A couple weeks ago, we posted an update on the 34-story Confluence project stating that it was starting to make an impact in both the neighborhood and skyline. Even though not much has changed as far as the height is concerned, today we are going to take a more in depth look at this project.
As we know, the tower is now up 11 stories with the low-rise, along Little Raven Street, up four stories with one more to go.
This tower is going to have a huge impact at both Confluence Park and along 15th Street. Given the slender footprint of the tower, it will be a good addition to the park and nearby neighborhoods without being too overbearing.
Here is the main reason why we are updating this project after such a short amount of time. The facade is starting to go up! If you look closely at the rendering, there are a lot of elements at play; from a glass curtain wall to paneling with glass mixed in-between.
The side of the tower facing downtown will primarily have a mixed paneling and glass facade but will also feature a sharp edge.
As a bonus, here is a great photo of The Confluence thanks to Ken! With a lot of the new projects going in, we all seem to expect wide, long buildings. This photo shows the opposite; a smaller, more slender tower.
The Confluence has 23 stories to go which translates to a topping out around the end of the year. This will be an exciting one to watch!
So very very out of scale. It’s already at 11 stories and feels more than tall enough for this UMU-residential zone. I have no idea how they got ~350ft for this area when most mid rise in the denser parts of the city hardly hit 200′.
How the approval for this tower came to be can be found here: https://denverinfill.com/2013/11/central-platte-valley-the-confluence-update-2.html
Regarding the scale, not everything has to be in scale with its surroundings. Urban places benefit from the occasional building that pops up above the surrounding urban context. It can provide interest and visual landmarking and variety to the cityscape. Also, what is the harm here? It won’t block views that already wouldn’t be blocked by even a 12-story building, and it will have ground-floor retail/restaurant and a landscaped grounds that blends in with Confluence Park plaza.
I totally agree that larger and more iconic structures can and should be used for visual landmarking, and that not everything adjacent has to be at similar scale—not that neighboring 5-10 stories is at all comparative to these 34 stories. I just don’t feel that this design is very iconic, or striking, or well designed. Tall doesn’t equal any of those things and Denver’s apparent obsession with height (where and when we can get it) is beginning to affect its sense of logistics (density, transit, etc.). Surely with some arduous revisions to the materials + form design, much of these issues could have been mitigated (even at 34 stories).
I understand that all developments are for profit, but this build is a clear example of developers and architects totally avoiding “appropriateness” in exchange for capital.
Well, definitely check out the link where I explained that the amount of development (square footage) in this tower is the same as what the developer was entitled to under the old zoning going back to the early 2000s, except then the zoning would have required the building to cover the entire football-field-sized site property line-to-property line at 6-9 stories high. This just shapes that same square footage into a narrower tower and gives room for more plaza/grounds to integrate with the adjacent park. Regarding the design aesthetics… I have mixed feelings about it.
It would be really nice to see this type of form happen more often instead of all the huge, bulky masses going up everywhere. A few taller, more slender towers would be especially nice for the Union Station portion of the skyline.
Ken – I rode my bike by Confluence park and subsequently, right by this development yesterday and it truly has (and will have even more) a massive impact in that edge of downtown. I believe I counted 14 stories; to add another 20 stories to that…wow. Based on its location, this building will have a huge impact on not only the surrounding Confluence park neighborhood but also downtown Denver in general, and its got quite a visual footprint for people driving on Speer. I’ve noticed it right away heading towards downtown on Speer from Sunnyside/Highland. Personally, I consider Confluence park part of downtown so a building this size does not bother me, it actually makes me excited as it continues to ‘fill-in’ the downtown Denver area with taller, more modern high-rises to add to the dated 80s skyscrapers.
Wow, I can’t believe we’re still having this conversation. This is a downtown district! If density and tall buildings offend you, there are plenty of other places to live, work, or visit. I personally think that all new downtown buildings need to be at least this tall. But what do I know?
The siding on this building looks so cheap. I love the height and glass portions of this development. But the grey siding looks like it belongs on a house in the suburbs.
I totally agree. I walked by one day last week and saw this siding up close. It looked very cheap and the pictures is exactly what you would see. It doesn’t look like something of the burbs, but more like something from the 70’s through 90’s to me. Looks like the siding could fall right off at how cheap and ugly it looks.
I agree. From a distance (see the renderings) the design of the tower looks pretty good, or at least it could come across that way. But up close, the siding looks cheap. I’m picturing what the siding would look like after getting battered by a big hail storm.
Yea, I didn’t necessarily dislike this building when I saw the renderings, just kind of had a feeling it was a missed opportunity with the iconic site. Maybe when they get the trim pieces in place and the larger glass curtain wall up it’ll help pull it together.
Ryan – How about a post on DenverInfill about the proposed height amendment changes being proposed around the 38th & Blake light rail stop? These kinds of proposals certainly will change the fabric of neighborhoods around them (Cole, Curtis Park, Elyria Swansea, and RiNo)!
https://www.denvergov.org/content/denvergov/en/community-planning-and-development/planning-and-design/plans-in-progress/38th-Blake-Station-Area-Height-Amendments.html
Yeah Ryan, how about it? 🙂
A skeptic at first, and one of the biggest naysayers. I’ve totally changed my mind. The small footprint will reduce the chance of it being an eyesore. Also, the low rise 5 story building is brilliant. It provides a wall for fifteenth St and gives access to the park, love the ground floor retail!
Would love to see something similar to this located where the Bell tower was planned! Why not more infill along that part of Speer?!
These new pictures just confirm my opinion in an earlier post, “IN-YOUR-FACE” and way out of scale for the location. Now, I would like to add to it here: the siding is hideous and what is up with the skinny windows? This looks like 1011 Colorado Blvd before Boutique Properties gave it a multi-color paint job to distract from the fact that the building is so damn ugly. Go to:
http://lubowicki.com/residential-architecture/1011-colorado-blvd/attachment/me_exterior_studies/
1011 Colorado was originally built as HUD section 8 housing and I think every successor owner has tried to make economic sense of re-building the exterior with bigger windows and better skin, but never could make it work financially. This is why 1011 was never converted to condos. So if you are the developer of Confluence, take note and make a change order before its too late!
Erik, while I’m not a big fan of the skinny windows either, there are substantial parts of the tower’s facade that have expansive window walls. https://denverinfill.com/2014/11/central-platte-valley-the-confluence-update-4.html
Thanks Ken. Agreed. I was just aghast when I saw the pictures of the siding and skinny windows.
I absolutely don’t understand the “it’s way out of scale for the location” sentiment. It’s a tad more than 2 blocks away from a 270-foot tall building. If anything, the 3-5 story buildings inbetween are way out of scale for the neighborhood.
As I said, this is just my opinion but I don’t think you can compare this location to the location of the Glass House. The Glass House is set back from the river by a considerable distance and, along with Little Raven Street, it makes a nice buffer between Commons Park and the train tracks. By contrast, this project is right on Cherry Creek and takes morning light and views away form Confluence Park. It is akin to high rise condos on South Beach in Miami or Central Park in Manhattan. Those are two examples of what I don’t want Denver to become. A lower density is more appropriate for adjacency to a riparian/public park/bikeway location because it doesn’t rob light and views from the public and is more consistent with a western US vernacular. Again, my opinion.