DenverInfill Blog

Since my last update on the Cesar Chavez Federal Building, a lot of progress has been made and glimpses of the modernization are starting to come out.

I want to thank David Tryba and Mark Sheldon of Tryba Architects for taking DenverInfill on a tour of their project and providing some great information about it.

First we are going to take a look at the exterior. As far as peeling the old skin off, the north side is completely removed. Then the order will be the west, south, and finally the east side.

Here we will be looking at two elements. On the left is a mock up of what is going to be the new facade on the building. The beams you see going across the windows are not just part of the design but are actually shaped in a way to reflect the sun away from windows.  On the right you see what is soon to be the lobby, which is getting extended to the edge of the building.

There are also going to be some changes on Fox Street as well. From Speer Boulevard, it will no longer be a slight right to get on to Fox Street. There will be an actual 90 degree turn where you would have to slow down to make the turn. They are also going to narrow the street and extend the park out, taking up part of Fox Street. A bonus to the park is there will also be sculptures facing Speer Boulevard.

Here is what we have all been waiting to see; the new facade. The day we took the tour was the first day they were installing these panels on the west side.

On the other side of the street they are also constructing a new parking garage for the building. The rear is going to be left blank with no screen or facade while the south side (facing the building) and the west side will have a screen.

As soon as the north side of the building has its new facade there will be a unique shot of the old facade, on the east side, and the new (which there will be a special update for). Coming up next on our construction tour will be a very exclusive inside look at the new History Colorado Center!

The Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Building at 13th and Speer in Downtown Denver’s Golden Triangle district, owned by the GSA and home to several federal agencies, is undergoing a much-needed rehabilitation. DenverInfill recently had the chance to explore the construction site, thanks to David Tryba, Mark Sheldon, and Amy Fisk of Tryba Architects. Ryan will be posting construction photos of the project in a separate post, while here I’ll be sharing a few additional renderings and facts about the project.

In addition to the replacement of the 10-story office tower’s exterior with a new energy-efficient glass facade, the project also includes a major expansion and reconfiguration of the building’s lobby and day care center, mechanical and fire suppression systems, a new parking garage, and an expanded park/plaza along Speer Boulevard.

The original parking garage, located to the north across W. 13th Avenue from the office tower, had structural deficiencies, so a new parking structure is being built in its place. The new garage has about the same scale and capacity as the original, but includes improved vehicle circulation, safety, lighting, pedestrian access, and… a solar sculpture on the roof that will generate 5% of the site’s energy consumption. Here’s a rendering of the project, with the office building on the right and the new parking garage on the left:

Here’s a diagram showing more detail about the parking garage’s solar sculpture, which includes a 115,000 kW photo-voltaic system:

The office building’s lobby will be expanded to the west to enclose the building’s original outdoor arcade space, substantially improving the lobby’s spaciousness, circulation and aesthetics:

The building’s original front courtyard, along with the short stretch of Fox Street and the small triangle park owned by the city at the corner of Speer & 13th, will be reconfigured into a new integrated street/park/plaza that will feature a more pedestrian-friendly and realigned Fox Street, landscaping, public art, and a hardscaped plaza.