majority if not all of the lots are full then you start to see developers go vertical. Callahan's group has a hell of alot less work to do because the foundation is already done, they just have to start going vertical. You all should notice that there isn't an office tower over 22 stories even proposed anywhere else DT because of the cost.
 

Word on the street says it is still 38 floors and 750,000 SF.
 

I hear you anon 1:38 it will only be a matter of time, I think people hear in denver have a (I won't believe it until I see it) attitude, but they used to say the same thing about the broncos before they won two back to back superbowls too. People seem to have forgotten about Trango tower. which was a MIXED use tower not just an office tower (proposed to be 1050'. so a signature building can happen we just need some one with some guts and some fight to step up and get it, I also think that we are in the days of more mixed use towers then just office towers which don't really give us a height restriction on a tower, only our zoning here in denver. Look at the donald he expressed a denvers tallest but height restrictions held him to a 715' tower, we as denverites should express our opinion about this we have a blog site. why not?
 

First, yeah, Republic is 56 stories if I�m not mistaken. And I agree we need a signature �Denver� building or landmark of somesort. Something creative that screams �This is Denver, you ain�t got nothin on us!�, you know. As a matter of fact, I�ve been doing some brainstorming...
Oh yeah, 38...40? Either way, We�re Ballin! It�ll be beautiful if it looks anything like the rendering!
 

anon 415 The Donald wanted to build on a height restricted parcel that had been given a variance by the city. His tower was only in the 685' range. The top of his tower would have been higher than the other big three because of it's location on the hill. It would have been the highest, but not the true tallest.

I really don't care if this tower is 38 or 40, either way it will be SWEEEEEEET.
 

yeah this tower is sweet, but aaron sweetie pooh, study up some old chum, his tower wuolda been one foot taller then the republic plaza 715' gorgeous. And thanks for proving the point on the cities rescrictions on heigth. There shouldn't be any.
 

The old reason why no buildings grew beyond the line defined by Republic Plaza (which was, when it was built in 1984, at the top of the height limit, if I'm not mistaken) was that the FAA didn't want anything taller than that so close to a major international airport. Now that we have DIA, much further from downtown than Stapleton, has the FAA lifted the height restriction? Is it possible to build a "signature" building, or will we never go beyond 56 stories?
 

To answer this question (as discussed extensively on skyscraperpage.com), Denver had a height limit on all buildings downtown that stipulated they not surpass height over 6,000 feet in overall altitude (if you look at the big three, all are built on ground elevation between 5,280 and 5,300 feet; all top of at 6,000 altitude EXACTLY). This was for Stapleton and FAA rules, as the airport was roughly 4 miles away. Since stapleton was closed, Denver has had no height limits on towers, save certain zones like in LoDo and East Downtown. So, keep crossing those fingers, boys! A tower can happen, if someone would just step up.
 

There was a height limit where trump wanted to build, but there is no height limit in the CBD that I'm aware of. And if there is, it's arbitrarily high and won't prevent any so-called "signiture building".
 

much of downtown has zero height limit - it used to be stapelton, but these days it's market forces (mainly construction costs and diminishing returns for super tall towers in less afluent cities such as Denver) that keep our heights below 1000 feet.
 

Tabor 2 will NOT be 40 stories.

There is currently talk among downtown real estate professionals that a signature tower is currently in the planning stages for downtown. Without divulging too much info, the tower is proposed within the area of 17th, Glenarm, Broadway and 21st. I know thats a large area but there are plenty of lots available. I cant tell you who the developer is, unfortunately. I know that it will be mixed use with an office/residential component.

Also look for an annoucement about a homegrown developer building a block wide apartment complex somewhere in Ballpark and Uptown. :) That's all I can say right now. (BTW, Denver is on the national radar right now. In the next 12-16 months if all the signs remain good, we are definitely going to have a lot more cranes up downtown)
 

Trango Tower could have been the one that was 83 stories, but the project never got off the ground, and it's developer just died a few months ago.
 

I believe the site that Trump allegedly considered was that of the old El Jebel temple and the adjacent lot. The site lies in a view plane that typically would prevent buildings above a certain height. But, the previous proponents of a new tower there obtained a WAIVER of the view plane restriction because they promised to restore/redevelop the El Jebel as part of the development. Trump was going to take advantage of that waiver and plan. But he didn't have enough "art of the deal" to make it happen and he whimpered away. That is, a height restriction was not the cause of his failure.
 

my bet would be shafa for the ballpark development, and redpeak for the uptown development.. both have block wide properties in the respective areas, and the captial to make something happen.

not holding my breath about a new signature, and frankly, i could care less.. im stoked about all the existing product coming on line over the next 12-16 mos.
 

anonymous 10:35, you are such a
tease. Tell us more, or at least keep us updated on those projects. Thanks.
 

Hey Anon 10:35. That would be intriguing news - if true. More residential units close to DT the better. However, did you mean to imply that there would be entire block development in both Ballpark and Uptown? Or somewhere in between? If so - there are approximately 15 blocks separating these neighborhoods.
 

I'm glad Denver's signature tower isn't Trump... I'd like to think Denver has a little bit more character than to have its centerpiece a building with prototypes in 2 out of every 3 mid-size-or-larger cities.
 

I bet that trango will rise- watch.
 

the old denver rail car building is fenced off, what up wit it homes?
 

First of all, Trump doesnt use the same design from city to city.

Secondly, Trango will NOT rise. The developer is dead. The dream is gone unless someone else plans on taking that risk...for which i doubt.

The Denver Rail car? Like the Spaghetti Factory? Or are you confused about 1800 Larimer??
 

Yes, I agree. The Trango Tower project is pretty much dead, just like its developer. But that would be nice to get a new Denver tallest, a.k.a. signature tower on the same plot behind the Pavilions.
 

Didn't a property at 18th and Glenarm with a potential high-rise "proposal" recently change hands at 18th & Glenarm? That's within the area stated by Anon 10:35. Anywho, I thought that "proposal" was only going to be 40 stories.
 

I don't know!! I doubt if there will be an immediately housing demand in DT after 2010. if you add up units of those 4 major high-rise project (186-one LP, 102-4 seasons, 505-spire, 200-1401 Lawrence), and don't forget, there are still many units a little here, a little there, i.e Rtiz-Carlton (25 units).... there will be around 1000 units by 2010, and assume they are all sold out with 2 people per units, there will be around 2000 more people living in just CDB alone!! current residents are around 2500, and that is including people who rent the apartment!
I really don't know if CDB will be able to host that many residents just in the next 3 years! also, a mixed use tower could rise again, but I really don't think there will be a so call signature tower 20 or 30 more floors higher than republic plaza or 1801 california!
 

my guess if a sig tower would be built would be 65 stories total, 30 floors of office with 35 stories of res above it. 750ft tall with 75-100ft worth of ornamentation above that.. so around 825-850ft tall :)
 

There is a building everyone thinks of when they think of Denver. The now Wells Fargo Cash Rigistar Building.
 

Yes, that is very true. Wells Fargo Center IS the signature tower of Denver. But a shoebox can only look so good, and Wells Fargo knew that...so they put a cash register on top.