Tuesday, January 30, 2007
New 14th and Stout Project in the Works
In today's Denver Post, Margaret Jackson reports that Bahman Shafa, the local developer who recently purchased the vacant parcel at the corner of 14th and Stout in Downtown Denver (first reported in my blog of January 28), will be moving forward with a new project at the site. According to the article, Mr. Shafa plans a tower of either all residential condominiums or a hotel/condominium mix, and is expected to break ground on the project within two years. Here's a link to the article: Stout Street Lot Sold for Residential Tower Project
I'm glad to see Mr. Shafa isn't planning on land-banking the site for the next decade or two. Downtown Denver already has too many undeveloped parcels owned by families who refuse to sell their land when presented with viable development offers, and who are content to allow their ugly surface parking lots to fester in the heart of our city for generations. Hopefully, Mr. Shafa won't wait too long to develop his other parcel at 14th and California, clearly one of the most visible and valuable undeveloped lots in Downtown Denver.
Overall, this is good news, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this project as it advances over the next couple of years.
I'm glad to see Mr. Shafa isn't planning on land-banking the site for the next decade or two. Downtown Denver already has too many undeveloped parcels owned by families who refuse to sell their land when presented with viable development offers, and who are content to allow their ugly surface parking lots to fester in the heart of our city for generations. Hopefully, Mr. Shafa won't wait too long to develop his other parcel at 14th and California, clearly one of the most visible and valuable undeveloped lots in Downtown Denver.
Overall, this is good news, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this project as it advances over the next couple of years.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Lower Downtown Denver: 1400 Wewatta Construction is Underway!
Yet another surface parking lot has been eradicated from Downtown Denver—this time, courtesy of Opus Northwest and its 1400 Wewatta project. Opus closed on the 81,000 square foot L-shaped parcel on Block 012 the first week of January, with utilities at the site decommissioned on January 9 and groundbreaking taking place on January 15.
The entire 1400 Wewatta project consists of three buildings tied together by a common 2-level underground parking facility.
The image above shows the Wewatta Street (left) and Cherry Creek (right) elevations. Along Wewatta Street will be a 9-story, 210,000 SF office building with structured parking and ground-floor retail, including space for an upscale restaurant with outdoor patio seating at the corner facing Cherry Creek and the historic railroad bridge. Floor plates in this building will be in the 24,000 to 27,000 square foot range. The structure will also feature outdoor balconies or terraces on every floor and a contemporary design mixing brick with copious amounts of glass. This building will be ready for occupancy in December 2008.
Separated from this building by a parking access alley will be a 6-story structure at the corner of Wewatta and 15th Street, featuring ground-floor retail and five floors of residential condominiums above. This shorter corner building (visible at the far left in the rendering above) is the only component of the 1400 Wewatta project that will not be built as part of the current construction activity. This structure will be built as a future phase as market conditions dictate. In the interim, the small corner site (about 7,500 SF) will provide vehicle parking in a new landscaped surface lot.
The image above shows the Cherry Creek (left) and Wynkoop Street (right) elevations. The Wynkoop side of the project (1401 Wynkoop) will feature a mix of retail, offices, and residential condominiums in a 10-story structure. About 100,000 square feet of office space (20,500 SF floor plates), structured parking, and ground-floor retail will occupy the first six floors. Denver’s own Chipotle Mexican Grill, the burrito chain that is spreading across the nation, will locate its corporate headquarters on the top two floors of the red-brick 6-story base that reflects a more traditional LoDo-esque design. Above the offices and set back from the street will be four floors of residential condominiums (21 units) in a lighter contemporary style, with spectacular views of the mountains and the nearby towers of the Central Business District. The Wynkoop building will be ready for occupancy in Fall 2008.
In addition to filling a gap in the LoDo skyline, the 1400 Wewatta project will also include sidewalk improvements that will significantly enhance pedestrian connectivity in the area. Currently, no sidewalks connect the two historic railroad bridges over Cherry Creek (which now serve as pedestrian bridges) with the sidewalks at 15th Street, forcing pedestrians to cut across the existing parking lot or walk in the street. Once 1400 Wewatta is completed, pedestrians will be able to enjoy a 12-foot-wide sidewalk along Wynkoop Street and a generous 18-foot-wide sidewalk along Wewatta. The new Wewatta sidewalk will occupy the space between the new building and the existing railroad track that runs along Wewatta. Once RTD has made some track improvements north of Union Station as part of the FasTracks program (probably around 2010 or 2011), the existing railroad track along Wewatta will be removed. Wewatta Street, from the bridge over Cherry Creek to 16th Street, will be then reconstructed in concrete into a final four-lane configuration to match the rest of the recently constructed Wewatta Street behind Union Station. Until then, the existing track along Wewatta will be slightly lowered to allow vehicles a smooth crossing into 1400 Wewatta’s parking facilities. Finally, pedestrians will also be able to enjoy a new landscaped walkway along Cherry Creek between Wewatta and Wynkoop.
1400 Wynkoop represents a major step forward in the restoration of the urban fabric of Lower Downtown and the intensification of uses in what is already one of Downtown Denver’s most vibrant and attractive districts. Opus Northwest, Shears-Adkins Architects, and the LoDo neighborhood deserve a lot of credit for the way they worked together to arrive at the best combination of uses, scale, and design for this site, giving Denver another fantastic addition to its Downtown.
The entire 1400 Wewatta project consists of three buildings tied together by a common 2-level underground parking facility.
The image above shows the Wewatta Street (left) and Cherry Creek (right) elevations. Along Wewatta Street will be a 9-story, 210,000 SF office building with structured parking and ground-floor retail, including space for an upscale restaurant with outdoor patio seating at the corner facing Cherry Creek and the historic railroad bridge. Floor plates in this building will be in the 24,000 to 27,000 square foot range. The structure will also feature outdoor balconies or terraces on every floor and a contemporary design mixing brick with copious amounts of glass. This building will be ready for occupancy in December 2008.
Separated from this building by a parking access alley will be a 6-story structure at the corner of Wewatta and 15th Street, featuring ground-floor retail and five floors of residential condominiums above. This shorter corner building (visible at the far left in the rendering above) is the only component of the 1400 Wewatta project that will not be built as part of the current construction activity. This structure will be built as a future phase as market conditions dictate. In the interim, the small corner site (about 7,500 SF) will provide vehicle parking in a new landscaped surface lot.
The image above shows the Cherry Creek (left) and Wynkoop Street (right) elevations. The Wynkoop side of the project (1401 Wynkoop) will feature a mix of retail, offices, and residential condominiums in a 10-story structure. About 100,000 square feet of office space (20,500 SF floor plates), structured parking, and ground-floor retail will occupy the first six floors. Denver’s own Chipotle Mexican Grill, the burrito chain that is spreading across the nation, will locate its corporate headquarters on the top two floors of the red-brick 6-story base that reflects a more traditional LoDo-esque design. Above the offices and set back from the street will be four floors of residential condominiums (21 units) in a lighter contemporary style, with spectacular views of the mountains and the nearby towers of the Central Business District. The Wynkoop building will be ready for occupancy in Fall 2008.
In addition to filling a gap in the LoDo skyline, the 1400 Wewatta project will also include sidewalk improvements that will significantly enhance pedestrian connectivity in the area. Currently, no sidewalks connect the two historic railroad bridges over Cherry Creek (which now serve as pedestrian bridges) with the sidewalks at 15th Street, forcing pedestrians to cut across the existing parking lot or walk in the street. Once 1400 Wewatta is completed, pedestrians will be able to enjoy a 12-foot-wide sidewalk along Wynkoop Street and a generous 18-foot-wide sidewalk along Wewatta. The new Wewatta sidewalk will occupy the space between the new building and the existing railroad track that runs along Wewatta. Once RTD has made some track improvements north of Union Station as part of the FasTracks program (probably around 2010 or 2011), the existing railroad track along Wewatta will be removed. Wewatta Street, from the bridge over Cherry Creek to 16th Street, will be then reconstructed in concrete into a final four-lane configuration to match the rest of the recently constructed Wewatta Street behind Union Station. Until then, the existing track along Wewatta will be slightly lowered to allow vehicles a smooth crossing into 1400 Wewatta’s parking facilities. Finally, pedestrians will also be able to enjoy a new landscaped walkway along Cherry Creek between Wewatta and Wynkoop.
1400 Wynkoop represents a major step forward in the restoration of the urban fabric of Lower Downtown and the intensification of uses in what is already one of Downtown Denver’s most vibrant and attractive districts. Opus Northwest, Shears-Adkins Architects, and the LoDo neighborhood deserve a lot of credit for the way they worked together to arrive at the best combination of uses, scale, and design for this site, giving Denver another fantastic addition to its Downtown.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Key Parcel at 14th and Stout Sold, New Project Sought
Prominent local developers Charlie Woolley of St. Charles Town Company and Wally Hultin of Byers Street Properties have decided against developing their proposed 30-story senior/age-restricted condominium tower on the undeveloped parcel at 14th and Stout in Downtown Denver.
The Colorado Real Estate Journal reports that St. Charles Parking LLC and BSP 131 LLC, Woolley and Hultin’s companies that had co-owned the property, sold the 25,000 square foot parcel to Wewatta Street Investments LLC for $7,000,000. The deal closed on 12/18/2006 and was recorded on 1/4/2007.
In March 2005, Woolley and Hultin purchased the four undeveloped parcels along 14th Street between Champa, Stout, and California streets across from the Colorado Convention Center. They immediately sold three of those four parcels to others, holding just the parcel at 1417 Stout Street on Block 131 for their planned condo tower.
They sold the parcel at 14th and Champa on Block 131 to the Nichols Partnership, which is planning on breaking ground at that location this Spring on the proposed 41-story Spire condominium project.
They sold the parcel at 14th and Stout on Block 138 to Whiteco, the Indiana developer planning to break ground at that location this Spring on the proposed 27-story Embassy Suites and 20-story Homewood Suites hotel project.
They sold the remaining parcel at 14th and California on Block 138, across from the new Hyatt hotel, to Wewatta Street Investments LLC, the same entity to which they just sold the 14th and Stout parcel.
Wewatta Street Investments LLC is owned by local real estate investor Bahman Shafa, who manages and markets his properties through another company he owns, Focus Property Group LLC.
When I asked Charlie Woolley about the change in plans, he said, “Wally Hultin and I took a hard look at a vertical senior housing model and traveled far to find good examples. While we remain very encouraged about the model, the Focus people came to us with a very straightforward and attractive offer which we are redeploying into a number of infill projects with a much shorter development period. We are continuing to explore high rise opportunities downtown."
Focus Property Group is currently promoting both its 14th Street parcels on its website, www.focuspropertygroup.net. The B-5 zoning in the Central Business District allows for various uses on these parcels, such as office, hotel, residential, or combinations thereof. Consequently, Focus Property Group has had local architectural firms prepare massing studies for three potential use combinations for each site, providing a glimpse at what future towers on these sites might look like in terms of number of floors, square footage, amount of parking, etc.
The following images were obtained from the Focus website (click to view at full size).
14th and Stout site:
14th and California site:
Two of the highest-profile undeveloped parcels in Downtown Denver are now owned by Mr. Shafa. Hopefully it won't be too long before we hear development plans announced for either or both of these sites.
The Colorado Real Estate Journal reports that St. Charles Parking LLC and BSP 131 LLC, Woolley and Hultin’s companies that had co-owned the property, sold the 25,000 square foot parcel to Wewatta Street Investments LLC for $7,000,000. The deal closed on 12/18/2006 and was recorded on 1/4/2007.
In March 2005, Woolley and Hultin purchased the four undeveloped parcels along 14th Street between Champa, Stout, and California streets across from the Colorado Convention Center. They immediately sold three of those four parcels to others, holding just the parcel at 1417 Stout Street on Block 131 for their planned condo tower.
They sold the parcel at 14th and Champa on Block 131 to the Nichols Partnership, which is planning on breaking ground at that location this Spring on the proposed 41-story Spire condominium project.
They sold the parcel at 14th and Stout on Block 138 to Whiteco, the Indiana developer planning to break ground at that location this Spring on the proposed 27-story Embassy Suites and 20-story Homewood Suites hotel project.
They sold the remaining parcel at 14th and California on Block 138, across from the new Hyatt hotel, to Wewatta Street Investments LLC, the same entity to which they just sold the 14th and Stout parcel.
Wewatta Street Investments LLC is owned by local real estate investor Bahman Shafa, who manages and markets his properties through another company he owns, Focus Property Group LLC.
When I asked Charlie Woolley about the change in plans, he said, “Wally Hultin and I took a hard look at a vertical senior housing model and traveled far to find good examples. While we remain very encouraged about the model, the Focus people came to us with a very straightforward and attractive offer which we are redeploying into a number of infill projects with a much shorter development period. We are continuing to explore high rise opportunities downtown."
Focus Property Group is currently promoting both its 14th Street parcels on its website, www.focuspropertygroup.net. The B-5 zoning in the Central Business District allows for various uses on these parcels, such as office, hotel, residential, or combinations thereof. Consequently, Focus Property Group has had local architectural firms prepare massing studies for three potential use combinations for each site, providing a glimpse at what future towers on these sites might look like in terms of number of floors, square footage, amount of parking, etc.
The following images were obtained from the Focus website (click to view at full size).
14th and Stout site:
14th and California site:
Two of the highest-profile undeveloped parcels in Downtown Denver are now owned by Mr. Shafa. Hopefully it won't be too long before we hear development plans announced for either or both of these sites.
Downtown Denver Infill Projects: 2007.01.28 Construction Photos
Here is another set of photos to document the status of some of the urban infill construction projects in the Downtown Denver area. These photos were taken this past week by my friend Rob.
24 Walnut (3-story, 29-unit townhomes) in the Ballpark district:
Blake 27 Brownstones Phase II (120 brownstone and condominium units) also in Ballpark:
1740 Franklin (5-story, 16-unit condominiums) in City Park West:
Lombard Gate (4-story, 9-unit condominiums) in Curtis Park-Five Points:
RiverClay (6-story, 60-unit condominiums) in the Jefferson Park district:
Metroview (3-story, 8-unit townhomes) also in Jefferson Park:
Ayr on 29th Lofts (4-story, 20-unit condominums) in the Highland district:
Highlands Vista (3-story, 6-unit townhomes) in Highland:
Confluence Heights (4-story, 24-unit condominiums) in Highland:
Wyandot Overlook (4-story, 15-unit condominiums) in Highland:
24 Walnut (3-story, 29-unit townhomes) in the Ballpark district:
Blake 27 Brownstones Phase II (120 brownstone and condominium units) also in Ballpark:
1740 Franklin (5-story, 16-unit condominiums) in City Park West:
Lombard Gate (4-story, 9-unit condominiums) in Curtis Park-Five Points:
RiverClay (6-story, 60-unit condominiums) in the Jefferson Park district:
Metroview (3-story, 8-unit townhomes) also in Jefferson Park:
Ayr on 29th Lofts (4-story, 20-unit condominums) in the Highland district:
Highlands Vista (3-story, 6-unit townhomes) in Highland:
Confluence Heights (4-story, 24-unit condominiums) in Highland:
Wyandot Overlook (4-story, 15-unit condominiums) in Highland:
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Give Me a Sign
This sign recently appeared at the site of the proposed 1755 Blake project in Lower Downtown Denver:
Yes, it's just a simple wooden sign and its presence is certainly no guarantee that the project will ever come to fruition (although I hope it does), but I like project signs nonetheless. In fact, it's the lack of a project identification sign at a construction site that is one of my pet peeves. If I were spending tens of millions of dollars constructing a new building, I would want people to know about it. Yet some developers simply don't bother.
Take, for example, Hanover's 16-story 816 Acoma tower currently under construction in the Golden Triangle. No project sign--at least none that I've noticed. Since 816 Acoma is a rental project, perhaps Hanover figures there's no point in advertising their project until the building is complete and the apartment units are ready to lease. But I've also observed for-sale condo developments with no project sign as well. Either way, I find it difficult to understand why a developer wouldn't post a project identification sign.
It seems to me there are two basic reasons why it always makes sense for developers to post a project sign at a construction site: their own economic interest, and a broader community interest. Even if there's no apparent direct financial benefit to the developer from promoting a new project with a sign during construction (such as a project that's already fully pre-leased or a build-to-suit project), there's still the value in establishing or reinforcing company name recognition and associating the company name with a (hopefully) successful and attractive development. For a few hundred bucks, a project ID sign with the development firm's name on it seems like quite a marketing bargain, given the sign's exposure to potentially thousands of passersby daily for a year or longer.
Then, there's the broader civic interest in providing information to the community as to what is being constructed at a particular site. I believe every developer owes the public a simple sign informing us of what is being constructed, what the building is going to look like, and other project details such as an estimated completion date and the developer's contact information. Providing that type of information conveniently through an on-site project sign helps establish goodwill on the part of the developer and is part of being a good neighbor and corporate citizen. Oh yeah, it also makes it easier to research projects for DenverInfill too.
Yes, it's just a simple wooden sign and its presence is certainly no guarantee that the project will ever come to fruition (although I hope it does), but I like project signs nonetheless. In fact, it's the lack of a project identification sign at a construction site that is one of my pet peeves. If I were spending tens of millions of dollars constructing a new building, I would want people to know about it. Yet some developers simply don't bother.
Take, for example, Hanover's 16-story 816 Acoma tower currently under construction in the Golden Triangle. No project sign--at least none that I've noticed. Since 816 Acoma is a rental project, perhaps Hanover figures there's no point in advertising their project until the building is complete and the apartment units are ready to lease. But I've also observed for-sale condo developments with no project sign as well. Either way, I find it difficult to understand why a developer wouldn't post a project identification sign.
It seems to me there are two basic reasons why it always makes sense for developers to post a project sign at a construction site: their own economic interest, and a broader community interest. Even if there's no apparent direct financial benefit to the developer from promoting a new project with a sign during construction (such as a project that's already fully pre-leased or a build-to-suit project), there's still the value in establishing or reinforcing company name recognition and associating the company name with a (hopefully) successful and attractive development. For a few hundred bucks, a project ID sign with the development firm's name on it seems like quite a marketing bargain, given the sign's exposure to potentially thousands of passersby daily for a year or longer.
Then, there's the broader civic interest in providing information to the community as to what is being constructed at a particular site. I believe every developer owes the public a simple sign informing us of what is being constructed, what the building is going to look like, and other project details such as an estimated completion date and the developer's contact information. Providing that type of information conveniently through an on-site project sign helps establish goodwill on the part of the developer and is part of being a good neighbor and corporate citizen. Oh yeah, it also makes it easier to research projects for DenverInfill too.
Downtown Denver: Parking Garage Demolition Still Pending
In my blog of January 4, 2007, I reported that the historic parking garage (yes, such a thing actually exists) at 14th and Stout in Downtown Denver would undergo demolition beginning January 15th. Well, that didn't quite happen, but it apparently has nothing to do with the viability of the two towers planned to take its place: the 27-story Embassy Suites Hotel and the 20-story Homewood Suites Hotel. The word is that the back-to-back blizzards that recently struck Denver messed up the demolition contractor's schedule and their access to the necessary excavation equipment. Demolition of the old Motor Hotel Garage should still take place within the next week or so (let's hope).
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
New Downtown Denver Project at 22nd & Lawrence
Talus Development, which is currently building the three "Urbans" projects (numbers 22 - 24 on the Curtis Park-Five Points neighborhood page), is gearing up for their next urban infill project. Their new project will be located at the corner of 22nd and Lawrence on Block 082 in Northeast Downtown, and will consist of 31 condominium units (starting in the low $400k range) along with 8,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space in a 6-story building. Currently, the project site is a surface parking lot.
The proposed development's contemporary deisgn is by Bothwell, Davis, George Architects. Marketing will begin in a month or two, with construction targeted to commence Fall 2007. Here are a few preliminary images of the project, courtesy of Talus:
Lawrence Street perspective (left), 22nd Street perspective (center), Overhead perspective (right):
That's one less surface parking lot for Downtown Denver!
The proposed development's contemporary deisgn is by Bothwell, Davis, George Architects. Marketing will begin in a month or two, with construction targeted to commence Fall 2007. Here are a few preliminary images of the project, courtesy of Talus:
Lawrence Street perspective (left), 22nd Street perspective (center), Overhead perspective (right):
That's one less surface parking lot for Downtown Denver!
The Inn at the Denver Athletic Club: New Perspectives
Here's an image containing a number of different views of the proposed 22-story The Inn at the Denver Athletic Club. This is the same design as shown for the project on Block 171 in Upper Downtown, but now you get to see it from multiple perspectives. I haven't heard anything new lately about this project, but I'm looking into it. Taag Architects did the design. Thank you to Dennis for submitting this image to DenverInfill. Click and expand to view the image at full size.
12th & Elati: Color Rendering
Thanks to Jane, a Realtor in the Golden Triangle, I'm able to share with you this color rendering of the 12th & Elati project mentioned in my last post.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Golden Triangle's "12th & Elati" Project Update
A few days ago I posted that the "12th & Elati" infill project in Downtown Denver's Golden Triangle had broken ground. Since then, not only have I snapped a photo of the construction site but, thanks to someone who is associated with the project, I now have a sketch of the 10-story building's front elevation to show you. A color perspective rendering may be available in the future, but this will do for now.
Downtown Denver Infill Projects: 2007.01.20 Construction Photo Sampler
There are currently about 45 urban infill projects under construction in the Downtown Denver area covered here at DenverInfill.com. Today I've got a sampling of some of those projects. Photos were taken 2007.01.19. Click on the photo to enlarge.
One Lincoln Park (31-story, 184-unit condominiums) on Block 177 in Northeast Downtown:
Grant Park (8-story, 112-unit condominiums) on Block 033-B in Upper Downtown:
Hilton Garden Inn (12-story, 225-room hotel) on Block 172 in Upper Downtown:
Sugar3 (10-story residential/office/retail mixed-use) on Block 019 in Lower Downtown:
816 Acoma (16-story, 224-unit apartments) in the Golden Triangle district:
Piranesi (5-story, 44-unit condominiums) also in the Golden Triangle:
Strada Flats (4-story, 30-unit condominiums) in the Capitol Hill district:
Emerson Uptown Lofts (3-story, 33-unit condominiums) in the Uptown district:
St. Joseph's Hospital Office Building (5-story, 152,000 SF) in the City Park West district:
Urbans @ Glenarm (3-story, 5-unit townhomes) in the Curtis Park-Five Points district:
One Lincoln Park (31-story, 184-unit condominiums) on Block 177 in Northeast Downtown:
Grant Park (8-story, 112-unit condominiums) on Block 033-B in Upper Downtown:
Hilton Garden Inn (12-story, 225-room hotel) on Block 172 in Upper Downtown:
Sugar3 (10-story residential/office/retail mixed-use) on Block 019 in Lower Downtown:
816 Acoma (16-story, 224-unit apartments) in the Golden Triangle district:
Piranesi (5-story, 44-unit condominiums) also in the Golden Triangle:
Strada Flats (4-story, 30-unit condominiums) in the Capitol Hill district:
Emerson Uptown Lofts (3-story, 33-unit condominiums) in the Uptown district:
St. Joseph's Hospital Office Building (5-story, 152,000 SF) in the City Park West district:
Urbans @ Glenarm (3-story, 5-unit townhomes) in the Curtis Park-Five Points district:
Four Seasons Denver: $200M in Financing Secured
In my last blog entry, I reported that the developers of the proposed 50-story Four Seasons hotel and condo tower in Downtown Denver had secured significant financing agreements for their project. A few days later, both the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News reported on the topic, and provided additional details of the deal.
The dollar amount in financing secured for the Four Seasons is even higher, $200 million, with developer Michael Brenneman stating that they were hoping to begin construction by mid-year. Here are the two articles for reference: Four Seasons Secures Funds (News),
$200 Million Loan Sets Stage for Four Seasons (Post).
The prospects for this high-rise getting out of the ground have never looked better!
The dollar amount in financing secured for the Four Seasons is even higher, $200 million, with developer Michael Brenneman stating that they were hoping to begin construction by mid-year. Here are the two articles for reference: Four Seasons Secures Funds (News),
$200 Million Loan Sets Stage for Four Seasons (Post).
The prospects for this high-rise getting out of the ground have never looked better!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Four Seasons Denver: A Major Step Forward?
The 50-story Four Seasons Denver/Teatro Tower project appears it may have recently taken a major step forward toward starting construction. According to the Colorado Real Estate Journal, a $135 million loan by LaSalle Bank was recorded on 12-22-2006 to an entity known as "1111 Tower LLC." The location of the property is listed as Block 074 in Downtown Denver, the site of the proposed Four Seasons/Teatro tower. Additionally, the Colorado Secretary of State reports that "1111 Tower LLC" was formed on 12-08-2006, with a registered agent of Jeff Selby, who is the developer of the Four Season/Teatro tower. Also, the Four Seasons site on 14th Street between Arapahoe and Lawrence is the 1100 block, so you can bet the Four Seasons/Teatro Tower will have an address of 1111 14th Street.
Two days before the recording of this $135 million loan, John Rebchook at the Rocky Mountain News reported that Los Angeles-based DiNapoli Capital Partners had purchased the historic Teatro Hotel from Jeff Selby and partner Michael Brenneman for an undisclosed amount. This news seems like the strongest evidence yet that the Four Seasons/Teatro Tower may break ground in 2007.
Two days before the recording of this $135 million loan, John Rebchook at the Rocky Mountain News reported that Los Angeles-based DiNapoli Capital Partners had purchased the historic Teatro Hotel from Jeff Selby and partner Michael Brenneman for an undisclosed amount. This news seems like the strongest evidence yet that the Four Seasons/Teatro Tower may break ground in 2007.
Golden Triangle Update: 12th & Elati Residences Under Construction
A project announced back in August 2005 is now under construction in Downtown Denver's Golden Triangle district. The project, 12th & Elati Residences, recently broke ground at the highly-visible corner 12th, Elati, and Speer Boulevard, across the street from the Belvedere condominium tower. The developers are Henry Burgwyn and Parvez Malik, who recently completed the 1135 Broadway project, also in the Golden Triangle. Much like the 1135 Broadway project, the new development at 420 W. 12th Avenue has an affordable housing focus, with income requirements for eligible renters. The project features 63 apartment units in a 10-story building, with two levels of parking plus ground-floor retail. Here's the article from the Rocky Mountain News announcing the project back in August, 2005.
I currently don't have a rendering of the project, so I'll be working to track one down now that the project is under construction. It's good to see another project breaking ground in these high-construction-cost times.
I currently don't have a rendering of the project, so I'll be working to track one down now that the project is under construction. It's good to see another project breaking ground in these high-construction-cost times.
1755 Blake: More Renderings
This isn't a design update, just addtional renderings that are available of 1755 Blake, a 5-story, 125,000 SF office building proposed by First Century Development for the corner of 18th and Blake on Block 021 in Lower Downtown Denver. The significance of this project lies in its location, in a section of LoDo suffering from acute parking-lot-itis. The presence of this office building with its ground-floor uses will bring a fresh dose of vitality to a relatively quiet LoDo corner. The following images are from the project website, www.1755blake.com. The project architect is RNL Design.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Yet Another City House Design Update
The architects for East-West Partners are keeping busy. Just a few days ago I posted a newly released rendering of the proposed 23-story City House project in the Central Platte Valley. Now they've refined the design even more.
Here's the view looking south, as would be seen from roughly the new Dog Park across the railroad tracks at 19th Street (click to enlarge):
Here's the view looking north from the corner of 18th and Chestnut.
Images courtesy of the Riverfront Park website. Looking good, East-West!
Here's the view looking south, as would be seen from roughly the new Dog Park across the railroad tracks at 19th Street (click to enlarge):
Here's the view looking north from the corner of 18th and Chestnut.
Images courtesy of the Riverfront Park website. Looking good, East-West!
Embassy/Homewood Towers: Finished in Time?
As I pondered in yesterday's blog about the announcement that Denver had been selected to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the question of the Embassy Suites/Homewood Suites towers being done in time for the convention was raised by John Rebchook in today's Rocky Mountain News. Here's the article: Two Hotels Could Open by August 2008. Looks like it could be close. We'll have to see if Whiteco, the developer, thinks it's worth going for or not.
Regardless of the actual opening date of the Embassy/Homewood project, Denver should be sporting a number of major Downtown construction projects when the Dems come for their visit. The Spire (now planning an April groundbreaking, I hear) should be topping off on its 41 stories. Both the Spire and the Embassy/Homewood projects occupy sites within a block or two of the new Hyatt, which will serve as the headquarters hotel for the Democrats. Having those three new towers under construction next to the Hyatt will certainly send a very different message to our guests than if they were to see the nasty parking lots that are there today.
Also under construction during the convention should be: the Denver Justice Center, the Museum Residences tower, City House, 1800 Market Residences, and possibly three or four major office/mixed-use projects in the LoDo/CPV area (take your pick... 1400 Wewatta, 1515 Wynkoop, 1900 16th Street, 1800 Larimer, 1755 Blake). And, if we get really lucky, add in the Great Gulf Tower and/or the Four Seasons. Wouldn't that be sweet!
A great way to show the rest of the nation and the world how dynamic and thriving our Downtown (and, by extension, our entire community) is, would be to have a dozen tower cranes looming over our Downtown streets. Bring it on!
Regardless of the actual opening date of the Embassy/Homewood project, Denver should be sporting a number of major Downtown construction projects when the Dems come for their visit. The Spire (now planning an April groundbreaking, I hear) should be topping off on its 41 stories. Both the Spire and the Embassy/Homewood projects occupy sites within a block or two of the new Hyatt, which will serve as the headquarters hotel for the Democrats. Having those three new towers under construction next to the Hyatt will certainly send a very different message to our guests than if they were to see the nasty parking lots that are there today.
Also under construction during the convention should be: the Denver Justice Center, the Museum Residences tower, City House, 1800 Market Residences, and possibly three or four major office/mixed-use projects in the LoDo/CPV area (take your pick... 1400 Wewatta, 1515 Wynkoop, 1900 16th Street, 1800 Larimer, 1755 Blake). And, if we get really lucky, add in the Great Gulf Tower and/or the Four Seasons. Wouldn't that be sweet!
A great way to show the rest of the nation and the world how dynamic and thriving our Downtown (and, by extension, our entire community) is, would be to have a dozen tower cranes looming over our Downtown streets. Bring it on!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Denver Selected to Host 2008 Democratic National Convention
Finally, a decision... and it's a good one for Denver! Exactly one hundred years after Denver hosted its only national political convention--the Democrats in 1908--the Mile High City will welcome the Democrats back to town. In 2008, the city will also celebrate its sesquicentennial.
While this news may not prompt any new infill projects, it certainly can't hurt the prospects for hotel construction Downtown, particularly those projects that have already been announced but not yet broken ground. Attention hotel developers: if you start construction right now, you just might finish in time for the convention!!
While this news may not prompt any new infill projects, it certainly can't hurt the prospects for hotel construction Downtown, particularly those projects that have already been announced but not yet broken ground. Attention hotel developers: if you start construction right now, you just might finish in time for the convention!!
New Infill Project at 22nd and Blake
Looks like another surface parking lot in Downtown Denver may be on its way out! In their upcoming January 16 meeting, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission will be making its initial review of a project planned for 2120 Blake, on Block 036 in Northeast Downtown. The site is immediately across the street from Coors Field on one of those gravel parking lots that has remained undeveloped since the stadium joined the neighborhood in the mid '90s. The site shares the block with another infill project, the 226-unit, 8-story Broadstone Lofts project that will fill in the entire Market Street side of the block next to the historic Piggly Wiggly building. That project has not yet started construction, but its development plan has been approved and is now in the building permit stage. Hopefully construction on Broadstone will begin this Spring.
The new project at 22nd and Blake is listed on the LPC's agenda as simply "mixed-use new construction" so I don't have any details yet on number of units, number of floors, etc. More information on this project will be posted as soon as available.
The new project at 22nd and Blake is listed on the LPC's agenda as simply "mixed-use new construction" so I don't have any details yet on number of units, number of floors, etc. More information on this project will be posted as soon as available.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
An Unfortunate Sign of the Times
Last year, the City of Denver/Colorado Convention Center Hotel Authority sold the naming rights to the 5,000-seat theater (as well as other areas such as ballrooms, lobbies, etc.) inside the newly-expanded Colorado Convention Center. They sold the naming rights for the theater to Wells Fargo for several million dollars. Consequently, there are now two new signs proclaiming "Wells Fargo Theatre" on the west side of the convention center. Click on these to take a closer look:
I am not a fan of the selling of naming rights to civic facilities ("Invesco Field at Mile High" anyone?) but I suppose it's an unfortunate reality in this not-enough-budget-to-do-the-job-right era we live in. But if we're going to paste corporate names on the sides of our civic buildings, I hope that it can be done so tastefully.
In my opinion, the "Wells Fargo Theatre" signs are too large and detract from the sleek modern design of the convention center's exterior. The signs introduce a warm yellow color to an exterior composed entirely of cool monochromatic whites, silvers and grays. The sign clinging to the roofline of the curved theater lobby disrupts the effect of the lobby's gentle sweeping arc as a counterbalance to the sharp angularity of the soaring facade. I wonder if the architects at Fentress Bradburn who designed the convention center had any say in the size, color, and placement of these signs? If not, I wonder what they think of the impact of these signs on the appearance of the building they designed? I recognize that Wells Fargo deserves to receive name exposure commensurate with their multi-million dollar investment, but certainly these signs could have been more harmoniously integrated with the overall design aesthetic of the facility, while still providing the necessary visibility.
What's also interesting is that there is not one single sign on the Speer Boulevard side of the convention center that tells you that this massive building is the Colorado Convention Center. There is a prominent sign announcing the name of the facility on the 14th Street side, but none at all (that I could find anyway) on the Speer side. So, with not one but two conspicuous "Wells Fargo Theatre" signs and no "Colorado Convention Center" signs visible on the Speer side, a passerby on Speer Boulevard who didn't know any better could be easily led to believe that the entire 2.2 million SF facility is the Wells Fargo Theatre! I'm sure Wells Fargo wouldn't mind that.
Perhaps I'm just being overly sensitive, or perhaps we let a handsome public building be tarnished. What do you think?
I am not a fan of the selling of naming rights to civic facilities ("Invesco Field at Mile High" anyone?) but I suppose it's an unfortunate reality in this not-enough-budget-to-do-the-job-right era we live in. But if we're going to paste corporate names on the sides of our civic buildings, I hope that it can be done so tastefully.
In my opinion, the "Wells Fargo Theatre" signs are too large and detract from the sleek modern design of the convention center's exterior. The signs introduce a warm yellow color to an exterior composed entirely of cool monochromatic whites, silvers and grays. The sign clinging to the roofline of the curved theater lobby disrupts the effect of the lobby's gentle sweeping arc as a counterbalance to the sharp angularity of the soaring facade. I wonder if the architects at Fentress Bradburn who designed the convention center had any say in the size, color, and placement of these signs? If not, I wonder what they think of the impact of these signs on the appearance of the building they designed? I recognize that Wells Fargo deserves to receive name exposure commensurate with their multi-million dollar investment, but certainly these signs could have been more harmoniously integrated with the overall design aesthetic of the facility, while still providing the necessary visibility.
What's also interesting is that there is not one single sign on the Speer Boulevard side of the convention center that tells you that this massive building is the Colorado Convention Center. There is a prominent sign announcing the name of the facility on the 14th Street side, but none at all (that I could find anyway) on the Speer side. So, with not one but two conspicuous "Wells Fargo Theatre" signs and no "Colorado Convention Center" signs visible on the Speer side, a passerby on Speer Boulevard who didn't know any better could be easily led to believe that the entire 2.2 million SF facility is the Wells Fargo Theatre! I'm sure Wells Fargo wouldn't mind that.
Perhaps I'm just being overly sensitive, or perhaps we let a handsome public building be tarnished. What do you think?
Friday, January 05, 2007
DenverInfill... A 2006 Retrospective
Looking back, 2006 was a fantastic year for Downtown Denver infill development... but it was not without a few disappointments.
In 2006 we saw the return of speculative office development to Downtown. Not that a lot of spec office buildings actually broke ground in 2006, but many were proposed. In fact, more office projects were proposed for Downtown in 2006 than at any time since the great skyscraper boom of the early 1980s. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, there was the 42-story 1100 15th Street project by Hines that was proposed, as well as the 425 15th Street office project planned by Brookfield, but neither project made it out of the ground before the economy tanked. Together, those two projects would have totaled about 850,000 SF.
In 2006, we had the announcement of the 1400 Wewatta project by Opus (100,000 SF office component), the 300,000 SF 1515 Wynkoop office project by Hines, the 500,000 SF 1800 Larimer office tower by Westfield Development, the 335,000 SF 1900 16th Street office project by Trammell Crow, and the 125,000 SF 1755 Blake Street office project by First Century Development. That's 1.36 million SF of speculative office space proposed for Downtown in 2006. That doesn't include the 190,000 SF office building planned for the corner of Lincoln and Colfax by the State of Colorado, the 500,000 SF of office space planned in the long-rumored second Tabor Center tower, or the 730,000 SF of commercial office space included in the Continuum/East-West Partners' master plan for Union Station. In 2006 we also saw the completion of the 318,000 SF Denver Newspaper Agency building and the 250,000 SF EPA Region 8 Headquarters building, and construction began on the new Sugar building, which includes a 50,000 SF office component. Wow!
So, the obvious question is... how many of these projects will be under construction come January 1, 2008? Will this be another Downtown office boom that busts before it gets started, or will we see a new generation of office buildings added to our not-so-new-anymore 1980s skyline? I guess 2007 will give us the answer (maybe). With the opening of the Southeast light rail line and the continuing draw of Downtown as a vibrant and attractive place, perhaps with this round of new office construction Downtown can begin to compete effectively against the suburban office parks for its rightful share of new office construction in the metro Denver area.
On the lodging front, most of the hotel projects on the drawing board for Downtown were actually announced in 2005, such as the Embassy Suites and the Denver Athletic Club Hotel, and only one hotel project, the Hilton Garden Inn, actually broke ground in 2006. A few new hotel projects were announced in 2006: the 20-story Homewood Suites project was revealed in 2006 as a companion to the 27-story Embassy Suites tower at 14th and Stout, a 10-story(ish) upscale hotel project was announced by Barron Development for the corner of Sherman and E. 18th Avenue, and a boutique hotel component was proposed for Phase 2 of the Museum Residences next to the Denver Art Museum. Also in 2006, the Trump Tower, which would have included both residences and hotel rooms, was announced for the parking lot next to the El Jebel Temple on Sherman, but later in the year we learned that the developers were scouting for sites elsewhere in Downtown for the project as the El Jebel site could not be acquired.
Then there was the W Hotel, rumored during much of 2006 to be built by East West Partners on a site behind Union Station in the Central Platte Valley. The project never broke ground in 2006 but, then again, it was never officially announced either. We probably haven't heard the last of the W Hotel project, but nothing may happen on it in the near-term. There's the possibility that the project may be going through a restructuring of some type, given East West's recent selection as the master developer for the Union Station transit project. Perhaps we'll find out this year. Finally, there's the new Ritz Carlton hotel being created in the former Embassy Suites tower, the transformation of the old Executive Tower building at 15th and Curtis into a new hotel called The Curtis, and the opening of the new 14-story Residence Inn by Marriott at 18th and Champa.
Residential development continued to boom throughout the greater Downtown Denver area in 2006. Dozens of residential projects were announced or broke ground in the Center City districts in 2006 that spanned the spectrum from smaller townhome and flats projects to mid- and high-rise condo towers. The hot neighborhoods in terms of the number of new residential projects were Jefferson Park, Highland, Ballpark, and Curtis Park-Five Points, with River North bursting onto the scene with the TAXI project and the announcement of a 2,000-unit project at Denargo Market. The other hot neighborhood was, of course, the Central Platte Valley, with the twin 23-story Glass House towers topping off in 2006 and plenty of other projects announced or under construction in the area. Other Downtown districts like Golden Triangle, City Park West, and Uptown saw continued infill development as well. There was also the announcement in 2006 of the 51-story Great Gulf condo tower at 14th and Lawrence. There's no sales office/showroom for this project yet and no announced groundbreaking date, but the design has been evolving since the original announcement, and they do have a website up and running, so maybe we'll see some action on this project in 2007. Also worth mentioning is the conversion of the long-vacant office tower at 16th and Glenarm into the sharp 1600 Glenarm apartment building by Red Peak Properties. A job well done!
But the biggest disappointment of 2006, in my opinion, was the lack of progress made on the tallest of the proposed projects Downtown. From my retrospective blog on January 1, 2006, I wrote:
"Shortly before 2005 began, the massive expansion of the Colorado Convention Center opened and, a month earlier, the 50-story Four Seasons project was announced to great fanfare. While it was disappointing that the Four Seasons didn't break ground in 2005 as originally promised, little did we know when January 1, 2005 rolled around that SEVEN more towers over 20 stories would be announced for Downtown Denver during the coming year! One Lincoln Park, The Spire, Embassy Suites Hotel, 14th & Stout Condo Tower (St. Charles Town Company), Denver Athletic Club Hotel, Speer & Market Condo Tower (Geller), and North Broadway Tower all were revealed during 2005."
If you add in the Four Seasons project, that's eight towers, and only one of those eight, the 31-story One Lincoln Park at 20th and Welton, is currently under construction. However, to be fair, a couple of those projects, such as the St. Charles Town Company's condo tower, Buzz Geller's Speer & Market tower, and the Denver Athletic Club tower, were announced in 2005 as longer-term efforts that were not necessarily supposed to break ground in 2006 anyway. We also learned in 2006 that the North Broadway Tower was never really a valid project in the first place. But the failure of the Four Seasons, The Spire, and the Embassy Suites to break ground in 2006 was disappointing.
The 50-story Four Seasons/Teatro Tower was originally announced in November 2004 with a groundbreaking planned for Spring 2005... but no groundbreaking. Then the developers closed on the land, launched a website, and rescheduled the groundbreaking for later in 2005... but no groundbreaking. Then in 2006 the developers leased space and completed construction of an expansive and well-appointed sales office and showroom... only to have it sit, unopened, to this day. Then the developers sold their historic Teatro Hotel for big bucks to a firm that specializes in developing Four Seasons projects! The roller-coaster saga of the Four Seasons/Teatro Tower project continues into 2007.
The 41-story Spire project was supposed to break ground in May 2006, then it was pushed back to August (or maybe it was September), and now it's reportedly scheduled for early 2007. Meanwhile, the historic Davis and Shaw Building was demolished in anticipation of the Spire's construction. The latest word is that the developer, the Nichols Partnership, had to shop around for a new general contractor, which set the schedule back. I am still very optomistic, however, that we will see a Spring 2007 groundbreaking for The Spire. Cross your fingers.
The Embassy Suites/Homewood Suites project is looking good for a Spring 2007 groundbreaking too. The Motor Hotel parking garage at the site is due to be demolished starting January 15 and the Embassy/Homewood project is in final development review with the city. If Hilton Hotels, which owns both the Embassy and Homewood brands, plans on having these properties open by late 2008 as they say, they'd better get on with it.
Of course, what's driving the delay in moving forward on many infill projects, big and small, is the cost of construction. The price of copper, concrete, steel, and other building materials skyrocketed in 2006, making it extremely difficult for developers to nail down a construction budget that works with their pro forma and allows their project to stay in line with their target market. Let's hope that in 2007 we see a stabilization of commodity prices that will allow developers to proceed with projects with some degree of certainty about the cost of construction.
In addition to all the infill developments in 2006, there were plenty of other exciting or significant events that occurred in Downtown Denver during the year. We saw the grand opening of the Libeskind-designed wing of the Denver Art Museum, the groundbreaking for the new Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, and the selection of an architect for the Clyfford Still Museum. Construction got underway on the first phase of the new Denver Justice Center and we had the grand opening of the Highland Bridge over I-25 to connect the historic Highland district with Downtown. The competing development plans for Union Station were presented and the winning plan by Continuum/East West Partners was selected. We also saw Civic Center Park in the news a lot in 2006, with the unveiling of a controversial makeover plan designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. Historic preservation was also a hot topic in 2006, with the debate focused not only on Civic Center Park, but also on the pending approval of Mr. Geller's 30-story modern condo tower on the edge of the low-rise historic Lower Downtown district (more on that in a future blog), and the possible destruction of the historic "Duffy's" building to make way for, of all things, a parking garage. The Downtown Area Plan project also made good progress during the year, with its completion and approval expected for later in 2007.
Finally, 2006 was a good year for DenverInfill. In June, I went on a little rant in my blog about the blighted Fontius Building at 16th and Welton, which subsequently got picked up by the mainstream press. It was gratifying to learn that so many of you are as fed up as I am with how long that building has been allowed to remain vacant and in disrepair in the heart of our Downtown. But that media exposure has since resulted in yours truly/DenverInfill getting quoted in the papers on a regular basis. In fact, since June 2006, DenverInfill has been mentioned in the Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, ColoradoBiz Magazine, the Colorado Real Estate Journal, Westword, and the Urban Land Institute's national Urban Land publication. In August 2006, I switched the blog over to the current Blogger format, which has certainly improved the look and user-friendliness of the blog. Then, in December 2006, DenverInfill received a great honor by being selected as one of the recipients of this year's Mayor's Design Awards.
Site traffic at DenverInfill also continued to grow steadily in 2006. I began the year averaging about 6,000 visits a month, and now I'm averaging about 25,000 visits a month. In October, several national websites picked up my blog entry of September 1 on "Guide to Suburban Denver Subdivision Names," which then got reposted on dozens of other websites, and resulted in over 10,000 visits to DenverInfill in just three days. Thank you to all of you who visit DenverInfill on a regular basis and have helped make it such a popular website, and to the many of you who send me emails with your comments and suggestions. I greatly appreciate your interest, feedback, and participation!
It's tough keeping up with all the infill projects around Downtown, so I also appreciate many of you (including a number of developers) who send me information on new projects and construction photos! Because there are so many infill projects to track, and with limited time outside of my job at Matrix Design Group and my other commitments to devote to DenverInfill, it is difficult to keep the main project sections of this website updated in a timely manner. To help with that, my good friend Rob is now helping me out by taking over many of the computer/design aspects of the website, as well as helping me track projects, take site photos, etc. Thank you Rob for your efforts!
So, here's to a successful 2007 to all of you, and to a very productive year in our mission to restore central Denver's built environment through the eradication of surface parking lots and the construction of high-density urban development of quality design!
In 2006 we saw the return of speculative office development to Downtown. Not that a lot of spec office buildings actually broke ground in 2006, but many were proposed. In fact, more office projects were proposed for Downtown in 2006 than at any time since the great skyscraper boom of the early 1980s. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, there was the 42-story 1100 15th Street project by Hines that was proposed, as well as the 425 15th Street office project planned by Brookfield, but neither project made it out of the ground before the economy tanked. Together, those two projects would have totaled about 850,000 SF.
In 2006, we had the announcement of the 1400 Wewatta project by Opus (100,000 SF office component), the 300,000 SF 1515 Wynkoop office project by Hines, the 500,000 SF 1800 Larimer office tower by Westfield Development, the 335,000 SF 1900 16th Street office project by Trammell Crow, and the 125,000 SF 1755 Blake Street office project by First Century Development. That's 1.36 million SF of speculative office space proposed for Downtown in 2006. That doesn't include the 190,000 SF office building planned for the corner of Lincoln and Colfax by the State of Colorado, the 500,000 SF of office space planned in the long-rumored second Tabor Center tower, or the 730,000 SF of commercial office space included in the Continuum/East-West Partners' master plan for Union Station. In 2006 we also saw the completion of the 318,000 SF Denver Newspaper Agency building and the 250,000 SF EPA Region 8 Headquarters building, and construction began on the new Sugar building, which includes a 50,000 SF office component. Wow!
So, the obvious question is... how many of these projects will be under construction come January 1, 2008? Will this be another Downtown office boom that busts before it gets started, or will we see a new generation of office buildings added to our not-so-new-anymore 1980s skyline? I guess 2007 will give us the answer (maybe). With the opening of the Southeast light rail line and the continuing draw of Downtown as a vibrant and attractive place, perhaps with this round of new office construction Downtown can begin to compete effectively against the suburban office parks for its rightful share of new office construction in the metro Denver area.
On the lodging front, most of the hotel projects on the drawing board for Downtown were actually announced in 2005, such as the Embassy Suites and the Denver Athletic Club Hotel, and only one hotel project, the Hilton Garden Inn, actually broke ground in 2006. A few new hotel projects were announced in 2006: the 20-story Homewood Suites project was revealed in 2006 as a companion to the 27-story Embassy Suites tower at 14th and Stout, a 10-story(ish) upscale hotel project was announced by Barron Development for the corner of Sherman and E. 18th Avenue, and a boutique hotel component was proposed for Phase 2 of the Museum Residences next to the Denver Art Museum. Also in 2006, the Trump Tower, which would have included both residences and hotel rooms, was announced for the parking lot next to the El Jebel Temple on Sherman, but later in the year we learned that the developers were scouting for sites elsewhere in Downtown for the project as the El Jebel site could not be acquired.
Then there was the W Hotel, rumored during much of 2006 to be built by East West Partners on a site behind Union Station in the Central Platte Valley. The project never broke ground in 2006 but, then again, it was never officially announced either. We probably haven't heard the last of the W Hotel project, but nothing may happen on it in the near-term. There's the possibility that the project may be going through a restructuring of some type, given East West's recent selection as the master developer for the Union Station transit project. Perhaps we'll find out this year. Finally, there's the new Ritz Carlton hotel being created in the former Embassy Suites tower, the transformation of the old Executive Tower building at 15th and Curtis into a new hotel called The Curtis, and the opening of the new 14-story Residence Inn by Marriott at 18th and Champa.
Residential development continued to boom throughout the greater Downtown Denver area in 2006. Dozens of residential projects were announced or broke ground in the Center City districts in 2006 that spanned the spectrum from smaller townhome and flats projects to mid- and high-rise condo towers. The hot neighborhoods in terms of the number of new residential projects were Jefferson Park, Highland, Ballpark, and Curtis Park-Five Points, with River North bursting onto the scene with the TAXI project and the announcement of a 2,000-unit project at Denargo Market. The other hot neighborhood was, of course, the Central Platte Valley, with the twin 23-story Glass House towers topping off in 2006 and plenty of other projects announced or under construction in the area. Other Downtown districts like Golden Triangle, City Park West, and Uptown saw continued infill development as well. There was also the announcement in 2006 of the 51-story Great Gulf condo tower at 14th and Lawrence. There's no sales office/showroom for this project yet and no announced groundbreaking date, but the design has been evolving since the original announcement, and they do have a website up and running, so maybe we'll see some action on this project in 2007. Also worth mentioning is the conversion of the long-vacant office tower at 16th and Glenarm into the sharp 1600 Glenarm apartment building by Red Peak Properties. A job well done!
But the biggest disappointment of 2006, in my opinion, was the lack of progress made on the tallest of the proposed projects Downtown. From my retrospective blog on January 1, 2006, I wrote:
"Shortly before 2005 began, the massive expansion of the Colorado Convention Center opened and, a month earlier, the 50-story Four Seasons project was announced to great fanfare. While it was disappointing that the Four Seasons didn't break ground in 2005 as originally promised, little did we know when January 1, 2005 rolled around that SEVEN more towers over 20 stories would be announced for Downtown Denver during the coming year! One Lincoln Park, The Spire, Embassy Suites Hotel, 14th & Stout Condo Tower (St. Charles Town Company), Denver Athletic Club Hotel, Speer & Market Condo Tower (Geller), and North Broadway Tower all were revealed during 2005."
If you add in the Four Seasons project, that's eight towers, and only one of those eight, the 31-story One Lincoln Park at 20th and Welton, is currently under construction. However, to be fair, a couple of those projects, such as the St. Charles Town Company's condo tower, Buzz Geller's Speer & Market tower, and the Denver Athletic Club tower, were announced in 2005 as longer-term efforts that were not necessarily supposed to break ground in 2006 anyway. We also learned in 2006 that the North Broadway Tower was never really a valid project in the first place. But the failure of the Four Seasons, The Spire, and the Embassy Suites to break ground in 2006 was disappointing.
The 50-story Four Seasons/Teatro Tower was originally announced in November 2004 with a groundbreaking planned for Spring 2005... but no groundbreaking. Then the developers closed on the land, launched a website, and rescheduled the groundbreaking for later in 2005... but no groundbreaking. Then in 2006 the developers leased space and completed construction of an expansive and well-appointed sales office and showroom... only to have it sit, unopened, to this day. Then the developers sold their historic Teatro Hotel for big bucks to a firm that specializes in developing Four Seasons projects! The roller-coaster saga of the Four Seasons/Teatro Tower project continues into 2007.
The 41-story Spire project was supposed to break ground in May 2006, then it was pushed back to August (or maybe it was September), and now it's reportedly scheduled for early 2007. Meanwhile, the historic Davis and Shaw Building was demolished in anticipation of the Spire's construction. The latest word is that the developer, the Nichols Partnership, had to shop around for a new general contractor, which set the schedule back. I am still very optomistic, however, that we will see a Spring 2007 groundbreaking for The Spire. Cross your fingers.
The Embassy Suites/Homewood Suites project is looking good for a Spring 2007 groundbreaking too. The Motor Hotel parking garage at the site is due to be demolished starting January 15 and the Embassy/Homewood project is in final development review with the city. If Hilton Hotels, which owns both the Embassy and Homewood brands, plans on having these properties open by late 2008 as they say, they'd better get on with it.
Of course, what's driving the delay in moving forward on many infill projects, big and small, is the cost of construction. The price of copper, concrete, steel, and other building materials skyrocketed in 2006, making it extremely difficult for developers to nail down a construction budget that works with their pro forma and allows their project to stay in line with their target market. Let's hope that in 2007 we see a stabilization of commodity prices that will allow developers to proceed with projects with some degree of certainty about the cost of construction.
In addition to all the infill developments in 2006, there were plenty of other exciting or significant events that occurred in Downtown Denver during the year. We saw the grand opening of the Libeskind-designed wing of the Denver Art Museum, the groundbreaking for the new Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, and the selection of an architect for the Clyfford Still Museum. Construction got underway on the first phase of the new Denver Justice Center and we had the grand opening of the Highland Bridge over I-25 to connect the historic Highland district with Downtown. The competing development plans for Union Station were presented and the winning plan by Continuum/East West Partners was selected. We also saw Civic Center Park in the news a lot in 2006, with the unveiling of a controversial makeover plan designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. Historic preservation was also a hot topic in 2006, with the debate focused not only on Civic Center Park, but also on the pending approval of Mr. Geller's 30-story modern condo tower on the edge of the low-rise historic Lower Downtown district (more on that in a future blog), and the possible destruction of the historic "Duffy's" building to make way for, of all things, a parking garage. The Downtown Area Plan project also made good progress during the year, with its completion and approval expected for later in 2007.
Finally, 2006 was a good year for DenverInfill. In June, I went on a little rant in my blog about the blighted Fontius Building at 16th and Welton, which subsequently got picked up by the mainstream press. It was gratifying to learn that so many of you are as fed up as I am with how long that building has been allowed to remain vacant and in disrepair in the heart of our Downtown. But that media exposure has since resulted in yours truly/DenverInfill getting quoted in the papers on a regular basis. In fact, since June 2006, DenverInfill has been mentioned in the Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, ColoradoBiz Magazine, the Colorado Real Estate Journal, Westword, and the Urban Land Institute's national Urban Land publication. In August 2006, I switched the blog over to the current Blogger format, which has certainly improved the look and user-friendliness of the blog. Then, in December 2006, DenverInfill received a great honor by being selected as one of the recipients of this year's Mayor's Design Awards.
Site traffic at DenverInfill also continued to grow steadily in 2006. I began the year averaging about 6,000 visits a month, and now I'm averaging about 25,000 visits a month. In October, several national websites picked up my blog entry of September 1 on "Guide to Suburban Denver Subdivision Names," which then got reposted on dozens of other websites, and resulted in over 10,000 visits to DenverInfill in just three days. Thank you to all of you who visit DenverInfill on a regular basis and have helped make it such a popular website, and to the many of you who send me emails with your comments and suggestions. I greatly appreciate your interest, feedback, and participation!
It's tough keeping up with all the infill projects around Downtown, so I also appreciate many of you (including a number of developers) who send me information on new projects and construction photos! Because there are so many infill projects to track, and with limited time outside of my job at Matrix Design Group and my other commitments to devote to DenverInfill, it is difficult to keep the main project sections of this website updated in a timely manner. To help with that, my good friend Rob is now helping me out by taking over many of the computer/design aspects of the website, as well as helping me track projects, take site photos, etc. Thank you Rob for your efforts!
So, here's to a successful 2007 to all of you, and to a very productive year in our mission to restore central Denver's built environment through the eradication of surface parking lots and the construction of high-density urban development of quality design!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
City House Design Update
In my blog entry of September 10, I reported on the next tower project proposed by East West Partners, known as City House, in Downtown Denver's booming Central Platte Valley. The 23-story City House project is planned for the Union Station side of the railroad tracks across from the Manhattan, along Chestnut between 18th and 19th. Since then, the design has evolved and, according to the Riverfront Park website, is much closer to becoming a reality. Construction could begin as soon as Summer 2007. Here's a rendering of the latest City House design, courtesy of East West Partners:
Parking Garage Demolition Set for January 15
Back in my December 3 blog, I mentioned that a banner for a demolition company had appeared on the side of the old Motor Hotel parking garage at 14th and Stout... the site of the proposed Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites towers. I've just received word that demolition of the structure will begin on Monday, January 15, 2007.
For a look back at the garage in its heyday, here's a 1930 image, courtesy of the Denver Public Library's Western History Photography Collection:
For a look back at the garage in its heyday, here's a 1930 image, courtesy of the Denver Public Library's Western History Photography Collection:
