Tuesday, October 31, 2006
New 1000-Space Parking Garage for Downtown Denver?
Recent articles in the Rocky Mountain News (A New Chapter for Duffy's) and the Denver Business Journal (Tenants at Duffy's Building Mark 'End of an Era') report that Brookfield Properties, owner of Republic Plaza, Denver's tallest building at 56 stories, is in the process of purchasing the remaining portions of Block 209, which includes the historic buildings currently occupied by ground-floor tenants Duffy's Shamrock Restaurant and Bar and Pizza Colore. Those two buildings (the "Duffy's" building at 1635 Court Place, 16,767 SF built in 1899, and the "Pizza Colore" building at 1645 Court Place, 24,130 SF built in 1910) were not included in the Downtown Denver Historic District when it was created in 2000. According to the articles, Brookfield plans on constructing a 1,000-space parking garage with about 15,000 SF of ground-floor retail at the site.
Here are a few photos of the properties in question:
1635 Court Place (left) and 1645 Court Place (right):
1635 Court Place Detail:
1645 Court Place Detail:
It sure seems to me that these structures have sufficient architectural and historic characteristics that should have qualified them for inclusion in the Downtown Denver Historic District. I wonder why they were not included? Should these buildings be protected?
Other questions that come to mind regarding the proposed development of this 1,000-space parking garage ... Is there really that much demand for additional parking in Downtown? Won't the soon-to-open Southeast Light Rail line relieve some of the demand for parking in Downtown anyway? Given the infill developments proposed for the "sea of asphalt" around 20th & Welton, is Brookfield simply planning ahead for a future parking shortage caused by the removal of those surface lots? Brookfield owns the parking lot site behind the Pavilions at 15th and Tremont where, several years ago, it had proposed a new office tower. Could the construction of this new parking structure be related to the development of that site?
Things to think about in the ever-changing landscape of Downtown Denver.
Here are a few photos of the properties in question:
1635 Court Place (left) and 1645 Court Place (right):
1635 Court Place Detail:
1645 Court Place Detail:
It sure seems to me that these structures have sufficient architectural and historic characteristics that should have qualified them for inclusion in the Downtown Denver Historic District. I wonder why they were not included? Should these buildings be protected?
Other questions that come to mind regarding the proposed development of this 1,000-space parking garage ... Is there really that much demand for additional parking in Downtown? Won't the soon-to-open Southeast Light Rail line relieve some of the demand for parking in Downtown anyway? Given the infill developments proposed for the "sea of asphalt" around 20th & Welton, is Brookfield simply planning ahead for a future parking shortage caused by the removal of those surface lots? Brookfield owns the parking lot site behind the Pavilions at 15th and Tremont where, several years ago, it had proposed a new office tower. Could the construction of this new parking structure be related to the development of that site?
Things to think about in the ever-changing landscape of Downtown Denver.
Monday, October 30, 2006
2020 Lawrence Planned for Downtown Denver
David Zucker, developer of the just-completed Zocalo Condominiums project in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, is planning a new project, 2020 Lawrence, on Block 080 at 20th and Lawrence in Northeast Downtown. The proposed project is an 8-story condominium building featuring two levels of underground parking, ground-floor retail, and 69 units of residential on the remaining 7 floors. Marketing of the condominium units is planned to begin in February 2007, with construction beginning later that year. The project is aiming for about 20% of its units to be income-qualified "affordable" units under the city's Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, with the typical unit selling for slightly less than $300/SF. A rendering of 2020 Lawrence is not yet available as the building's design is still being finalized, but you can count on seeing the rendering here at DenverInfill once it's ready.
Mr. Zucker is highly regarded by the folks in the Jefferson Park neighborhood and down at City Hall for his generous spirit and his willingness to work with the local residents to create infill projects complementary to and supported by the neighborhood. His current project, RiverClay, located just a block away from his Zocalo project, features 60 residential units in a 6-story building. Demolition of the small commercial building currently at the RiverClay site should occur in November, with construction of the new building starting in December or January. If the quality of Mr. Zucker's previous projects is any indication, then 2020 Lawrence should be an excellent addition to Northeast Downtown.
Mr. Zucker is highly regarded by the folks in the Jefferson Park neighborhood and down at City Hall for his generous spirit and his willingness to work with the local residents to create infill projects complementary to and supported by the neighborhood. His current project, RiverClay, located just a block away from his Zocalo project, features 60 residential units in a 6-story building. Demolition of the small commercial building currently at the RiverClay site should occur in November, with construction of the new building starting in December or January. If the quality of Mr. Zucker's previous projects is any indication, then 2020 Lawrence should be an excellent addition to Northeast Downtown.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Sugar-Cubed Building Groundbreaking Set!
It's official! The new Sugar3 project at the corner of 16th and Blake in the heart of Lower Downtown will be breaking ground on November 8, 2006.
Here's the schedule: The site's last day as a parking lot (hooray!) will be November 5. On November 6, a construction fence will go up around the site, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony planned for November 8 (of course, DenverInfill is planning on being there to snap a few pics). Then, beginning the week of November 20, real construction will begin with the removal of the existing asphalt and the start of site excavation. The entire building is planned to be completed in early 2008. Sugar3 is a 10-story development featuring underground parking, ground-floor retail, three levels of office space, and six levels of upscale rental apartments.
This project is significant beyond its contribution of additional retail, residential, and office space to Downtown Denver. Its corner location represents the largest undeveloped/surface parking lot site currently fronting the 16th Street Mall. The historic Sugar Building (Sugar1 for those of you keeping score) has great ground-floor vitality in the form of the Illegal Pete's and Gumbo's restaurants, and across Blake Street, 16 Market Square has great sidewalk activity with its Starbucks, Chipotle, and Noodles & Co. With the addition of Sugar3 to the scene and its planned ground-floor retail, this stretch of the 16th Street Mall should really sizzle. Additionally, the building's massing, similar to that of both Sugar1 and 16 Market Square, will greatly strengthen the street wall along the Mall and help connect, architecturally, Lower Downtown to the rest of the Central Business District.
What about Sugar2 you ask? Sugar2 is the little "Wazee infill" building that will connect to Sugar3 by crossing over the alley on the second level. Construction on Sugar2 won't begin until later on, as the site will be needed for construction staging for Sugar3. Sugar2 should get underway about the time Sugar3 is ready to open.
Both the new Sugar buildings are being developed by Urban Villages. They also have a nice project website at www.sugar3.net. Here's what it looks like (left to right):
Proposed Sugar3, Proposed Sugar2, Existing parking lot and the historic Sugar1:
Here's the schedule: The site's last day as a parking lot (hooray!) will be November 5. On November 6, a construction fence will go up around the site, with a formal ground-breaking ceremony planned for November 8 (of course, DenverInfill is planning on being there to snap a few pics). Then, beginning the week of November 20, real construction will begin with the removal of the existing asphalt and the start of site excavation. The entire building is planned to be completed in early 2008. Sugar3 is a 10-story development featuring underground parking, ground-floor retail, three levels of office space, and six levels of upscale rental apartments.
This project is significant beyond its contribution of additional retail, residential, and office space to Downtown Denver. Its corner location represents the largest undeveloped/surface parking lot site currently fronting the 16th Street Mall. The historic Sugar Building (Sugar1 for those of you keeping score) has great ground-floor vitality in the form of the Illegal Pete's and Gumbo's restaurants, and across Blake Street, 16 Market Square has great sidewalk activity with its Starbucks, Chipotle, and Noodles & Co. With the addition of Sugar3 to the scene and its planned ground-floor retail, this stretch of the 16th Street Mall should really sizzle. Additionally, the building's massing, similar to that of both Sugar1 and 16 Market Square, will greatly strengthen the street wall along the Mall and help connect, architecturally, Lower Downtown to the rest of the Central Business District.
What about Sugar2 you ask? Sugar2 is the little "Wazee infill" building that will connect to Sugar3 by crossing over the alley on the second level. Construction on Sugar2 won't begin until later on, as the site will be needed for construction staging for Sugar3. Sugar2 should get underway about the time Sugar3 is ready to open.
Both the new Sugar buildings are being developed by Urban Villages. They also have a nice project website at www.sugar3.net. Here's what it looks like (left to right):
Proposed Sugar3, Proposed Sugar2, Existing parking lot and the historic Sugar1:
Saturday, October 21, 2006
1755 Blake Announced for LoDo
A new office building is coming to Lower Downtown Denver... and an ugly parking lot is going away too! First Century Development is moving forward with their 125,000 SF, 5-story office project, 1755 Blake Street, on Block 021. Back in my blog entries of June 3 and August 6, I cover the project's journey through the demolition and design review process with the Lower Downtown Design Review Board. Now that 1755 Blake has been given the LDDRB's blessing, the project is moving forward. The project is being marketed by Grubb & Ellis, the general contractor is Haselden Construction and the architect is RNL Design. The project is planned to be completed by mid-2008 and will include ground-floor retail and two and a half levels of underground parking.
Here are a couple of preliminary images, courtesy of Grubb & Ellis. More images will be available in the near future:
Here are a couple of preliminary images, courtesy of Grubb & Ellis. More images will be available in the near future:
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Denver Welcomes the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, the nation's premier urban real estate development organization, begins its national conference in Denver this morning. The conference brings around 7,000 prominent developers, architects, urban planners and other real estate professionals to the Mile High City. The ULI doesn't normally hold its big fall conference in cities Denver's size, opting usually for only the largest cities like New York, Chicago, and LA. But they chose Denver anyway. Why? The city is at the forefront of virtually every major trend in urban real estate development today:
Downtown Revitalization. Denver is known for its heavy investments in making its Downtown attractive, active, and engaging. New convention centers, arenas, stadiums, museums, transit, infrastructure... you name it, Denver's done it in the Downtown area. Downtown Denver is generally regarded as one of the most successful and enjoyable major city downtowns in the country, and it's only getting better. Yet, there's still plenty of room for improvement, so Denver makes for a good case study for cities seeking to revitalize their downtowns.
Infill Development. How big of a deal is infill development in Denver? There's a little website called DenverInfill.com that can give you a feel for the scale and intensity of the city's urban infill development scene. There have been over 13,000 residential units completed, proposed, or under construction since 2000, and that's just within a two-mile radius of the center of Downtown, and that doesn't include renovations or adaptive reuse projects either. Then, there's the largest urban infill project in the United States, the 7-square mile Stapleton redevelopment, with a planned buildout of 12,000 residential units, 1,100 acres of parks, 3 million square feet of retail, and 10 million square feet of office.
New Urbanism. We've come a long way since Seaside, haven't we? As New Urbanism has gone from a novel, experimental idea in urban development to a full-fledged national trend, Denver stands as a leader in building new communities in the New Urbanist manner. One can debate about how urban some of these new communities really are, and argue over the details of the architecture, street widths, mix of uses, etc., but major New Urbanist developments such as Stapleton, the Lowry redevelopment, Belmar, Bradburn, and Prospect, just to name a few, reflect the degree to which New Urbanist developments have become a major force in real estate development in the Mile High City.
Transit-Oriented Development. TODs in the Denver area have been slow to take off, as only a couple of projects have been developed along our existing light rail corridors over the past ten years. But with the passage of FasTracks, a $4.7 billion transit package that includes 119 miles of rail transit and 18 miles of bus rapid transit over the next 10 years, and the completion next month of the 19-mile Southeast light rail line, TODs have now become a significant force in real estate development in the Denver region. Just along the Southeast line, major TODs are planned at the Broadway, Belleview, Arapahoe, Dry Creek, and Lincoln Avenue stations, totaling thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of office, retail, hotel, and other uses. And that doesn't even include the FasTrack corridors, of which about 50 of the new stations have TOD potential. Consequently, virtually every community in the Denver area with a FasTracks line is going through a TOD planning process, and developers have snatched up land around virtually every proposed transit station. Over the next 20 years, Denver will begin to fundamentally alter its patterns of land development from automobile-based sprawl to transit-based compact development.
So, a hearty "Welcome to Denver!" to all our Urban Land Institute visitors. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Mile High City and, after the conference is over, please come back and invest in our city and contribute to Denver's remarkable transformation into one of the nation's most desirable, sustainable, and vital cities. You could start with a few of our surface parking lots Downtown!
Downtown Revitalization. Denver is known for its heavy investments in making its Downtown attractive, active, and engaging. New convention centers, arenas, stadiums, museums, transit, infrastructure... you name it, Denver's done it in the Downtown area. Downtown Denver is generally regarded as one of the most successful and enjoyable major city downtowns in the country, and it's only getting better. Yet, there's still plenty of room for improvement, so Denver makes for a good case study for cities seeking to revitalize their downtowns.
Infill Development. How big of a deal is infill development in Denver? There's a little website called DenverInfill.com that can give you a feel for the scale and intensity of the city's urban infill development scene. There have been over 13,000 residential units completed, proposed, or under construction since 2000, and that's just within a two-mile radius of the center of Downtown, and that doesn't include renovations or adaptive reuse projects either. Then, there's the largest urban infill project in the United States, the 7-square mile Stapleton redevelopment, with a planned buildout of 12,000 residential units, 1,100 acres of parks, 3 million square feet of retail, and 10 million square feet of office.
New Urbanism. We've come a long way since Seaside, haven't we? As New Urbanism has gone from a novel, experimental idea in urban development to a full-fledged national trend, Denver stands as a leader in building new communities in the New Urbanist manner. One can debate about how urban some of these new communities really are, and argue over the details of the architecture, street widths, mix of uses, etc., but major New Urbanist developments such as Stapleton, the Lowry redevelopment, Belmar, Bradburn, and Prospect, just to name a few, reflect the degree to which New Urbanist developments have become a major force in real estate development in the Mile High City.
Transit-Oriented Development. TODs in the Denver area have been slow to take off, as only a couple of projects have been developed along our existing light rail corridors over the past ten years. But with the passage of FasTracks, a $4.7 billion transit package that includes 119 miles of rail transit and 18 miles of bus rapid transit over the next 10 years, and the completion next month of the 19-mile Southeast light rail line, TODs have now become a significant force in real estate development in the Denver region. Just along the Southeast line, major TODs are planned at the Broadway, Belleview, Arapahoe, Dry Creek, and Lincoln Avenue stations, totaling thousands of residential units and millions of square feet of office, retail, hotel, and other uses. And that doesn't even include the FasTrack corridors, of which about 50 of the new stations have TOD potential. Consequently, virtually every community in the Denver area with a FasTracks line is going through a TOD planning process, and developers have snatched up land around virtually every proposed transit station. Over the next 20 years, Denver will begin to fundamentally alter its patterns of land development from automobile-based sprawl to transit-based compact development.
So, a hearty "Welcome to Denver!" to all our Urban Land Institute visitors. I hope you enjoy your stay in the Mile High City and, after the conference is over, please come back and invest in our city and contribute to Denver's remarkable transformation into one of the nation's most desirable, sustainable, and vital cities. You could start with a few of our surface parking lots Downtown!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
1400 Wewatta... New Images!
Denver Cityscape, an excellent web resource that is similar to DenverInfill but which covers the whole Denver metro region, has recently posted some nice high-resolution images of the proposed 1400 Wewatta project on Block 012 in Lower Downtown planned by Opus Northwest. The project consists of several buildings from seven to nine stories in height featuring residential condominiums, office space, and ground-floor retail all wrapped around structured parking. The attractive location across the street from the Pepsi Center and along the banks of Cherry Creek in the heart of LoDo, is currently a surface parking lot.
Here are the images, courtesy of Denver Cityscape, of 1400 Wewatta:
Perspective looking east at the Wewatta (left) and Cherry Creek (right) elevations from above Speer Boulevard:
Perspective looking north at the Cherry Creek (left) and Wynkoop (right) elevations:
Here are the images, courtesy of Denver Cityscape, of 1400 Wewatta:
Perspective looking east at the Wewatta (left) and Cherry Creek (right) elevations from above Speer Boulevard:
Perspective looking north at the Cherry Creek (left) and Wynkoop (right) elevations:
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:
Monday, October 09, 2006
Lessons from Portland, Maine
Recently, I was in Maine on business and had a couple of hours to kill before my flight, so I made my first visit into Downtown Portland. Portland's downtown was smaller than I had imagined, yet still nicely urban in a comfortable, unpretentious way. There was a solid foundation of well-maintained historic commercial, residential, and civic buildings, interspersed by a few contemporary structures, some blighted properties, and an occasional parking lot. Overall, the downtown area was definitely more intact and pleasant than not, yet it still left an impression that it had seen livelier days. But while some blocks were rather sketchy, there was also clear evidence of building renovations, conversions and investment taking place in the area, and a general feeling that things there were getting better, not worse. Here are a few general street photos, taken at about 11:30 AM on a weekday:
Then, after deciding to explore just a bit farther down Congress Street, I stumbled upon Monument Square, a small, civic plaza surrounded by buildings and featuring a large war memorial statue. From a block away, it didn't appear as the city's most engaging urban space, yet as I entered the plaza, I found it to be exactly that. Here's a shot of Monument Square as seen from across the street and from high above (thanks to GoogleEarth):
Then, after deciding to explore just a bit farther down Congress Street, I stumbled upon Monument Square, a small, civic plaza surrounded by buildings and featuring a large war memorial statue. From a block away, it didn't appear as the city's most engaging urban space, yet as I entered the plaza, I found it to be exactly that. Here's a shot of Monument Square as seen from across the street and from high above (thanks to GoogleEarth):
The square hosts a small farmers market one day a week, and I was lucky enough to be there on the right day. The presence of the farmers market, consisting of only about a half-dozen or so booths in a rather small area, completely invigorated the area. The several small restaurants that inhabit the ground floor of the adjacent buildings--their outdoor seating areas spilling out onto the square--were buzzing with activity. The square itself was alive with people of all types, from elementary school children on a field trip to see how many different fruits and vegetables they could identify, to seniors citizens, local residents walking their dogs, downtown workers on their lunch hour, skateboarding teens, and a few camera-wielding visitors (like me).
The place was amazing and authentic. It wasn't canned urbanism, nor was it an elaborate programmed production target-marketed at an upscale demographic. There was no gimmick. It was simply a very modest farmers market held in an intimate urban space, and yet it was tremendous.
So I began thinking... why don't we have something like this in Denver? Where would the intimate "Monument Square" place be in Denver that could host a small farmers market? Actually, we do have a farmers market now in Downtown. This summer, thanks to the Civic Center Conservancy, a farmers market was regularly held in the center plaza at Civic Center Park. While I applaud the Conservancy's efforts to bring activity to Civic Center Park, I wouldn't exactly describe the center of the park as particularly intimate, nor is it bordered by restaurants or retail that can contribute to the vitality.
For several years now, Cherry Creek has hosted a regular farmers market. But, the location? A big parking lot at the corner of a busy intersection. So much for a cozy location or having the synergistic influences of adjacent restaurant patios or retail storefronts.
If I had to pick a place for a small farmers market in Downtown Denver that has similar qualities to Portland's Monument Square, I'd suggest Writer's Square, the plaza in front of RTD's Market Street Station, or Skyline Park. All three of these spaces are generally underutilized, are relatively small in area, and have restaurants or retail nearby. Imagine, in any of these three spaces, a small cluster of vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers a day or two a week during the summer and fall, and how it would contribute to the energy of Downtown Denver.
Sometimes we can over-complicate downtown revitalization. A modest farmers market in the right location or a couple of designated "busker" corners can go a long way in enhancing our Downtown environment.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Hot DAM... Saturday Morning in Denver
A beautiful Saturday morning it is in the Mile High City, as usual. Perfect for the Denver Art Museum's grand opening of its Daniel Libeskind-designed expansion, and perfect for a bit of DenverInfill photo-taking too. From left to right:
1. By 8AM, hundreds of people were already in line waiting for the 9AM opening of the box office for this weekend's 35-hour grand opening extravaganza of the new Denver Art Museum building. The crowd waits in the new Martin Plaza between the Libeskind-designed museum residences (left) and museum (right).
2. A few blocks to the south, the new tower crane for the 16-story 816 Acoma project rises above Downtown's Golden Triangle neighborhood.
3. Boulder's Kutandara Center Marimba Ensemble, as seen through the legs of "Spider" an 11-foot tall sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, entertains the early-morning crowd.
4. By 9AM, the queue stretched around the corner, down 12th Avenue, to Broadway. Rising in the background is the post-modern Denver Central Library by Michael Graves and the Denver skyline.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Downtown, progress continues on the new Highland Bridge. Two workers were already on site this morning as the sun peeked above the new Glass House towers across the river. The pedestrian deck was recently installed across the highway. For photos of the installation of the big white arch, check out my blog of August 7.
1. By 8AM, hundreds of people were already in line waiting for the 9AM opening of the box office for this weekend's 35-hour grand opening extravaganza of the new Denver Art Museum building. The crowd waits in the new Martin Plaza between the Libeskind-designed museum residences (left) and museum (right).
2. A few blocks to the south, the new tower crane for the 16-story 816 Acoma project rises above Downtown's Golden Triangle neighborhood.
3. Boulder's Kutandara Center Marimba Ensemble, as seen through the legs of "Spider" an 11-foot tall sculpture by Louise Bourgeois, entertains the early-morning crowd.
4. By 9AM, the queue stretched around the corner, down 12th Avenue, to Broadway. Rising in the background is the post-modern Denver Central Library by Michael Graves and the Denver skyline.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Downtown, progress continues on the new Highland Bridge. Two workers were already on site this morning as the sun peeked above the new Glass House towers across the river. The pedestrian deck was recently installed across the highway. For photos of the installation of the big white arch, check out my blog of August 7.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Major Infill Project Planned for Denargo Market
In yesterday's Rocky Mountain News, John Rebchook reported that Cypress Real Estate Advisors of Austin, TX has acquired the 29-acre Denargo Market site north of Downtown Denver, with plans to redevelop the site into as many as 2,200 residential units in buildings as tall as 22 stories. The Denargo Market area is an industrial enclave in the River North district with a land-that-time-forgot feel to it, yet it is only three-quarters of a mile from Union Station. The Denargo Market area represents the last significant area on the perimeter of Downtown Denver that hasn't yet undergone a revitalization or transformation of some kind. Its redevelopment will essentially give Downtown a 360-degree ring of renovated, reinvented, or reenergized urban districts. Here's the article from the News: Redevelopment Taking Shape. Here are a couple of preliminary renderings from the CB Richard Ellis website:
Site Plan:
Massing Image:
Another Massing Image (with what appears to be taller buildings than the image above):
What's interesting about the middle image is that it shows in the background the massing of the full buildout of the Prospect district across the Park Avenue West viaduct and the Central Platte Valley/Riverfront Park/Union Station developments beyond that.
Finally, do you know where the word Denargo comes from? North of Downtown near the I-25/I-70 interchange of today was the little industrial neighborhood of Argo. The market's founders took the first half of Denver and combined it with Argo--Denargo--in an effort to describe the market's location half way between the two locations.
Site Plan:
Massing Image:
Another Massing Image (with what appears to be taller buildings than the image above):
What's interesting about the middle image is that it shows in the background the massing of the full buildout of the Prospect district across the Park Avenue West viaduct and the Central Platte Valley/Riverfront Park/Union Station developments beyond that.
Finally, do you know where the word Denargo comes from? North of Downtown near the I-25/I-70 interchange of today was the little industrial neighborhood of Argo. The market's founders took the first half of Denver and combined it with Argo--Denargo--in an effort to describe the market's location half way between the two locations.
Monday, October 02, 2006
14th and Lawrence Rendering Update
I've discovered a slightly different rendering of the 55-story Great Gulf tower planned for the corner of 14th and Lawrence. The rendering comes from the project's website (www.greatgulfdenver.com) but I thought I'd post it here anyway. The design looks about the same, but the coloring is better (less brown).
I think this tower would make a great addition to the Denver skyline... particularly in its location. We need to balance out the skyline with some taller buildings to the north. Right now most of our taller towers are clustered in the upper end of Downtown. Also, as I've said in this space before, tall modern towers near LoDo are a good thing, despite what some LoDo folks might think. The best way we can honor the architecture and scale of our beloved Lower Downtown historic district is to surround it with architecture very different in terms of scale and design. There should be no doubt as to where LoDo begins and ends. LoDo's pedestrian scale and architectural charm should be unmistakably recognizable, and the best way to do that is to surround the district with tall modern structures, such as the Great Gulf tower and Buzz Geller's proposed 30-story condo tower at Speer and Larimer.
I think this tower would make a great addition to the Denver skyline... particularly in its location. We need to balance out the skyline with some taller buildings to the north. Right now most of our taller towers are clustered in the upper end of Downtown. Also, as I've said in this space before, tall modern towers near LoDo are a good thing, despite what some LoDo folks might think. The best way we can honor the architecture and scale of our beloved Lower Downtown historic district is to surround it with architecture very different in terms of scale and design. There should be no doubt as to where LoDo begins and ends. LoDo's pedestrian scale and architectural charm should be unmistakably recognizable, and the best way to do that is to surround the district with tall modern structures, such as the Great Gulf tower and Buzz Geller's proposed 30-story condo tower at Speer and Larimer.
