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Archive of entries posted on March 2011

Rossonian, Five Points, Set for Major Revitalization

Great things are about to happen in Denver’s historic Five Points district along Welton Street. The former Rossonian Hotel, once the center of Denver’s jazz scene in the early 1900s, has stood vacant for years at the five-point intersection of Welton, 27th Street, E. 26th Avenue, and Washington Street. That is about to change.

Many people have been working for many years to jump start the Welton Street corridor’s revitalization, and finally those efforts are paying off. Two of the leaders of the Five Points revitalization effort are Carl Bourgeois and Chris Coble, both with Civil Technology, Inc. Carl, Chris, and their team are about to transform the historic Rossonian into a mixed-use project with ground-floor restaurant and office spaces above, while preserving the building’s historic facade. You can read more about the Rossonian’s renovation and the evolution of Five Points at Chris’s blog. Here’s a photo (courtesy of Chris) of the Rossonian during the Five Points Jazz Festival.

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The Rossonian renovation project will be complete in 2012.

But that’s not all. Civil Technology, Inc. has four additional projects planned for some of the vacant parcels in the vicinity of the Rossonian. These new construction projects include:

- A boutique hotel (125 rooms) with 30-50 residential units above and ground-floor retail, scheduled for 2013 completion

- A mixed-use project including approximately 20,000 SF of retail and 80,000 SF of office space with residential apartments above, scheduled for 2014 completion

- A shared parking garage facility with ground-floor retail, scheduled for 2014 completion

- A 15-unit upscale urban brownstones project featuring 3 and 4 floor units, scheduled for 2015 completion

The Welton Street corridor is one of the city’s oldest commercial districts surrounded by some of Denver’s best Victorian-era homes. The transformation of the Rossonian and associated projects will likely be the catalyst that restores the historic vitality to this important Denver neighborhood.


Denver Union Station Update #55

Demolition has been a big part of the project recently and will continue for the next few months as the area behind Union Station is prepared for the excavation of the second half of the underground bus terminal. I took the first photo below eight days ago from 16th Street. The area covered with white plastic contained small amounts of asbestos which has been mostly contained and removed. I took the second photo four days ago from the roof that’s attached to the back of Union Station. Jerry Nery, RTD’s DUS Project Manager, Luke O’Kelley of Union Station Advocates, and I climbed out of a window in RTD’s second floor offices to that roof for a unique perspective of the project.

Almost all of the passenger platforms and canopies behind Union Station have now been demolished, and most of the debris has been hauled away. After the new light rail and mall shuttle stations open for passengers in mid-July, the old stations will be demolished. Once excavation resumes, the historic tunnel will go. I learned from Mr. Nery that there is a second tunnel that is closer to 16th Street. I am not clear if that will remain or if it is also in the path of the bus terminal.

Wondering how the new bus terminal stacks up against the Market Street Station? Here is a photo of a photo on Jerry Nery’s office wall.  It is an illustration drawn to scale of the two terminals.

In other news, backfilling and concrete work continue.  As I write this, there are eight cement trucks lined up for the most recent pour at the entrance/exit ramp of the bus terminal.

Please see our Denver Union Station page at JobSiteVistor.com for more photos.


Union Station Tour This Saturday, March 19

The weather forecast for Saturday looks great, so let’s do another Union Station tour! Right now there’s a LOT going on, as Rick has documented in his last couple of posts. Come on out and see what’s going on at the $480 million Union Station project. I will be your tour guide for a one-hour walking tour. Meet in front of the historic station at 17th & Wynkoop at about 9:50 AM. The tour will begin promptly at 10:00 AM and conclude at 11:00 AM on the Millennium Bridge. Suggested donation is $10/person and all proceeds go to the non-profit Union Station Advocates.

See you Saturday morning!


Auraria Project Update

Metropolitan State College of Denver, which recently changed its name to Denver State University, is developing two sites; The Metro State Student Success Building and the Hotel Learning Center.

The student success building is making significant progress. This is located at 9th and Auraria Parkway.

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They have begun to build the steel skeleton for the building.

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The Metro State Student Success Building is going to be a 4-story 145,000 square foot building. It is scheduled to open April 2012. Due to the recent name change of the college, the name of the building may be different upon completion.

Over at the Hotel Learning Center site, it looks like the site is being prepared for construction.

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As you can see, there is a red tower crane base at the site.

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The Hotel Learning Center will have 150 rooms and over 21,000 square feet of classroom space. It is expected to open September 2012.