Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Bold Vision for Denver's Civic Center
Wednesday, architect Daniel Libeskind revealed his concept plan for the makeover of Denver's Civic Center Park before a standing-room only crowd at the Colorado Convention Center. Let's get straight to the images, OK? (Numbers 1, 5, 6, 7, 8 courtesy of Studio Daniel Libeskind).
My initial reaction is that I like it. I think it accomplishes the primary goals of revitalizing the park: to add new design elements that activate the park and make it more engaging and intriguing, to create better pedestrian connections to the surrounding areas, and to preserve and enhance the existing historic park elements.
The soaring arched pedestrian bridge connecting the plaza above Civic Center Station to the center of the park is my favorite design element. The bridge would also serve as an excellent complement to the Millennium Bridge at the other end of the 16th Street Mall. More about the Libeskind Civic Center plan at a later date.
My initial reaction is that I like it. I think it accomplishes the primary goals of revitalizing the park: to add new design elements that activate the park and make it more engaging and intriguing, to create better pedestrian connections to the surrounding areas, and to preserve and enhance the existing historic park elements.
The soaring arched pedestrian bridge connecting the plaza above Civic Center Station to the center of the park is my favorite design element. The bridge would also serve as an excellent complement to the Millennium Bridge at the other end of the 16th Street Mall. More about the Libeskind Civic Center plan at a later date.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
What Could Have Been
The other day while attending the Visioning Workshop for the Downtown Area Plan, I saw a photo of the new urban-style Target store recently constructed in Stamford, CT. Seeing it saddened me because it reminded me of the failed plan for an urban Target store (with affordable housing above, no less) on Block 162. You can thank the Cook family, owner of the blighted Fontius building, for that deal falling through. Anyway, in the DenverInfill archives I found a cool photo of that block I had taken, so I thought I'd share the two of them together. Do a little mind exercise, and picture the Target store covering all of the block except for the Fontius (left) and McClintock (right) buildings in the foreground, with a residential tower or two along 15th Street rising above. Wouldn't that have been sweet? Funny, from that distance, the Fontius building doesn't look all that bad. Hopefully, developer Evan Makovsky, who is planning a major project on the block with or without a renovated Fontius, will soon relieve us from the shame that is Block 162.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
It's Everyone's Downtown
Downtown Denver is not just the downtown of the City and County of Denver, but for the entire Denver metropolitan area. This may not be the case in every major city, but I believe it to be true here in Denver. Let me explain...
The vast majority of metro Denver communities do not have a traditional downtown of their own. Unlike many big cities back East where small towns, with centuries of history and their own traditional downtowns, were later subsumed as part of a metropolitan area, there really wasn't much else in the metropolitan Denver area but Denver for a long time. During those first decades of the 1860s and 1870s, Denver had only two regional peers, Golden and Boulder, which explains why those communities have two of the few real downtowns found in the metropolitan area today. But by 1890, with its population over 100,000 (compared to Boulder's 3,000 and Golden's 2,000), Denver had already grown to completely dominate everything else around it. Denver was its own metropolitan area, and Downtown Denver was, simply, Downtown.
Notwithstanding that the metropolitan area is now fractured into over 40 municipalities, Downtown Denver remains the region's downtown. Its age, size, and lack of competing historic downtowns nearby, its status as the seat of state government, and the fact that after a century of regional expansion, it remains in the geographic center of the metro area, has helped sustain Downtown Denver's predominence. The city has also heavily invested in new transportation and civic infrastructure to keep Downtown vibrant, and metro area voters have done their share by approving measures such as FasTracks and the new baseball and football stadiums. Shopping is no longer dominated by Downtown Denver unfortunately, but Downtown remains the undisputed king of the metro area's restaurant/nightlife, professional sports, entertainment, arts, and culture scenes. Generally speaking, in metro Denver, when the word "Downtown" is referred to with no city name attached, it is assumed to be Downtown Denver. That, perhaps, is the best indication that Downtown Denver is everyone's downtown... and that is a good thing for our city.
The vast majority of metro Denver communities do not have a traditional downtown of their own. Unlike many big cities back East where small towns, with centuries of history and their own traditional downtowns, were later subsumed as part of a metropolitan area, there really wasn't much else in the metropolitan Denver area but Denver for a long time. During those first decades of the 1860s and 1870s, Denver had only two regional peers, Golden and Boulder, which explains why those communities have two of the few real downtowns found in the metropolitan area today. But by 1890, with its population over 100,000 (compared to Boulder's 3,000 and Golden's 2,000), Denver had already grown to completely dominate everything else around it. Denver was its own metropolitan area, and Downtown Denver was, simply, Downtown.
Notwithstanding that the metropolitan area is now fractured into over 40 municipalities, Downtown Denver remains the region's downtown. Its age, size, and lack of competing historic downtowns nearby, its status as the seat of state government, and the fact that after a century of regional expansion, it remains in the geographic center of the metro area, has helped sustain Downtown Denver's predominence. The city has also heavily invested in new transportation and civic infrastructure to keep Downtown vibrant, and metro area voters have done their share by approving measures such as FasTracks and the new baseball and football stadiums. Shopping is no longer dominated by Downtown Denver unfortunately, but Downtown remains the undisputed king of the metro area's restaurant/nightlife, professional sports, entertainment, arts, and culture scenes. Generally speaking, in metro Denver, when the word "Downtown" is referred to with no city name attached, it is assumed to be Downtown Denver. That, perhaps, is the best indication that Downtown Denver is everyone's downtown... and that is a good thing for our city.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Jefferson Park, CPV Projects Move Forward
In my July 26 blog, I mentioned a new infill project in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. The project, Flats on 24th, is planned for mid-block on the north side of W. 24th Avenue between Clay and Decatur. Since then, I've been able to obtain a couple of preliminary renderings:
The project features a total of 51 condominium units in a configuration that including both stacked townhomes and flats. The Flats on 24th is now under development review with the city.
Across the river at 15th and Little Raven, the assisted-living residential facility being developed by Belfour Senior Care is moving forward. This second phase of the Archstone Commons PUD is taking shape as an upscale 200-unit senior facility to be known as the Cosmopolitan Club. The project includes a 160-unit parking garage as well as the renovation of the historic Moffat Station as a community center for the facility. The project architects are Klipp and Robert AM Stern Architects. Construction is planned to begin in 2007.
The project features a total of 51 condominium units in a configuration that including both stacked townhomes and flats. The Flats on 24th is now under development review with the city.
Across the river at 15th and Little Raven, the assisted-living residential facility being developed by Belfour Senior Care is moving forward. This second phase of the Archstone Commons PUD is taking shape as an upscale 200-unit senior facility to be known as the Cosmopolitan Club. The project includes a 160-unit parking garage as well as the renovation of the historic Moffat Station as a community center for the facility. The project architects are Klipp and Robert AM Stern Architects. Construction is planned to begin in 2007.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
High Rise Hopes
Here's a brief update on Downtown's three tallest high-rise proposals:
Great Gulf Group Tower (Block 070, 14th and Larwrence, 55-story condominium):
This one has the biggest news of the three... a formal development review application for this project has been filed with the city planning office! Also, the number of units has been set at 167. The tower was originally reported to have approximately 200. Also, Kentwood City Properties has reported that the on-site sales office for the Great Gulf Group tower will be open by "early winter." If pre-sales go as planned, we might be looking at a summer 2007 groundbreaking.
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences (Block 074, 14th and Arapahoe, 50-story hotel/condominium):
No official news to report, but small signs that continue to indicate that the project is slowly moving forward. The Four Seasons sales office, under construction for several months in the ground-floor retail space of the Performing Arts Complex parking garage, appears to be nearing completion finally. Work activity in the space has been increasing of late, with finished ceiling, floors, and walls occasionally visible through the papered-over windows. Also, I've heard reports that in the last couple weeks, workers have been spotted doing survey work and taking soil samples in the parking lot site at 14th and Arapahoe.
Spire (Block 131, 14th and Champa, 41-story condominium):
This project still appears to be on track for a September 2006 groundbreaking, as recently confirmed by the developer, the Nichols Partnership. The project has been under review with the city for several months and the site has been cleared.
With a little luck, we'll have all three of the projects under construction by next summer.
Great Gulf Group Tower (Block 070, 14th and Larwrence, 55-story condominium):
This one has the biggest news of the three... a formal development review application for this project has been filed with the city planning office! Also, the number of units has been set at 167. The tower was originally reported to have approximately 200. Also, Kentwood City Properties has reported that the on-site sales office for the Great Gulf Group tower will be open by "early winter." If pre-sales go as planned, we might be looking at a summer 2007 groundbreaking.
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences (Block 074, 14th and Arapahoe, 50-story hotel/condominium):
No official news to report, but small signs that continue to indicate that the project is slowly moving forward. The Four Seasons sales office, under construction for several months in the ground-floor retail space of the Performing Arts Complex parking garage, appears to be nearing completion finally. Work activity in the space has been increasing of late, with finished ceiling, floors, and walls occasionally visible through the papered-over windows. Also, I've heard reports that in the last couple weeks, workers have been spotted doing survey work and taking soil samples in the parking lot site at 14th and Arapahoe.
Spire (Block 131, 14th and Champa, 41-story condominium):
This project still appears to be on track for a September 2006 groundbreaking, as recently confirmed by the developer, the Nichols Partnership. The project has been under review with the city for several months and the site has been cleared.
With a little luck, we'll have all three of the projects under construction by next summer.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Infill Updates from City Park West and Curtis Park
Thanks to some sleuthing by a couple of DenverInfill regulars, the new infill project going in at the southwest corner of 17th and Franklin in the City Park West neighborhood has been identified as The Residences at Franklin Square. The boarded up commercial building right at the corner (see my blog of July 6) is now gone. The first phase of Franklin Square currently under construction immediately to the south consists of five 3-story townhomes, with five more planned for the corner site. The units are reported to be 1,900 - 2,900 SF in size. The project is being developed by Len Goldberg, owner of Place LLC, who's also developing the Blueprint project at East Colfax and Madison. I haven't found a rendering yet, but supposedly Franklin Square will be similar in appearance to the Washington Square project on the 1200 block of Washington Street (see Project # 7 on the Capitol Hill neighborhood page).
The Upper Larimer development at 34th and Larimer (see Project # 25 on the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood page) now has their website (www.upperlarimer.com) up and running. The website includes several new renderings of the project, as well as floorplans and pricing.
Also in the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood, Talus Development recently broke ground on their Urbans@Curtis and Urbans@Glenarm townhome projects. Talus is also wrapping up a major building renovation just down the street at Park Avenue and Champa. The building, formerly the Guadalajara Bus Station, is now known as the Sno White Lofts, and features five live-work units. For more information, go to their website at www.TalusBuild.com. It's great to see Park Avenue's transformation taking place through both new construction and building rehabilitations. Along with Century Real Estate's Welton Place project at Park Avenue and Welton, the proposed Triton project, the East Village redevelopment, and many other completed or planned projects in the area, the Park Avenue corridor may some day soon live up to its name.
The Upper Larimer development at 34th and Larimer (see Project # 25 on the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood page) now has their website (www.upperlarimer.com) up and running. The website includes several new renderings of the project, as well as floorplans and pricing.
Also in the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood, Talus Development recently broke ground on their Urbans@Curtis and Urbans@Glenarm townhome projects. Talus is also wrapping up a major building renovation just down the street at Park Avenue and Champa. The building, formerly the Guadalajara Bus Station, is now known as the Sno White Lofts, and features five live-work units. For more information, go to their website at www.TalusBuild.com. It's great to see Park Avenue's transformation taking place through both new construction and building rehabilitations. Along with Century Real Estate's Welton Place project at Park Avenue and Welton, the proposed Triton project, the East Village redevelopment, and many other completed or planned projects in the area, the Park Avenue corridor may some day soon live up to its name.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Lessons from London
When I travel, it's impossible for me not to view the city around me from an urban planning and design perspective. While I'm having fun and enjoying the sights, I'm also still thinking about things like the spatial arrangements between the streets and buildings, the sidewalks and other public spaces and how functional and attractive they are, the types and intensities of uses and how they are integrated, and so on. I try to evaluate the urban environment around me and gauge how it makes me feel. Does it make me feel comfortable? Intrigued? Confused? Excited? Safe? And if so, why? What are the urban attributes and design elements that contribute to making me feel the way I do about a particular place?
So, while in London last week, undeniably one of the greatest cities on the planet in virtually every way in which a city could be judged, I found myself in a happy state of sensory overload. Countless people and buildings and vehicles and every form of urban accoutrement, all jumbled together in a messy yet organized manner, running like a well-oiled machine. It was awesome. Note: my experience was in central London only--from roughly Earls Court on the west to The City on the east, and Regent Park on the north to the South Bank on the south--an area slightly larger in size than greater Downtown Denver.
First, a few quick observations. After extensively exploring central London for a full week, I observed:
1 surface parking lot
4 homeless persons lying on the sidewalk
5 instances of graffiti
Can you imagine saying the same about Downtown Denver?
Now some additional observations...
Buildings:
Denver has more tall buildings concentrated in a central area than does London. So shouldn't that make Denver a more vibrant, urban place than London? Of course not. Probably the number one lesson we can learn from London is... skyscrapers alone do not a great city make! You must have people--lots of them--and a well-maintained physical environment that has been thoughtfully designed for people, not vehicles. If you have those two things, then you can have a dynamic, thriving urban center with nothing higher than five-story buildings. Now there's nothing wrong with having skyscrapers too as long as they relate well to the street and sidewalk in a people-oriented way and provide ground-floor uses that are welcoming and engaging to the pedestrian. But Denver's future success does not lie in filling our core Downtown with 60-story towers. Our success lies in filling surface parking lots and undeveloped parcels throughout the greater Downtown area with four- and five-story buildings. Additional skyscrapers in the core simply become the icing on the cake. Plus, studies have shown that the ideal street-width to building-height ratio for creating an optimal pedestrian environment on an urban street is 1:1. In most cities, including Denver and London, that's about a five-story building.
Ground-Floor Retail:
One of the core principles of contemporary urban planning is that you put ground-floor commercial uses in your multi-story buildings. Doing so not only provides space for needed retail services, but it also creates an appealing and engaging sidewalk environment and helps generate pedestrian activity. But we also have to be strategic about where we require ground-floor retail (especially outside the Downtown core) because we could never sustain that much commercial space if every infill project throughout the greater Downtown Denver area had ground-floor retail. Even in central London, most of the streets are not lined with storefronts. What you do find in London outside of the core office and commercial zones are little clusters of retail that serve a particular residential area. These are typically a few blocks in length and offer simple every-day commercial services like restaurants and coffee shops, newstands, markets, and some professional services. They are similar, in fact, to the little neighborhood commercial areas that Denverites love so much: Old South Gaylord, Old South Pearl, Highland Square, etc. What we need in Denver is a Downtown Area Retail Plan. We need to identify exactly where we want to require ground-floor uses in new developments, particularly in the Downtown residential districts, so that we create a well-defined retail area to serve each district. Where should the "Old South Gaylord" of the Ballpark district be? Where should the the "Highland Square" of the Golden Triangle be? We need to make sure we're requiring ground-floor retail in new infill projects in Denver not as an automatic response to some urban planning trend, but as a means by which a Downtown resident can easily access by foot a compact neighborhood shopping area where they can find most of their daily commercial needs.
Parks:
Central London is loaded with parks. A few are huge, on the scale of Denver's City Park or Washington Park, but most are relatively small and vary in size from a few acres to a single lot. In looking at my map I count well over 100 parks in central London. In the greater Downtown Denver area, I count about 20. If we're going to ask people to live in attached or stacked housing with no private yards, then we must provide enough green spaces for them to find respite from the noise and harshness of the city. Parks are the shared "back yards" of the Downtown dweller, and in Denver we don't have enough of them. They must be well-maintained, safe, relaxing, and attractive and, most importantly, they must be numerous. A Downtown Denver resident should not be more than a two-block walk from a green space, even if it's just a shady little courtyard with a few benches and a flower garden. We must begin to invest heavily in establishing a grid of small urban parks throughout the Downtown Denver area while we still have so many undeveloped parcels to choose from. We also need to identify a long-term permanent revenue stream for their ongoing security and upkeep.
Travelways:
In central London, land not covered by a building is primarily used as either a park, or as a travelway for vehicles and pedestrians (streets and sidewalks). Consequently, travelways are equally important as elements of the public realm as parks, if not more so. The quality of the travelway environment in central London has been given great care and attention, with not only plenty of pedestrian amenities, but well-marked travel lanes, pedestrian crossings, etc. In central London, walking down the sidewalk can be just as pleasant as strolling through a park (although you do have to watch out for those crazy British drivers). With no empty lots and all buildings built to the sidewalk's edge, every street becomes a unique open-air public "room" and the turn of every corner presents the pedestrian with yet another new room to discover. In Denver, our travelways have not been built as important public spaces to be viewed from the pedestrian perspective, but as mere conveyances for the motorized vehicle. Denver's streets have been designed to be experienced from 30 m.p.h., not from 3 m.p.h. I'd say the few exceptions in Downtown Denver would be Larimer Square and a few of the streets in LoDo. At least for the Downtown area, Denver needs to turn its traffic engineering over to the urban designers and pedestrian/bicycle planners and fundamentally change the way in which it views the role of the street. We also have to make additional investments in public transit beyond FasTracks that will connect our urban neighborhoods with each other and the core Downtown. We need to rebuild the urban streetcar network we had 70 year ago.
1. and 2. Typical quiet residential street in central London
3. Typical mixed-use commercial street with the occasional high-rise
4. Typical commercial district in a residential area
So, while in London last week, undeniably one of the greatest cities on the planet in virtually every way in which a city could be judged, I found myself in a happy state of sensory overload. Countless people and buildings and vehicles and every form of urban accoutrement, all jumbled together in a messy yet organized manner, running like a well-oiled machine. It was awesome. Note: my experience was in central London only--from roughly Earls Court on the west to The City on the east, and Regent Park on the north to the South Bank on the south--an area slightly larger in size than greater Downtown Denver.
First, a few quick observations. After extensively exploring central London for a full week, I observed:
1 surface parking lot
4 homeless persons lying on the sidewalk
5 instances of graffiti
Can you imagine saying the same about Downtown Denver?
Now some additional observations...
Buildings:
Denver has more tall buildings concentrated in a central area than does London. So shouldn't that make Denver a more vibrant, urban place than London? Of course not. Probably the number one lesson we can learn from London is... skyscrapers alone do not a great city make! You must have people--lots of them--and a well-maintained physical environment that has been thoughtfully designed for people, not vehicles. If you have those two things, then you can have a dynamic, thriving urban center with nothing higher than five-story buildings. Now there's nothing wrong with having skyscrapers too as long as they relate well to the street and sidewalk in a people-oriented way and provide ground-floor uses that are welcoming and engaging to the pedestrian. But Denver's future success does not lie in filling our core Downtown with 60-story towers. Our success lies in filling surface parking lots and undeveloped parcels throughout the greater Downtown area with four- and five-story buildings. Additional skyscrapers in the core simply become the icing on the cake. Plus, studies have shown that the ideal street-width to building-height ratio for creating an optimal pedestrian environment on an urban street is 1:1. In most cities, including Denver and London, that's about a five-story building.
Ground-Floor Retail:
One of the core principles of contemporary urban planning is that you put ground-floor commercial uses in your multi-story buildings. Doing so not only provides space for needed retail services, but it also creates an appealing and engaging sidewalk environment and helps generate pedestrian activity. But we also have to be strategic about where we require ground-floor retail (especially outside the Downtown core) because we could never sustain that much commercial space if every infill project throughout the greater Downtown Denver area had ground-floor retail. Even in central London, most of the streets are not lined with storefronts. What you do find in London outside of the core office and commercial zones are little clusters of retail that serve a particular residential area. These are typically a few blocks in length and offer simple every-day commercial services like restaurants and coffee shops, newstands, markets, and some professional services. They are similar, in fact, to the little neighborhood commercial areas that Denverites love so much: Old South Gaylord, Old South Pearl, Highland Square, etc. What we need in Denver is a Downtown Area Retail Plan. We need to identify exactly where we want to require ground-floor uses in new developments, particularly in the Downtown residential districts, so that we create a well-defined retail area to serve each district. Where should the "Old South Gaylord" of the Ballpark district be? Where should the the "Highland Square" of the Golden Triangle be? We need to make sure we're requiring ground-floor retail in new infill projects in Denver not as an automatic response to some urban planning trend, but as a means by which a Downtown resident can easily access by foot a compact neighborhood shopping area where they can find most of their daily commercial needs.
Parks:
Central London is loaded with parks. A few are huge, on the scale of Denver's City Park or Washington Park, but most are relatively small and vary in size from a few acres to a single lot. In looking at my map I count well over 100 parks in central London. In the greater Downtown Denver area, I count about 20. If we're going to ask people to live in attached or stacked housing with no private yards, then we must provide enough green spaces for them to find respite from the noise and harshness of the city. Parks are the shared "back yards" of the Downtown dweller, and in Denver we don't have enough of them. They must be well-maintained, safe, relaxing, and attractive and, most importantly, they must be numerous. A Downtown Denver resident should not be more than a two-block walk from a green space, even if it's just a shady little courtyard with a few benches and a flower garden. We must begin to invest heavily in establishing a grid of small urban parks throughout the Downtown Denver area while we still have so many undeveloped parcels to choose from. We also need to identify a long-term permanent revenue stream for their ongoing security and upkeep.
Travelways:
In central London, land not covered by a building is primarily used as either a park, or as a travelway for vehicles and pedestrians (streets and sidewalks). Consequently, travelways are equally important as elements of the public realm as parks, if not more so. The quality of the travelway environment in central London has been given great care and attention, with not only plenty of pedestrian amenities, but well-marked travel lanes, pedestrian crossings, etc. In central London, walking down the sidewalk can be just as pleasant as strolling through a park (although you do have to watch out for those crazy British drivers). With no empty lots and all buildings built to the sidewalk's edge, every street becomes a unique open-air public "room" and the turn of every corner presents the pedestrian with yet another new room to discover. In Denver, our travelways have not been built as important public spaces to be viewed from the pedestrian perspective, but as mere conveyances for the motorized vehicle. Denver's streets have been designed to be experienced from 30 m.p.h., not from 3 m.p.h. I'd say the few exceptions in Downtown Denver would be Larimer Square and a few of the streets in LoDo. At least for the Downtown area, Denver needs to turn its traffic engineering over to the urban designers and pedestrian/bicycle planners and fundamentally change the way in which it views the role of the street. We also have to make additional investments in public transit beyond FasTracks that will connect our urban neighborhoods with each other and the core Downtown. We need to rebuild the urban streetcar network we had 70 year ago.
1. and 2. Typical quiet residential street in central London
3. Typical mixed-use commercial street with the occasional high-rise
4. Typical commercial district in a residential area
Friday, August 18, 2006
Northeast Downtown Loses, Gains Infill Projects
In Downtown Denver we have many worthy sites in need of a good infill project, particularly in the no-man's land between 20th Street and Park Avenue West. Mr. Gino Rodrigues has an infill project in search of a good site. So how about Philadelphia?
In my blog of December 12, 2005, I reported that a website (www.NorthBroadwayTower.com) was promoting a proposal for a 34-story high-rise at the corner of 20th and California. A few days later, the Denver Post picked up on the story and published an article by Kristi Arellano (Latest Downtown Luxury Condos Also Most Speculative) that shed more light on the project, including that several facts stated on the project's website weren't factual at all. I learned shortly thereafter that Mr. Rodrigues was just trying out some design ideas for his project website and was using preliminary or hypothetical information as a placeholder for project details that hadn't been determined yet. He never intended for his website to be seen by the public at that point in time. The problem, of course, was that he was uploading his draft web pages to a live Internet site and--surprise!--his project and all its not-quite-factual data is all over the media. (Let this be a lesson for us all: If you don't want the whole world to know something, don't put it on the Internet!)
His website has since been cleansed of its non-factual information, and just recently he's added a blog, where we learn that he was unable to obtain his proposed site on Block 157 and is now leaning towards building his tower in Philadelphia. Apparently that city's high-rise condo market is stronger than ours and he's found a site he likes. Given that Mr. Rodrigues lacks investors and has never developed a tower of any kind before, I really doubt his project will ever rise from the ground in Denver, Philadelphia, or any city for that matter. Nevertheless, I wish Mr. Rodrigues the best of luck with his tower project. But I think it would be appropriate now for the North Broadway Tower, the infill project in search of a site, to be removed from DenverInfill.
Just when an infill project like the North Broadway Tower goes away, another one pops up in its place... or at least just down the street. In a recent Denver Post article (Developer Buys Lots in Five Points), Margaret Jackson reports that Triton Development is in the process of acquiring the land on Block 180 in Northeast Downtown for a proposed transit-oriented development. The block, along Welton between 22nd and Park Avenue West, is dominated by, what else, surface parking lots, and also features a few nondescript buildings including a six-plex along Park Avenue West that is boarded up, covered in graffiti, and sprouting a large "For Sale--Development Opportunity" sign in the front yard. While the details of Triton's project remain unknown, I would say the chances of something getting developed there are pretty good, given they're a well-established real estate development firm.
The Welton Street corridor has the potential to be one of Downtown Denver's best streets. The new Convention Center and the new Hyatt Hotel are found along Welton (although, unfortunately, both these projects turn a blank wall to the street) and nearby, the new Hilton Garden Inn is going up at Welton and 14th and the Denver Athletic Club hotel/condo tower is planned for Welton and 13th. Up at Welton and 15th, there's the planned project by Evan Makovsky (see my blog of June 21, 2006) on the site where the Target was going to go. The Fontius Building at Welton and 16th will be restored back to its original glory at some point this century (dare we dream) and the vacant parcel at Welton and 17th is a prime "Wall Street of the Rockies" infill site. Up at Welton and 18th is an entire half-block of surface parking that's situated between two light rail stations, and the 32-story One Lincoln Park project is going up at Welton and 20th. Century Real Estate's Welton Place project is set to break ground across Park Avenue West from the Triton block, and at Welton and 25th is the sharp Blair-Caldwell Library. At that point, you're into the Five Points commercial area with all its historic and cultural charm. With just a little help and a couple of key infill/restoration projects, a journey along Welton from Colfax to Downing (that's 1.75 miles) could be a fine urban experience.
In my blog of December 12, 2005, I reported that a website (www.NorthBroadwayTower.com) was promoting a proposal for a 34-story high-rise at the corner of 20th and California. A few days later, the Denver Post picked up on the story and published an article by Kristi Arellano (Latest Downtown Luxury Condos Also Most Speculative) that shed more light on the project, including that several facts stated on the project's website weren't factual at all. I learned shortly thereafter that Mr. Rodrigues was just trying out some design ideas for his project website and was using preliminary or hypothetical information as a placeholder for project details that hadn't been determined yet. He never intended for his website to be seen by the public at that point in time. The problem, of course, was that he was uploading his draft web pages to a live Internet site and--surprise!--his project and all its not-quite-factual data is all over the media. (Let this be a lesson for us all: If you don't want the whole world to know something, don't put it on the Internet!)
His website has since been cleansed of its non-factual information, and just recently he's added a blog, where we learn that he was unable to obtain his proposed site on Block 157 and is now leaning towards building his tower in Philadelphia. Apparently that city's high-rise condo market is stronger than ours and he's found a site he likes. Given that Mr. Rodrigues lacks investors and has never developed a tower of any kind before, I really doubt his project will ever rise from the ground in Denver, Philadelphia, or any city for that matter. Nevertheless, I wish Mr. Rodrigues the best of luck with his tower project. But I think it would be appropriate now for the North Broadway Tower, the infill project in search of a site, to be removed from DenverInfill.
Just when an infill project like the North Broadway Tower goes away, another one pops up in its place... or at least just down the street. In a recent Denver Post article (Developer Buys Lots in Five Points), Margaret Jackson reports that Triton Development is in the process of acquiring the land on Block 180 in Northeast Downtown for a proposed transit-oriented development. The block, along Welton between 22nd and Park Avenue West, is dominated by, what else, surface parking lots, and also features a few nondescript buildings including a six-plex along Park Avenue West that is boarded up, covered in graffiti, and sprouting a large "For Sale--Development Opportunity" sign in the front yard. While the details of Triton's project remain unknown, I would say the chances of something getting developed there are pretty good, given they're a well-established real estate development firm.
The Welton Street corridor has the potential to be one of Downtown Denver's best streets. The new Convention Center and the new Hyatt Hotel are found along Welton (although, unfortunately, both these projects turn a blank wall to the street) and nearby, the new Hilton Garden Inn is going up at Welton and 14th and the Denver Athletic Club hotel/condo tower is planned for Welton and 13th. Up at Welton and 15th, there's the planned project by Evan Makovsky (see my blog of June 21, 2006) on the site where the Target was going to go. The Fontius Building at Welton and 16th will be restored back to its original glory at some point this century (dare we dream) and the vacant parcel at Welton and 17th is a prime "Wall Street of the Rockies" infill site. Up at Welton and 18th is an entire half-block of surface parking that's situated between two light rail stations, and the 32-story One Lincoln Park project is going up at Welton and 20th. Century Real Estate's Welton Place project is set to break ground across Park Avenue West from the Triton block, and at Welton and 25th is the sharp Blair-Caldwell Library. At that point, you're into the Five Points commercial area with all its historic and cultural charm. With just a little help and a couple of key infill/restoration projects, a journey along Welton from Colfax to Downing (that's 1.75 miles) could be a fine urban experience.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
From Denver to London and Back
In case you were wondering where the DenverInfill blog has been the past week or so, I've been in London, soaking up all the wonderful urbanity that city has to offer. In the next few days, I'll post a few observations about London and some of the things we could/should be doing to make the city on the Platte a bit more like the city on the Thames.
For now, until I have a chance to get caught up on the Downtown Denver infill scene, I'll leave you with two quickies... the old industrial buildings on the 3200 block of Blake are being demolished to make way for the new Rue 32 project in the Ballpark neighborhood, and say bye-bye to the North Broadway Tower proposal (more on that next time).
For now, until I have a chance to get caught up on the Downtown Denver infill scene, I'll leave you with two quickies... the old industrial buildings on the 3200 block of Blake are being demolished to make way for the new Rue 32 project in the Ballpark neighborhood, and say bye-bye to the North Broadway Tower proposal (more on that next time).
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Zi Lofts
I've finally run across a rendering of the Zi Lofts, a new project planned for 2229 Blake in the Ballpark neighborhood. The project will include 36 condominium units and ground-floor commercial in a 7-story building. Not the best rendering, but here it is anyway:
Groundbreaking is planned for September, 2006.
Groundbreaking is planned for September, 2006.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Highland Bridge Denver: A Milestone Weekend
First there was the Millennium Bridge, and then the Platte River Pedestrian Bridge. The Highland Bridge, the third and final link in connecting Downtown with the historic Highland neighborhood, reached a milestone this weekend as its dramatic white arch spanning the highway below was set in place. As promised, today's blog looks back at the exciting activities this weekend at 16th and Central. Enjoy.
Friday:
1. 11:08 PM: Cars on I-25 zip past the west bridge anchor as crews prepare for the night's activities and the arch segment waits on a truck nearby.
2. 11:35 PM: Workers prepare the bridge anchor as Downtown looms in the background.
3. 12:04 AM: With southbound I-25 now closed, the arch segment is lifted off the truck.
4. 12:29 AM: The arch segment rises higher after getting flipped over into its correct position.
5. 12:30 AM: Swinging it around.
6. 12:38 AM: Up and over the support frame.
7. 12:51 AM: Almost there.
8. 12:55 AM: Just a little more to the right...
Friday:
1. 11:08 PM: Cars on I-25 zip past the west bridge anchor as crews prepare for the night's activities and the arch segment waits on a truck nearby.
2. 11:35 PM: Workers prepare the bridge anchor as Downtown looms in the background.
3. 12:04 AM: With southbound I-25 now closed, the arch segment is lifted off the truck.
4. 12:29 AM: The arch segment rises higher after getting flipped over into its correct position.
5. 12:30 AM: Swinging it around.
6. 12:38 AM: Up and over the support frame.
7. 12:51 AM: Almost there.
8. 12:55 AM: Just a little more to the right...
Several hours later, the west anchor arch was securely in place.
Saturday:
1. 11:00 PM: Both anchor segments are in place as the evening's work get underway.
2. 11:46 PM: The center arch segment arrives by truck.
3. 12:27 AM: Flipping it over.
4. 12:49 AM: Up it goes.
5. 01:02 AM: Rotating it around as part of the crowd of about 100 look on.
6. 01:04 AM: Getting ready to attach the segments at the west end.
7. 01:20 AM: Taken from the 15th Street bridge, work continues attaching the west end as the east end floats free.
8. 01:31 AM: Downtown shines behind the new icon of Northwest Denver.
Work continued throughout the morning and by Sunday afternoon, I-25 had been reopened with the arch entirely secured. The Highland Bridge is scheduled to open in November, 2006.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Demolition in LoDo?
The other major project reviewed by the Lower Downtown Design Review Board on Thursday was 1755 Blake Street. I discussed this project when it first came before the Board in June (check out my June 3 blog for more details). To summarize, the proposed project is a 5-story office building with ground-floor retail that would begin adjacent to the side wall of the historic building at 1725 Blake Street on Block 021 and span the rest of the block over to 18th Street. Standing in the way, however, is the small 1755 Blake building which would need to be demolished for the project to move forward as envisioned. In June, the developers, First Century Development, didn't officially seek approval for demolition of 1755 Blake, but rather tested the waters with the Board to see how they might respond if First Century were to submit a request for demolition. At that time, the Board voted to oppose the demolition, and instructed the developers to seek ways of incorporating the existing building into the new project.
This month, however, things were different. During their first appearance before the Board, the developers advised that there is little historical or architectural documentation of the original 1755 Blake structure. Since June, the developers were able to discover more information about the changes that have occurred to the building since it was first constructed. They found that the building had undergone a major remodeling in the late 1930s that removed and rebuilt the entire front half of the structure. Further renovations in the 1950s and 1980s removed even more of the original building to the point where today there is not much remaining of 1755 Blake that is original, except for portions of the exterior walls in the rear of the building. The developers also reported that an engineering analysis determined that some of those original exterior walls were at risk of collapse if excavation for new construction was to occur right up against the building's foundation.
These factors were enough to convince the Board that demolition of the building was appropriate and that the application for demolition met the criteria established by historic district regulations. The Board voted to approve the demolition of 1755 Blake, contingent upon approval of the replacement structure. So, assuming First Century Development produces a design for a new structure that gains the approval of the LDDRB, it looks like we will have another 24,000 square feet of ugly surface parking lot removed from our Downtown!
Highland Bridge Update: Friday and Saturday night saw the Highland Bridge make its debut across I-25. DenverInfill was there to capture the whole thing, which one of these days will find a home in the Special Features section. Look for a sampling of photos of the Highland Bridge construction in tomorrow's blog. But for now, here's a teaser:
This month, however, things were different. During their first appearance before the Board, the developers advised that there is little historical or architectural documentation of the original 1755 Blake structure. Since June, the developers were able to discover more information about the changes that have occurred to the building since it was first constructed. They found that the building had undergone a major remodeling in the late 1930s that removed and rebuilt the entire front half of the structure. Further renovations in the 1950s and 1980s removed even more of the original building to the point where today there is not much remaining of 1755 Blake that is original, except for portions of the exterior walls in the rear of the building. The developers also reported that an engineering analysis determined that some of those original exterior walls were at risk of collapse if excavation for new construction was to occur right up against the building's foundation.
These factors were enough to convince the Board that demolition of the building was appropriate and that the application for demolition met the criteria established by historic district regulations. The Board voted to approve the demolition of 1755 Blake, contingent upon approval of the replacement structure. So, assuming First Century Development produces a design for a new structure that gains the approval of the LDDRB, it looks like we will have another 24,000 square feet of ugly surface parking lot removed from our Downtown!
Highland Bridge Update: Friday and Saturday night saw the Highland Bridge make its debut across I-25. DenverInfill was there to capture the whole thing, which one of these days will find a home in the Special Features section. Look for a sampling of photos of the Highland Bridge construction in tomorrow's blog. But for now, here's a teaser:
Friday, August 04, 2006
Hines Project Moves Forward
Yesterday the Lower Downtown Design Review Board met and one of the projects they discussed was the proposed Hines office project on Block 013 at 15th and Wynkoop. This is the development that will go next to the new EPA Building on the west half of the old Postal Annex block. If you're not familiar with this project, I provide a description of it in my blog of May 8. With the building's mass, scale, and form previously approved by the Board, yesterday the developers were looking for approval of the building's facade design and materials.
One concern for this project was the sidewalk along 15th Street. Denver Public Works had been insisting since the beginning on an extra-wide sidewalk along this particular block of 15th that would have required the Hines building to have an arcade along the entire 15th Street facade in order to maintain the zero set-back and to continue the established street wall. Both the developer and the Board had been frustrated by this requirement by Public Works because it left virtually no alternative but a very non-LoDo-ish design that neither of them liked. Fortunately, after some convincing, Public Works changed its requirement and now the arcade is gone and the building's facade will meet the sidewalk like all the other buildings in LoDo. That change, in addition to a few other modifications that the architect (Hartman-Cox) made since its last Board visit, resulted in the Board's approving the building's facade design. On the next appearance before the Board (and possibly the last), the developer will present and hopefully receive approval on the storefront and signage program, as well as on a few final design tweeks the Board requested.
With the EPA Building, this Hines project, the new Sugar Building, and several other infill projects planned for the area, we're witnessing the next stage of the evolution of LoDo into a well-rounded, more intensive mixed-use urban district.
Moving on to Jefferson Park... thanks to one of my faithful DenverInfill operatives, I am pleased to present a preliminary rendering of the Bryant Street Townhomes, a project consisting of 8 townhome units situated at the corner of Bryant Street and W. 24th Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
The project is being planned by developer Glen Wood. The firm doing the design is Bothwell Davis George Architects, who are located just up the street at 32nd and Tejon in the Highland neighborhood. As this project moves forward, detailed color renderings should become available.
One concern for this project was the sidewalk along 15th Street. Denver Public Works had been insisting since the beginning on an extra-wide sidewalk along this particular block of 15th that would have required the Hines building to have an arcade along the entire 15th Street facade in order to maintain the zero set-back and to continue the established street wall. Both the developer and the Board had been frustrated by this requirement by Public Works because it left virtually no alternative but a very non-LoDo-ish design that neither of them liked. Fortunately, after some convincing, Public Works changed its requirement and now the arcade is gone and the building's facade will meet the sidewalk like all the other buildings in LoDo. That change, in addition to a few other modifications that the architect (Hartman-Cox) made since its last Board visit, resulted in the Board's approving the building's facade design. On the next appearance before the Board (and possibly the last), the developer will present and hopefully receive approval on the storefront and signage program, as well as on a few final design tweeks the Board requested.
With the EPA Building, this Hines project, the new Sugar Building, and several other infill projects planned for the area, we're witnessing the next stage of the evolution of LoDo into a well-rounded, more intensive mixed-use urban district.
Moving on to Jefferson Park... thanks to one of my faithful DenverInfill operatives, I am pleased to present a preliminary rendering of the Bryant Street Townhomes, a project consisting of 8 townhome units situated at the corner of Bryant Street and W. 24th Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.
The project is being planned by developer Glen Wood. The firm doing the design is Bothwell Davis George Architects, who are located just up the street at 32nd and Tejon in the Highland neighborhood. As this project moves forward, detailed color renderings should become available.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Antares and Ayr
Today I've got news about two different infill projects with interesting "A" names.
First, the "Antares Urban Townhomes" is a brand new infill project planned for the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood. The development will consist of 8 townhomes located at the southeast corner of 10th and Inca. The units will range in size from 1,650 to 2,000 SF in size and prices will start in the low $400,000s. The project website is www.denverurbantownhomes.com. Right now there's only contact info on the website, but project details will be available online soon, I would imagine. Here's a rendering of the Antares:
The other project is the "Ayr Lofts on 29th," a 4-story, 20-unit condominium building that will be situated between Firth Court and W. 29th Avenue, just west of Zuni in the Highland neighborhood. I first mentioned the Ayr in my blog back on November 28th. Today I'm happy to announced that they've just broken ground. A construction fence is up and there's already a big hole in the ground. Good luck to both of these projects.
I've also just added two infill projects to the Civic Center page: the Clyfford Still Museum on Block 044-E and the 1200 Delaware project on Block 046-E.
First, the "Antares Urban Townhomes" is a brand new infill project planned for the La Alma-Lincoln Park neighborhood. The development will consist of 8 townhomes located at the southeast corner of 10th and Inca. The units will range in size from 1,650 to 2,000 SF in size and prices will start in the low $400,000s. The project website is www.denverurbantownhomes.com. Right now there's only contact info on the website, but project details will be available online soon, I would imagine. Here's a rendering of the Antares:
The other project is the "Ayr Lofts on 29th," a 4-story, 20-unit condominium building that will be situated between Firth Court and W. 29th Avenue, just west of Zuni in the Highland neighborhood. I first mentioned the Ayr in my blog back on November 28th. Today I'm happy to announced that they've just broken ground. A construction fence is up and there's already a big hole in the ground. Good luck to both of these projects.
I've also just added two infill projects to the Civic Center page: the Clyfford Still Museum on Block 044-E and the 1200 Delaware project on Block 046-E.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Hilton Garden Inn and Other Hotel Ruminations
The Hilton Garden Inn currently under construction at the corner of 14th and Welton (Block 172) is coming along nicely. In case you don't get Downtown too often, here's a photo taken a few days ago:
Now, what about that Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites hotel project that is supposed to go up along Stout Street? We haven't heard squat about that project in quite some time now. The old Motor Garage at the site hasn't been demolished yet either. The project consists of a 30-story Embassy Suites at the corner of 14th and Stout and a 22-story Homewood Suites adjacent to it further up the block towards 15th Street. It's being developed by Whiteco, a big corporate hotel developer out of Indiana. Anybody heard anything about this project lately?
Then there's the Best Western at the corner of 15th and Stout, another project that's been floating out there for over a year now. The project went through development review with the city quite a while ago, and since then, nothing. Probably looking for financing.
The "W" and the hotel planned for the Museum Residences both look like they're still likely to be underway before the end of the year. Trump doesn't have a site yet, so his hotel/residential project is a year... probably two, from a groundbreaking.
Then there's the Four Seasons. Let's just say they're pacing themselves.
In the end, having all these hotels open at staggered intervals over the next five years is probably a good thing for the Downtown hotel market, but it sure makes it tough on those of us who are impatient to see those dastardly parking lots disappear.
Now, what about that Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites hotel project that is supposed to go up along Stout Street? We haven't heard squat about that project in quite some time now. The old Motor Garage at the site hasn't been demolished yet either. The project consists of a 30-story Embassy Suites at the corner of 14th and Stout and a 22-story Homewood Suites adjacent to it further up the block towards 15th Street. It's being developed by Whiteco, a big corporate hotel developer out of Indiana. Anybody heard anything about this project lately?
Then there's the Best Western at the corner of 15th and Stout, another project that's been floating out there for over a year now. The project went through development review with the city quite a while ago, and since then, nothing. Probably looking for financing.
The "W" and the hotel planned for the Museum Residences both look like they're still likely to be underway before the end of the year. Trump doesn't have a site yet, so his hotel/residential project is a year... probably two, from a groundbreaking.
Then there's the Four Seasons. Let's just say they're pacing themselves.
In the end, having all these hotels open at staggered intervals over the next five years is probably a good thing for the Downtown hotel market, but it sure makes it tough on those of us who are impatient to see those dastardly parking lots disappear.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Fontius, Cows, and a New Look
Hey what's this, a new look to the DenverInfill blog? Yep. Due to popular demand, I've converted the blog to a Blogger page, which will allow people to post comments, link directly to a post, email a post to a friend, and more. It's still a work in progress, but it's looking good enough to get it up and running. For now, the previous 13 months of blog entries will remain under the old format, accessible by the link to the left. Maybe, over the course of time, I'll convert all the archived months to the new format, or maybe not. I haven't decided yet. Anyway, I hope you like the new format and find it a bit more appealing. Now, on to the some Downtown business...
Everyone's favorite Downtown eyesore, the Fontius Building, was recently the victim of a graffiti vandal. Normally, I would find this rather upsetting, but actually the graffiti reinforces how pathetic this building's condition has become, and how critical it is for something to be done about it. Perhaps this graffiti will serve a positive purpose in that it will cause more people to become disgusted with the whole issue and demand that the city make this building's rehabilitation a top priority. Let's hope anyway.
Finally, it's good to see Denver has finally come to terms with its cowtownedness!
Everyone's favorite Downtown eyesore, the Fontius Building, was recently the victim of a graffiti vandal. Normally, I would find this rather upsetting, but actually the graffiti reinforces how pathetic this building's condition has become, and how critical it is for something to be done about it. Perhaps this graffiti will serve a positive purpose in that it will cause more people to become disgusted with the whole issue and demand that the city make this building's rehabilitation a top priority. Let's hope anyway.
Finally, it's good to see Denver has finally come to terms with its cowtownedness!
