Downtown Denver’s 15th Street is one of the city’s most historic streets, as many of Denver’s first commercial structures were built around 15th and Larimer in the 1860s.
15th Street extends exactly 1.75 miles from W. Colfax Avenue in Civic Center to the grid-transitioning intersection at W. 29th Avenue, Boulder, and Umatilla streets in Lower Highland. Along its southern half from Colfax to Lawrence, 15th Street suffers from a severe case of parkinglotitis. But its northern half, from Lawrence to its terminus in Lower Highland, is one of the city’s best urban streets with few vacant parcels, a great mix of historic and contemporary structures, and good street vibe.
The view today down 15th Street from LoDo towards the Highlands, with Asbury Methodist Church centered above the street at the top of the hill, is one I never tire of taking in. Speaking of which, here is one of my favorite photographs from the fantastic Western History and Genealogy Department at the Denver Public Library. It’s of the same view down 15th Street, from the corner at Larimer Street looking northwest towards Highlands, in 1865. As the photograph shows, six years after the city was founded, development along 15th Street petered out around Wazee Street. Off in the distance, two shacks sit along the banks of the South Platte River. Beyond that, a whole lotta nothing.
I mention all of this because one of the few underdeveloped sites along this important stretch of 15th Street is about to get a nice big dose of urban infill. Here’s a GoogleEarth aerial where I’ve identified the site:
The L-shaped site currently includes a small one-story brick building at the corner of 15th and Delgany, an even smaller cinder-block building, a large surface parking lot, and a run-down brick building fronting Wewatta Street mid-block. The rest of the block contains the historic Wewatta Transfer and Daniels & Fisher Warehouse buildings and the 13-story Waterside Lofts. The 15th and Delgany corner has been on the cusp of redevelopment for a decade. Back in the early 2000s, a 5-story office building, 1490 Delgany, was slated for the site, followed later in the decade by the proposed 7-story Komorebi condominiums. Now, with the recovering economy and the strength of Denver’s apartment market, it looks like 15th and Delgany will finally be getting its long-awaited urban upgrade. Here’s a street-level photo of the site, with chain-link fence already in place:
The Opus Group, along with Amstar and Urban Market Partners, is planning to break ground this summer on the Delgany Apartments, a 10-story, 284-unit residential building. Here’s a preliminary rendering from the Opus Group’s project website.
On the ground floor, the project will feature four townhomes facing Delgany, along with approximately 4,000 SF of space at the corner that may be used by the Museum of Contemporary Art|Denver (located across the street) for gallery or other museum functions. The rest of the ground floor would include the residential lobby on the Wewatta side, a bike parking facility, and vehicle parking in the interior of the block. The townhomes continue on the second floor, along with more interior vehicle parking. Floors 3 through 10 include the apartment units plus a 2-level club, pool, and fitness center. Two levels of underground parking cover the entire site.
If all goes as planned, demolition of the three small buildings on the site, along with relocation of utilities and general site prep, will occur this spring/summer. That will be followed by excavation for the underground parking during the fall and winter, with completion scheduled for early 2014.
Not only does this project finish the redevelopment and revitalization of the block bounded by 15th, Wewatta, Delgany, and Cherry Creek but, from an urban form perspective, it intensifies and completes the street wall along 15th from LoDo into the Central Platte Valley, and it signifies that Denver’s historic 15th Street will continue to thrive into its second century.
Didn’t realize it was consuming the entire L shape lot. Thanks for the coverage! More people downtown!
Where did they take the Chevy standing on it’s nose? Great location to rent an apartment.
It is a shame that they couldn’t preserve the Daniel’s Fisher Building, as it is one of the last historic buildings West of Wewatta and East of I-25. Sigh, I geuss that is what we call progress.
John, the Daniels and Fisher Building will be preserved. The three buildings that will occupy the block after this project is finished is the Waterside Lofts, the D&F Warehouse, and the Wewatta Transfer Building at 15th & Wewatta.
Thanks Ken, that is definitely great news. Man, I’m all of the sudden excited about this project!
Thanks for all the great recent updates and all the work that went in to them.
Thats really a tremendous photo of 15th Street way back when! Highlands looks super hilly.
Does anyone know what will happen to the Gonzalo Lebrija sculpture on the site? It was suggested in an iteration of Komorebi to be preserved in a courtyard. If that’s no longer possible, I hope it is set up somewhere else in the vicinity. I’d hate for Denver to lose this sculpture so soon after getting those cool David Choe murals.
it would be nice to see traffic slowed along the 15th street urban corridor. Cars routinely drive 45 mph along this stretch, making it a not so comfortable environment for peds and bikes.
Kind of along those lines what happened to the cycle-track or buffered bike lane that was supposed to be added on 15th last fall?
Aaron, it’s my understanding that the city is still committed to do the bike lanes on 15th, but they decided to make their bike lane assessment of a larger study on 15th Street. I think the plan is to put them in later this summer. I’ll see if I can get a more definitive answer.
To bad the Amstra building is so uninspired …looks like a a Hampton Inn. The area was just starting to take shape with a funky vibe and in comes the big box. Blah!