Back in March, we announced a new project bringing 372-units to the Uptown neighborhood. As of October 31st, a fence has been put up around the parking lot and workers have started to rip up the asphalt.
As I was shooting some snowy aerial video footage at Benedict Fountain Park today, I stumbled across a frame that perfectly highlights the project site. You can clearly see how large of an impact this project is going to have in the neighborhood as it’s taking up the entire half block. The project site is the leftmost parking lot in the photo.
Being kitty corner to One City Block, this part of Uptown is turning into a great, tight-knit urban community!
Will there be any ground-floor retail?
Maybe it’s just the snow, but man does that photo make Uptown look painfully empty. Glad to see progress.
I think it’s the snow, but you’re right, it does look empty.
In particular, I’d love to see the blocks between Glenarm and Welton NE of 20th (the lots on the right side of the pic) get filled in–lots of parking currently, and that would really help connect the redevelopment happening up at five points with downtown.
The snow is part of it but it also looks empty because the park takes up the bottom part of the frame. Hopefully that part will stay empty!
I also see some snowy-neckdowns aka sneckdowns.
I just look at that picture and think about all the possible combinations of new development on all the empty and underdeveloped parcels.
Man, all those sleazy towing companies up near Globeville must be worried sick about their businesses. Keep digging up those lots baby!
This is a great project. I hope it has retail/restaurants facing the park. This is as close to a public square Denver has currently. Also, I would love to see the old car wash property on 17th Ave redeveloped. Some developer has to have plans for such a terrific site. I wonder if the owner wants an extremely exorbitant price or something.
You don’t think the plazas on the LoDo side of Union Station are public squares? Just curious.
I think Union Square has excellent plazas, but Denver doesn’t have any squares (usually surrounded by streets) like in New Orleans or Union Square in San Francisco, for example. Even thought Benedict Fountain Park is a triangle shape, with the fountain and surrounding streets it has the characteristics of a public square that could be enhanced further.
Santa Fe and Taos also have nice public squares
Flashing back to old 20th, the Lido Lounge with East and West Coast jazz on the juke box, the basement hippy nightclub at 20th and Lincoln, the coffee house with classical music and the hissing expresso caldron, strung out along the park. All gone. Soon, the hip joints around the park will be back. Over the trees, skyscrapers. But the park, still more quiet than the looming city.
My bus commute takes me right past this, and they are busy working on it everyday–still just a hole in the ground, but great to watch it slowly take shape.
On a related note, it looks like they are prepping the site for Skyhouse at 18th and Broadway/Lincoln–the parking lot has been cleared out/closed down the last two days. So, hopefully construction will be beginning there soon!