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Archive of entries posted on December 2011
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Inside the Infill: Denver Police Crime Lab

Posted by  on December 17, 2011

On Thursday we had the great opportunity to check out the progress of the new Denver Police Crime lab being built along West 14th Avenue between Cherokee and Delaware. This is a 77,000 square foot development that is expected to be completed by April 2012.

Thanks to Matthew Aschermann of JE Dunn as well as Rob Deevy and Gary Cahill of Dunakilly for accompanying us on this tour.

First, we were given an overview of the technology they were using on this project. The software they use in the office is called Bluebeam. Basically, it’s an advanced PDF reader that is geared towards construction services. Since it is all PDF based, they can print off an 11×17 sheet for the field, as well as take a tablet.

 

This is a very roomy building. On the lobby level there is an atrium that rises three stories with an open staircase (left). On the right are offices on the outer edge and a meeting area in the center.

 

The crime lab will come complete with a shooting range and a gun library. This will be used for scenario replication. If there’s a specific gun that needs to be fired or a part is needed to make a gun fire, these will be the two most helpful places.

 

This will come complete with a conference room, and multiple labs. These labs will consist of DNA replication, chemical labs, forensics, evidence handling, and a lab to replicate lighting, trajectory and photos.

 

 

Now to the exterior. The actual masonry, and aluminum cladding are starting to show. (The building will not be green and red) The jagged exterior also adds something completely different to the area and is very out of the ordinary. With all the historic buildings in the area, this building will look very cutting edge and futuristic.

 

I will leave you with this bonus shot taken from a balcony on the top floor of the building. A great view of our state capitol.

This project is one of the projects funded by the $550 million Better Denver Bond project and contributes to a great urban street wall down 14th Avenue. This project is perusing LEED-Silver certification as well which is a great contribution to building a greener Denver.

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Filed under Civic Center, Government & Civic, Infill.
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Infill Project to Spruce Up Governors’ Park

Posted by  on December 14, 2011

By Derek Berardi

For those of you that haven’t had the opportunity to drive through Governors’ Park lately, you may not have noticed that a new apartment project is underway. Within the past few months, Forum Real Estate Group has moved ahead with preparations for development on a vacant site at 6th Avenue and Logan Street. After fencing was raised around the site and signage was placed to market the new venture, the first signs of progress are visible. They appear to be preparing the grounds to begin construction of The Logan, a five-story boutique apartment building.

 

As Rory Seeber pointed out in a story covering the development in Life on Capitol Hill, the $9.9 million development will include 57 units and will include an underground parking structure to accommodate 51 parking spaces. Especially exciting about this project is not only that it will infill a vacant lot, but it is also one of the first developments the neighborhood has seen in two decades.

(Rendering source: www.forumre.com)

According to the marketing website for The Logan, completion is expected by Summer 2012. For more information regarding leasing or additional information, check out www.thelogandenver.com.

For further details, see the following links:

http://www.lifeoncaphill.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2518&Itemid=6

http://www.forumre.com/properties/under-development/the-logan.html

~~~

Derek Berardi is a resident in Downtown Denver. He graduated in 2009 from the University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning/Design. Derek has worked with Calthorpe Associates in Berkeley, CA, Perkins Eastman in New York City, and has worked for several government municipalities. At DenverInfill, Derek’s writing will cover the topics of infill and adaptive reuse.

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Filed under Capitol Hill, Infill, Residential.
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Denver Union Station Update #92

Posted by  on December 2, 2011

Work on the project has concentrated on one relatively small space for the past several weeks. Gone for now are the days of having activity scattered throughout the project area: light rail tracks, new stations, new streets, new sidewalks, etc. All of those have been completed. Now the work is confined to excavating the second portion of the bus terminal and building infrastructure inside the first portion.  Below is a photo from earlier this week that I took through a window inside Union Station.

It appears that the excavation work is nearly completed. Foundations are being built for the second set of elevators, stairs, escalators, and for the train tracks that will lay on the roof of the bus station. In the center of the background of the photo just below and slightly to the left of Glass House, notice the large sheet of vertical plastic with bright lights behind. You are looking at the lights inside of the first portion of the bus terminal. The vertical steel beams in the foreground support the shoring wall that is immediately behind Union Station.

It’s difficult to get a perspective from the photo. I’ll try to help. The scale of the hole is similar the first section: the same dept (about 28 feet), the same width, but a little shorter. I’m guessing that the first section is about 75% of the total length of the bus terminal.

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Filed under Government & Civic, Infill, Transit, Union Station.
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Denver Union Station Walking Tour Schedule Update

Posted by  on December 1, 2011

Given the snowy forecast for this coming Saturday, December 3 and the upcoming busy holiday season, we are going to take a well-deserved break from our regular Denver Union Station walking tour schedule. We will not hold a tour in December. Look for an announcement of our next tour here at the DenverInfill Blog some time in mid-January. With over two years yet to go before the Union Station project is complete, there will be plenty of great walking tour opportunities coming up in 2012 and beyond.

Meanwhile, keep checking this blog for Rick’s regular Union Station updates and other goings-on in the Downtown development scene… and enjoy the holidays!

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Filed under Events & Meetings, Union Station.
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