Wednesday, April 30, 2008
One Lincoln Park Milestone
One Lincoln Park, the 32-story condominium building being developed by Osborn Development at 20th and Welton, is topped off and the tower crane is starting to come down. It was October 2006 when the tower crane for One Lincoln Park was installed:
To celebrate the tower's progress, here's an awesome photo, courtesy of Vicki from the Uptown district, of One Lincoln Park and our nicely densifying Downtown area:
To celebrate the tower's progress, here's an awesome photo, courtesy of Vicki from the Uptown district, of One Lincoln Park and our nicely densifying Downtown area:
Monday, April 28, 2008
1515 Wynkoop Update
Hines' 1515 Wynkoop office project on Block 013 in Lower Downtown Denver is going vertical! After about a year of digging a big hole and filling it up with four levels of underground parking, the project recently reached ground level. Then, in just a few days time, the project has already started to rise. That's the advantage of building the superstructure out of steel instead of reinforced concrete--construction goes a lot faster. Anyway, here's a photo from this morning of the 1515 Wynkoop site:
Friday, April 25, 2008
New Prospect Project in the Works?
A rezoning application was recently filed for the Mail Well Envelope property at 3500 Rockmont Drive in Downtown Denver's Prospect district. The property is located immediately north of City of Cuernavaca Park along I-25.
According to DenverGov.org, Alliance Realty Partners is seeking to rezone the industrial site to RMU-30, which allows for residential mixed-use development with maximum building heights of 140 feet. The Denver Planning Board approved the application on April 16 and, on April 23, City Council's Blueprint Denver Committee agreed to forward the rezoning to the full Council. A specific date for the public hearing and final consideration by Council has not yet been scheduled.
Denver-Cityscape reports that the proposed project will include 700 to 800 residential units, 90,000 SF of office space, 30,000 SF of retail, and 180,000 SF of hotel uses.
City of Cuernavaca Park is a great Downtown amenity, but its somewhat-isolated location makes it an underutilized asset. Residential development along the north edge of the park is a great idea and will bring added vitality to the area. The site's biggest challenge is access. Right now, Rockmont Drive (Platte Street past 19th Street) provides the only vehicular access to the site, and I-25, the Platte River, and a tangle of rail lines separates the Mail Well site from the rest of the Prospect district and adjacent districts. I think a new street connection east over to Park Avenue West and perhaps a pedestrian bridge or two will be in order. One other nice apsect about this site: it lies only 0.4 miles south of the 38th & Inca transit station on the proposed Gold Line and about 0.7 miles from Union Station.
According to DenverGov.org, Alliance Realty Partners is seeking to rezone the industrial site to RMU-30, which allows for residential mixed-use development with maximum building heights of 140 feet. The Denver Planning Board approved the application on April 16 and, on April 23, City Council's Blueprint Denver Committee agreed to forward the rezoning to the full Council. A specific date for the public hearing and final consideration by Council has not yet been scheduled.
Denver-Cityscape reports that the proposed project will include 700 to 800 residential units, 90,000 SF of office space, 30,000 SF of retail, and 180,000 SF of hotel uses.
City of Cuernavaca Park is a great Downtown amenity, but its somewhat-isolated location makes it an underutilized asset. Residential development along the north edge of the park is a great idea and will bring added vitality to the area. The site's biggest challenge is access. Right now, Rockmont Drive (Platte Street past 19th Street) provides the only vehicular access to the site, and I-25, the Platte River, and a tangle of rail lines separates the Mail Well site from the rest of the Prospect district and adjacent districts. I think a new street connection east over to Park Avenue West and perhaps a pedestrian bridge or two will be in order. One other nice apsect about this site: it lies only 0.4 miles south of the 38th & Inca transit station on the proposed Gold Line and about 0.7 miles from Union Station.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Two Tabor Applies for Building Permit
On April 21, Callahan Capital Partners, the new owner of Downtown Denver's Tabor Center, submitted a building permit application to the city for Two Tabor!
The second office tower at the Tabor Center complex, planned for the corner of 17th and Larimer on Block 068, was originally scheduled to be built following the completion of the first Tabor tower. Construction did begin on the second tower in the mid-1980s but then the oil bust put the project on ice. The developers back then got the elevator core for Two Tabor installed before they stopped construction in 1986. The core was capped with the gold-colored metal panels that still remain at 17th and Larimer, just north of the Tabor Center's plaza along 17th Street. Not having to dig a big hole and spend a year putting in underground parking should be a big time and cost savings for Callahan--just peel off those metal panels and start going vertical! Here's an aerial shot that shows One Tabor in the lower left and the covered elevator core for Two Tabor in the upper right:
The design of Two Tabor has also changed since the 1980s. The original design for the second Tabor tower was to be a duplicate of the first, just a bit taller. Here's a rendering, courtesy of denverskyscrapers.com:
Callahan has a new design for Two Tabor. Designed by the internationally prominent architectural firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox, Two Tabor will rise 43 stories, contain approximately 840,000 SF of rentable space, and be LEED Gold certified. Here is what Two Tabor will look like now:
Based on those renderings, I'm guessing Two Tabor will be about 630 feet tall. The Four Seasons tower currently under construction on Block 074 will be 640 feet tall to the top of its spire, so it may be a battle between Two Tabor and the Four Seasons for the new fourth-tallest tower in Downtown.
Two Tabor should start construction this summer and is scheduled to be completed first quarter 2011.
The second office tower at the Tabor Center complex, planned for the corner of 17th and Larimer on Block 068, was originally scheduled to be built following the completion of the first Tabor tower. Construction did begin on the second tower in the mid-1980s but then the oil bust put the project on ice. The developers back then got the elevator core for Two Tabor installed before they stopped construction in 1986. The core was capped with the gold-colored metal panels that still remain at 17th and Larimer, just north of the Tabor Center's plaza along 17th Street. Not having to dig a big hole and spend a year putting in underground parking should be a big time and cost savings for Callahan--just peel off those metal panels and start going vertical! Here's an aerial shot that shows One Tabor in the lower left and the covered elevator core for Two Tabor in the upper right:
The design of Two Tabor has also changed since the 1980s. The original design for the second Tabor tower was to be a duplicate of the first, just a bit taller. Here's a rendering, courtesy of denverskyscrapers.com:
Callahan has a new design for Two Tabor. Designed by the internationally prominent architectural firm of Kohn Pedersen Fox, Two Tabor will rise 43 stories, contain approximately 840,000 SF of rentable space, and be LEED Gold certified. Here is what Two Tabor will look like now:
Based on those renderings, I'm guessing Two Tabor will be about 630 feet tall. The Four Seasons tower currently under construction on Block 074 will be 640 feet tall to the top of its spire, so it may be a battle between Two Tabor and the Four Seasons for the new fourth-tallest tower in Downtown.
Two Tabor should start construction this summer and is scheduled to be completed first quarter 2011.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
More About 999 17th Street
Here's a follow-up blog with additional details about Shea Properties' big plans for Block 109. Please keep in mind that all of this information is preliminary and that the building's program and design are still being finalized.
The project's mixed-use development program is best explained by this massing diagram:
Underground, are two basement levels containing approximately 80 parking spaces plus various mechanical and other building functions. The ground floor includes a mix of retail and office/hotel/residential lobby uses. Levels 2 - 7 (gray) are above-grade parking totaling approximately 620 spaces. On the 17th Street side, the next two levels (yellow) represent a 2-floor fitness center and, above that, are 15 floors (green) of offices totalling over 300,000 SF of space.
On the 18th Street side, above the parking are 11 floors (gold) that feature approximately 220 hotel rooms. Above the hotel uses are 13 floors (red) of residential condominium units, topped off by a mechanical penthouse.
In total, the 17th Street tower will be 24 floors plus the crown, and the 18th Street tower will be 31 floors. Both towers top off at approximately 390 feet. Again, these numbers are preliminary and subject to change.
The project architect is Davis Partnership Architects.
That's about it for now. More information about 999 17th Street will be posted when available!
The project's mixed-use development program is best explained by this massing diagram:
Underground, are two basement levels containing approximately 80 parking spaces plus various mechanical and other building functions. The ground floor includes a mix of retail and office/hotel/residential lobby uses. Levels 2 - 7 (gray) are above-grade parking totaling approximately 620 spaces. On the 17th Street side, the next two levels (yellow) represent a 2-floor fitness center and, above that, are 15 floors (green) of offices totalling over 300,000 SF of space.
On the 18th Street side, above the parking are 11 floors (gold) that feature approximately 220 hotel rooms. Above the hotel uses are 13 floors (red) of residential condominium units, topped off by a mechanical penthouse.
In total, the 17th Street tower will be 24 floors plus the crown, and the 18th Street tower will be 31 floors. Both towers top off at approximately 390 feet. Again, these numbers are preliminary and subject to change.
The project architect is Davis Partnership Architects.
That's about it for now. More information about 999 17th Street will be posted when available!
Friday, April 18, 2008
New Downtown Denver Project at 17th & Curtis
Yesterday at the Downtown Denver Partnership's annual Development Forum, it was made public that Shea Properties has plans for a major infill project on the entire undeveloped half of Downtown's Block 109. The project, known as 999 17th Street, would include a 350,000 SF office tower at the corner of 17th and Curtis and a tower of similar size at 18th and Curtis with possibly hotel and residential uses.
I've known about this project for many months but, since confidentiality was requested, I haven't blogged about it--which was tough to do since it's such an exciting development! I haven't yet obtained permission to post the project renderings.
An entire half block of surface parking in the core Downtown along 17th Street--our "Wall Street of the Rockies"--could go away and be replaced with a vibrant mixed-use high-rise complex. Sweet!
BLOG UPDATE!!
I've known about this project for many months but, since confidentiality was requested, I haven't blogged about it--which was tough to do since it's such an exciting development! I haven't yet obtained permission to post the project renderings.
An entire half block of surface parking in the core Downtown along 17th Street--our "Wall Street of the Rockies"--could go away and be replaced with a vibrant mixed-use high-rise complex. Sweet!
BLOG UPDATE!!
I was waiting to get permission to post the renderings, but I've just now gotten the go-ahead, so here they are:
View of 17th & Curtis:
View of 18th & Curtis:
Images are courtesy of Shea Properties. I have a lot more information to share about this project that I'll post later today. But for now, enjoy the renderings!
View of 17th & Curtis:
View of 18th & Curtis:
Images are courtesy of Shea Properties. I have a lot more information to share about this project that I'll post later today. But for now, enjoy the renderings!
Monday, April 14, 2008
La Alma/Lincoln Park Project: Osage Apartments
Back in 2002, the site at the corner of Colfax and Osage in Downtown Denver's La Alma/Lincoln Park district was rezoned to allow for a multi-family residential project to be called the Wellington Apartments. Since then, however, nothing has happened...until now.
An active development case is currently under review with the city for the Osage Apartments project at the same site. The project, proposed to include 288 rental units in a four story building, is being developed by Carmel Partners. Construction may be underway by late summer.
Good to see this project finally moving forward. The site's proximity to the Colfax at Auraria light rail station makes it a particularly good development site. I'll try to round up a rendering.
An active development case is currently under review with the city for the Osage Apartments project at the same site. The project, proposed to include 288 rental units in a four story building, is being developed by Carmel Partners. Construction may be underway by late summer.
Good to see this project finally moving forward. The site's proximity to the Colfax at Auraria light rail station makes it a particularly good development site. I'll try to round up a rendering.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Shortest Path
Please put sidewalks where people want to walk!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
New Ballpark Project: LIFT Rowhomes
A new infill project is coming to Blake Street: LIFT Rowhomes. LIFT is located on the south corner of 32nd and Blake in the popular Ballpark district, where a great mix of industrial-conversion lofts and new-construction flats and rowhomes are transforming the area into one of Downtown's best urban districts.
The project will feature 14 live/work units priced from $390k to $650k. Units range from 1,200 to 2,000 SF and will feature first-floor offices, private garages, rooftop decks and even private dumbwaiters. Here are a couple of renderings (sharp design!):
LIFT is being developed by Village Flats, in close partnership with DSB+ Architecture, Apex Structural, and R & R Engineers Surveyors. LIFT is launching VIP pre-sales (sign up at www.liftrowhomes.com) with early buyers enabling the project to break ground this summer and reaching completion Summer 2009.
The project will feature 14 live/work units priced from $390k to $650k. Units range from 1,200 to 2,000 SF and will feature first-floor offices, private garages, rooftop decks and even private dumbwaiters. Here are a couple of renderings (sharp design!):
LIFT is being developed by Village Flats, in close partnership with DSB+ Architecture, Apex Structural, and R & R Engineers Surveyors. LIFT is launching VIP pre-sales (sign up at www.liftrowhomes.com) with early buyers enabling the project to break ground this summer and reaching completion Summer 2009.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Doors Open Denver - April 12 & 13!
Hey Denver, it's our 150th birthday this year and what better way to celebrate than to explore some of our city's most interesting buildings and sites? Yes, it's time again for Doors Open Denver!
If you haven't participated in Doors Open Denver before, you need to this year. About 80 buildings and sites concentrated mostly in the Downtown area, representing the full spectrum of Denver's architectural styles and eras, will be open to the public this weekend, April 12 and 13, for self-guided tours, expert tours, and other fun events and activities. For a map of building locations plus just about everything else you could possibly want to know about Doors Open Denver (including a list of all the participating buildings by decade of construction), please visit the Doors Open Denver website at: www.denvergov.org/doorsopendenver. You can also stop by Union Station, Doors Open Denver headquarters, anytime after 8:30 AM both days for maps and other program information.
Whether you've got kids or not, you'll also want to check out Box City. I had a blast last year as a Box City volunteer and highly recommend stopping by the atrium of the Wellington Webb office building on Saturday to see future architects, developers and city planners at work.
Not only is Doors Open Denver a great way to explore Downtown Denver and to visit dozens of our city's coolest buildings, but you'll also get to see all those infill construction sites too!
If you haven't participated in Doors Open Denver before, you need to this year. About 80 buildings and sites concentrated mostly in the Downtown area, representing the full spectrum of Denver's architectural styles and eras, will be open to the public this weekend, April 12 and 13, for self-guided tours, expert tours, and other fun events and activities. For a map of building locations plus just about everything else you could possibly want to know about Doors Open Denver (including a list of all the participating buildings by decade of construction), please visit the Doors Open Denver website at: www.denvergov.org/doorsopendenver. You can also stop by Union Station, Doors Open Denver headquarters, anytime after 8:30 AM both days for maps and other program information.
Whether you've got kids or not, you'll also want to check out Box City. I had a blast last year as a Box City volunteer and highly recommend stopping by the atrium of the Wellington Webb office building on Saturday to see future architects, developers and city planners at work.
Not only is Doors Open Denver a great way to explore Downtown Denver and to visit dozens of our city's coolest buildings, but you'll also get to see all those infill construction sites too!
Friday, April 04, 2008
16th Street Mall Plan
The Downtown Denver Partnership, the City & County of Denver, and RTD are kicking off a 2-year planning study of Downtown's 16th Street Mall. The Mall is 25 years old and the time has come to reevaluate the Mall's design, land uses, transit operations, etc.
To get things started, this coming Tuesday, April 8, the project team will be holding a public meeting to solicit your ideas about the Mall and its future. For all the details about this upcoming public meeting, please visit the 16th Street Mall Project Page on the Downtown Denver Partnership's website. I hope you will take time to come to this and future meetings on this critical issue to Downtown.
Since we're on this topic, I've received permission to share with you the following article about the 16th Street Mall that was published in the current Spring 2008 issue of Historic Denver News. This well-written piece by Erika Warzel, Preservation Coordinator for Historic Denver, Inc., offers an overview of the Mall's development and design. Enjoy.
==============
Denver Urban Living: the 16th Street Mall
By Erika Warzel, Preservation Coordinator for Historic Denver, Inc.
This article appears in the Spring 2008 issue of Historic Denver News
[Our featured article focuses on the history and design of the 16th Street Mall in Denver, which turned 25 in October 2007. Though a successful and vital component to Denver’s downtown, the Mall is now facing proposed changes that could alter its design, such as the replacement of its granite paving with concrete, and the removal of its pedestrian median. Historic Denver plans to work with RTD, the City of Denver, and the Downtown Denver Partnership to reach solutions that meet preservation and maintenance goals.]
For just over 25 years, the 16th Street Mall has served as the retail spine of downtown Denver. Yet the Mall is more than a series of shops and restaurants; it is a thoughtfully designed city landscape that has shaped Denver’s current definition of “urban.” Beyond its architectural qualities, the Mall’s genesis is truly a reflection of how Denver has developed into the city it is today. The issues that came to bear during its creation remain familiar to us Denverites nearly 30 years later.
The city’s first central business district was along Larimer Street near Cherry Creek (what we now know as Larimer Square, the city’s first historic district). When Denver’s first cross-town streetcar lines were installed along 16th Street in the 1870s, retailers followed to serve the city’s growing commuter class. Concurrently, 17th Street was developing due to its proximity to Union Station in Lower Downtown. The two parallel streets became the city’s central business axis, running from Union Station to the State Capitol and thereby influencing the development of the remainder of the downtown area.
By the 1960s, and into the 1970s, the familiar story of urban decline in American cities materialized in Denver. Airplanes and automobiles eclipsed railroad transportation, thereby weakening the pull of Union Station on downtown business. Population shifts to the suburbs undermined the downtown retail base as suburban developers began to add shopping centers in their communities. With the metropolitan area rapidly expanding, Denver’s several public and privately owned transit systems strained to serve the growing population. Air pollution escalated with the increased use of cars, and Downtown streets became severely congested.
The rumblings of a mall on 16th Street began as early as 1959, but the idea was not seriously considered until 1971 with a study jointly undertaken by the City and Downtown Denver, Inc. The Mall concept was seen as a means to enhance urban redevelopment, help Downtown retailers compete with the suburban centers and reduce pollution and congestion.
While early attempts to create a smaller version of the Mall were unsuccessful, the project found its start with a federal grant for design and engineering fees from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration or “UMTA” in February 1978. Funding for the construction of the Mall was granted in April 1979.
Federal funding hinged on the successful integration of pedestrian/transit interests in the Mall’s design, in combination with local interests to revitalize Downtown. An Architectural Task Force was assembled from RTD’s Board, who solicited and weighed proposals from architectural firms. Of the six finalists, I.M. Pei & Partners of New York was selected due to the firm’s commitment to “preserve that peculiar essence we call Denver, [to] enhance the historical and physical orientation toward the mountains as well as our capitol and government center, and [to] help us strive to fulfill the great potential of our urban core area.”
As with any project, the architectural design of the Mall evolved over time as Pei and his design team, headed by partner Henry N. Cobb, the designer of the famous John Hancock tower in Boston, consulted with the various groups and interests involved: RTD, the City, Downtown Denver, Inc., UMTA, and various citizen groups such as the business, environmental, and disabled communities. The end result sought to transform the street into an attractive pedestrian experience that allowed for the convenient passage and use of the free shuttle fleet, which connected with the majority of RTD’s bus lines at the transfer stations at either end of the Mall.
The main feature of the 16th Street Mall project was of course the pedestrian area between Broadway and Market Street. While 16th Street was to be closed to all vehicular traffic except the shuttles, the cross streets were to remain open. The Mall’s design called for a symmetrical central portion that ran from Arapahoe Street to Tremont Place, with a 22-foot pedestrian zone located in the middle of the street and 10-foot shuttle paths on either side. The sidewalks were also to be widened to 19 feet on both sides of the street. Double rows of alternating honey locust trees and specially designed post lanterns in the pedestrian median would provide shade and appropriate lighting while allowing for visibility of the buildings (and business tenants) running the length of the street. Asymmetrical sections at both ends of the Mall, with widened East sidewalks of 35 feet in width and a reduced pedestrian median of six feet in width, allowed for greater pedestrian flow near the RTD transfer facilities. Red oaks were to be planted in a staggered pattern within the wider 35-foot sidewalks at both ends of the Mall, while the post lanterns would remain in the pedestrian aisle between the shuttle paths. This asymmetrical arrangement helped to preserve the sight lines of the State Capitol building and the D&F Tower at Arapahoe Street.
Other important architectural features of the Mall included the granite paving and the post lanterns. Over 283,000 square feet of granite pavers were installed on the Mall in three different colors: red, quarried in Colorado; light grey, from Massachusetts; and dark grey, from Minnesota. These colors were arranged to create various medallion patterns that helped distinguish the shuttle paths, pedestrian median, and sidewalks from one another, and gave the overall effect of the patterned skin of a Western Diamondback rattlesnake. Granite was chosen based on the recommendations of I.M. Pei & Partners because of its durability, beauty, low maintenance costs, climate appropriateness, and non-slip qualities (unfortunately, a design flaw and faulty installation of the paving has led to performance problems that require continual and costly maintenance). The post lanterns, designed to provide security, beauty, and visibility, gradually turn on as the daylight fades, transitioning from day to night seamlessly and casting light on the buildings and businesses lining the Mall.
Two years after construction began, the Mall opened on October 4, 1982 with a celebration that attracted over 200,000 people. Subsequently, the Mall was extended into Lower Downtown in 1992 with design features that respect the historic character of that district. The 16th Street Mall has been honored with several awards recognizing its excellence in urban design, and in 2006 the American Institute of Architects Denver chapter presented the Mall with the AIA Denver 25-Year Award, which recognizes a project completed 25-35 years ago that has withstood the test of time and still functions in its original capacity. Today, the Mall is rated as the top visitor attraction in the metropolitan area and its free shuttles serve an average of 55,000 commuters and tourists per day. It is a true reflection of Denver’s definition of “urban” today: outdoor oriented, pedestrian friendly, and mass-transit minded.
To get things started, this coming Tuesday, April 8, the project team will be holding a public meeting to solicit your ideas about the Mall and its future. For all the details about this upcoming public meeting, please visit the 16th Street Mall Project Page on the Downtown Denver Partnership's website. I hope you will take time to come to this and future meetings on this critical issue to Downtown.
Since we're on this topic, I've received permission to share with you the following article about the 16th Street Mall that was published in the current Spring 2008 issue of Historic Denver News. This well-written piece by Erika Warzel, Preservation Coordinator for Historic Denver, Inc., offers an overview of the Mall's development and design. Enjoy.
==============
Denver Urban Living: the 16th Street Mall
By Erika Warzel, Preservation Coordinator for Historic Denver, Inc.
This article appears in the Spring 2008 issue of Historic Denver News
[Our featured article focuses on the history and design of the 16th Street Mall in Denver, which turned 25 in October 2007. Though a successful and vital component to Denver’s downtown, the Mall is now facing proposed changes that could alter its design, such as the replacement of its granite paving with concrete, and the removal of its pedestrian median. Historic Denver plans to work with RTD, the City of Denver, and the Downtown Denver Partnership to reach solutions that meet preservation and maintenance goals.]
For just over 25 years, the 16th Street Mall has served as the retail spine of downtown Denver. Yet the Mall is more than a series of shops and restaurants; it is a thoughtfully designed city landscape that has shaped Denver’s current definition of “urban.” Beyond its architectural qualities, the Mall’s genesis is truly a reflection of how Denver has developed into the city it is today. The issues that came to bear during its creation remain familiar to us Denverites nearly 30 years later.
The city’s first central business district was along Larimer Street near Cherry Creek (what we now know as Larimer Square, the city’s first historic district). When Denver’s first cross-town streetcar lines were installed along 16th Street in the 1870s, retailers followed to serve the city’s growing commuter class. Concurrently, 17th Street was developing due to its proximity to Union Station in Lower Downtown. The two parallel streets became the city’s central business axis, running from Union Station to the State Capitol and thereby influencing the development of the remainder of the downtown area.
By the 1960s, and into the 1970s, the familiar story of urban decline in American cities materialized in Denver. Airplanes and automobiles eclipsed railroad transportation, thereby weakening the pull of Union Station on downtown business. Population shifts to the suburbs undermined the downtown retail base as suburban developers began to add shopping centers in their communities. With the metropolitan area rapidly expanding, Denver’s several public and privately owned transit systems strained to serve the growing population. Air pollution escalated with the increased use of cars, and Downtown streets became severely congested.
The rumblings of a mall on 16th Street began as early as 1959, but the idea was not seriously considered until 1971 with a study jointly undertaken by the City and Downtown Denver, Inc. The Mall concept was seen as a means to enhance urban redevelopment, help Downtown retailers compete with the suburban centers and reduce pollution and congestion.
While early attempts to create a smaller version of the Mall were unsuccessful, the project found its start with a federal grant for design and engineering fees from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration or “UMTA” in February 1978. Funding for the construction of the Mall was granted in April 1979.
Federal funding hinged on the successful integration of pedestrian/transit interests in the Mall’s design, in combination with local interests to revitalize Downtown. An Architectural Task Force was assembled from RTD’s Board, who solicited and weighed proposals from architectural firms. Of the six finalists, I.M. Pei & Partners of New York was selected due to the firm’s commitment to “preserve that peculiar essence we call Denver, [to] enhance the historical and physical orientation toward the mountains as well as our capitol and government center, and [to] help us strive to fulfill the great potential of our urban core area.”
As with any project, the architectural design of the Mall evolved over time as Pei and his design team, headed by partner Henry N. Cobb, the designer of the famous John Hancock tower in Boston, consulted with the various groups and interests involved: RTD, the City, Downtown Denver, Inc., UMTA, and various citizen groups such as the business, environmental, and disabled communities. The end result sought to transform the street into an attractive pedestrian experience that allowed for the convenient passage and use of the free shuttle fleet, which connected with the majority of RTD’s bus lines at the transfer stations at either end of the Mall.
The main feature of the 16th Street Mall project was of course the pedestrian area between Broadway and Market Street. While 16th Street was to be closed to all vehicular traffic except the shuttles, the cross streets were to remain open. The Mall’s design called for a symmetrical central portion that ran from Arapahoe Street to Tremont Place, with a 22-foot pedestrian zone located in the middle of the street and 10-foot shuttle paths on either side. The sidewalks were also to be widened to 19 feet on both sides of the street. Double rows of alternating honey locust trees and specially designed post lanterns in the pedestrian median would provide shade and appropriate lighting while allowing for visibility of the buildings (and business tenants) running the length of the street. Asymmetrical sections at both ends of the Mall, with widened East sidewalks of 35 feet in width and a reduced pedestrian median of six feet in width, allowed for greater pedestrian flow near the RTD transfer facilities. Red oaks were to be planted in a staggered pattern within the wider 35-foot sidewalks at both ends of the Mall, while the post lanterns would remain in the pedestrian aisle between the shuttle paths. This asymmetrical arrangement helped to preserve the sight lines of the State Capitol building and the D&F Tower at Arapahoe Street.
Other important architectural features of the Mall included the granite paving and the post lanterns. Over 283,000 square feet of granite pavers were installed on the Mall in three different colors: red, quarried in Colorado; light grey, from Massachusetts; and dark grey, from Minnesota. These colors were arranged to create various medallion patterns that helped distinguish the shuttle paths, pedestrian median, and sidewalks from one another, and gave the overall effect of the patterned skin of a Western Diamondback rattlesnake. Granite was chosen based on the recommendations of I.M. Pei & Partners because of its durability, beauty, low maintenance costs, climate appropriateness, and non-slip qualities (unfortunately, a design flaw and faulty installation of the paving has led to performance problems that require continual and costly maintenance). The post lanterns, designed to provide security, beauty, and visibility, gradually turn on as the daylight fades, transitioning from day to night seamlessly and casting light on the buildings and businesses lining the Mall.
Two years after construction began, the Mall opened on October 4, 1982 with a celebration that attracted over 200,000 people. Subsequently, the Mall was extended into Lower Downtown in 1992 with design features that respect the historic character of that district. The 16th Street Mall has been honored with several awards recognizing its excellence in urban design, and in 2006 the American Institute of Architects Denver chapter presented the Mall with the AIA Denver 25-Year Award, which recognizes a project completed 25-35 years ago that has withstood the test of time and still functions in its original capacity. Today, the Mall is rated as the top visitor attraction in the metropolitan area and its free shuttles serve an average of 55,000 commuters and tourists per day. It is a true reflection of Denver’s definition of “urban” today: outdoor oriented, pedestrian friendly, and mass-transit minded.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
City Park View Plane: Too Close to Downtown
With all the discussion about the City Park View Plane and its impact on development in Upper Downtown, I thought I would elaborate my position on this further.
I am not opposed to the City Park View Plane. I am not opposed to the height restrictions it imposes. What I am opposed to is the view plane's western boundary. Here is a map (courtesy of DenverGov.org) of the City Park View Plane:
The view plane extends all the way to the alley between Lincoln and Sherman, yet the view plane is intended to protect the view of the mountains and the skyline from City Park. If that is the case, then I argue that Sherman Street is way too close to the skyline to be the western edge of the view plane. In fact, Lincoln and Sherman streets are located within the skyline! With our most iconic tower, the Wells Fargo (Cash Register) building located between those two streets, how could anyone argue otherwise?
Here's a graphic I put together to show the view plane's western boundary from a different perspective:
A more reasonable western boundary to the view plane would be Pennsylvania Street, or perhaps Washington Street. That would allow high-rise development to occur along Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, and Logan, which is appropriate given the location and existing conditions, with the view plane then taking effect to allow the skyline to taper down as it heads east into the Uptown district.
The point of the City Park View Plane is to prevent a building from blocking the view of the Downtown skyline with the mountain backdrop, as viewed from the Museum of Nature and Science. Certainly, a tall building built along, say, York Street would block that view and should be prohibited for that reason. But how close to Downtown do you get before a building no longer blocks the view of the skyline, but becomes part of it? Sherman Street is definitely too close; plus, given all the nasty surface parking lots in that area, the last thing we need to do is to discourage development.
I urge the City planning office, Planning Board, and City Council to consider shifting the City Park View Plane's western boundary to the east by at least two or three blocks.
I am not opposed to the City Park View Plane. I am not opposed to the height restrictions it imposes. What I am opposed to is the view plane's western boundary. Here is a map (courtesy of DenverGov.org) of the City Park View Plane:
The view plane extends all the way to the alley between Lincoln and Sherman, yet the view plane is intended to protect the view of the mountains and the skyline from City Park. If that is the case, then I argue that Sherman Street is way too close to the skyline to be the western edge of the view plane. In fact, Lincoln and Sherman streets are located within the skyline! With our most iconic tower, the Wells Fargo (Cash Register) building located between those two streets, how could anyone argue otherwise?
Here's a graphic I put together to show the view plane's western boundary from a different perspective:
A more reasonable western boundary to the view plane would be Pennsylvania Street, or perhaps Washington Street. That would allow high-rise development to occur along Lincoln, Sherman, Grant, and Logan, which is appropriate given the location and existing conditions, with the view plane then taking effect to allow the skyline to taper down as it heads east into the Uptown district.
The point of the City Park View Plane is to prevent a building from blocking the view of the Downtown skyline with the mountain backdrop, as viewed from the Museum of Nature and Science. Certainly, a tall building built along, say, York Street would block that view and should be prohibited for that reason. But how close to Downtown do you get before a building no longer blocks the view of the skyline, but becomes part of it? Sherman Street is definitely too close; plus, given all the nasty surface parking lots in that area, the last thing we need to do is to discourage development.
I urge the City planning office, Planning Board, and City Council to consider shifting the City Park View Plane's western boundary to the east by at least two or three blocks.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
18th & Sherman Project Denied View Plane Variance
In the latest issue of Life on Capitol Hill, Vanessa Martin reports that the condo project planned for the corner of E. 18th Avenue and Sherman Street was denied a variance from the City Park View Plane by the Denver Planning Board. Back on March 10, I opined about this proposed project and the requested view plane variance.
According to the developers, as a consequence of the denial, the site will not be developed and will remain a surface parking lot. For all the details, here's the full article by Vanessa: 18th & Sherman Project Denied View Plane Variance.
According to the developers, as a consequence of the denial, the site will not be developed and will remain a surface parking lot. For all the details, here's the full article by Vanessa: 18th & Sherman Project Denied View Plane Variance.
