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Goodbye Empty Lots, You Will Not Be Missed

Posted by  on May 19, 2012

In present day Downtown Denver, there is one thing that is hurting our urban core: parking lots. They are all over the place creating an inconsistency in our urban fabric. But, there is good news! The ‘parkinglotification‘, as Ken likes to put it, is starting to disappear. Today we will be covering most of the sites that are in pre-development status or are going to begin within the year (hopefully). It’s always nice to visualize what is going to soon be built on these lots. Sit back and enjoy the ‘soon to be’ tour of some great developments. (As always, click the pictures to embiggen and the links for project details)

First, we will start with ‘One City Block‘. It does in fact take up an entire city block. Having this parking lot gone is a major start for the continued development of Uptown.

 

2300 Walnut is another project that is taking up an entire block and it looks like basic utility work has begun. Great sign of progress with this development!

 

I have always hated the fact there was an ugly dirt lot directly across Coors Field. Broadstone Blake Street is going to fix this eyesore of a problem.

 

Parking lots in front of a mass transit hub like Union Station are never okay. Luckily the South Wing (Left) and North Wing (Right) buildings are taking up those lots. Notice, a crane base has been set for the North Wing building!

 

Next up we have 16 Wewatta which is on a more pleasing eyesore level, and Cadence / 1601 Wewatta. GE Johnson has their trailers out on the site of Cadence, another hopeful sign of progress.

 

Continuing down the path of the upcoming Union Station neighborhood, you have 16 Chestnut (Left) and Alta City House (Right).

 

A quick skip away, there are the Delgany Apartments (Left). A fence has been put up around the lot, another good sign of progress. Then you have 20th and Chestnut (right) which is approaching groundbreaking.

 

Last but not least, the AMLI Riverfront project which is making a huge leap forward to helping complete the Riverfront Park master plan.

I cannot wait until I can start making updates of these projects individually when they all kick off. Just on this tour alone I covered 12 lots that are planned to be filled. This doesn’t include the developments that are in progress which have already relieved an ugly parking lot of its active duty. We are on the verge of a boom which is great news for our city.

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Filed under Infill, Parking, Urbanism.
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Community College of Denver: Student Learning and Engagement Building Update

Posted by  on April 22, 2012

Back on January 12th, 2012 the Community College of Denver broke ground on their own Student Learning and Engagement building. This is a very similar idea to what Metro State did with their Student Success Center. This development will be a 4-story, 87,000 square foot building located on the corner of 7th Street and West Colfax Avenue.

Basic structure work is being completed. The elevator cores appear to be topped out. In the picture on the right you can see the steel that is lined up ready to be put in place on the building. Always a neat sight when a building is just getting off the ground.

 

None of the true building’s elements are showing but for only being three months in, quite the progress has been made. The rooms will also have a great view of the Denver skyline. Just from the ground you can see that there is a pretty unobstructed view.

 

This building is designed by OZ Architects as well as Boora Architects (renderings can be found by clicking the Boora link) with construction performed by G. H. Phipps. This will be home to Community College of Denver’s admissions, registration, financial aid, a testing center, the cashiers office, advising, and their own student success program. No details have been released about LEED certification but the college is being rewarded a $100,000 energy rebate for having ‘green’ elements such as chilled beams, radiant floors, and a green roof. They are expected to be completed with this project by summer session of 2013.

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Filed under Auraria, Education, Infill.
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A New Lincoln Street

Posted by  on March 22, 2012

Every once in a while I will walk against the grain on Lincoln Street on my way home from work. As I approached 14th Avenue I had to stop and stare at this amazing project in our Civic Center district. The Ralph Carr Judicial Center has a massive presence and changes the entire feel of the Lincoln Street / Broadway corridor. When you’re driving down the one way street towards the North, it’s hard to notice the boldness of this development but I encourage you, if you’re on foot, to walk against traffic on Lincoln Street and observe this project. From its Neoclassical architecture to some contemporary touches, what do you think of this overall development?

Not to mention, just down the street is the History Colorado Center which is another huge part of the new Lincoln / Broadway streetscape. Kudos to these two projects in making the gateway into downtown just that much better.

UPDATE: The hoist elevator has also come down on the office tower and they are starting to seal it up. This is a great step in the visual completion of this development.

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Filed under Civic Center, Government & Civic, Infill.
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Denver Police Crime Lab #3

Posted by  on March 21, 2012

Along with the Auraria projects, the last time we took a peek at the Denver Police Crime Lab, we were touring the inside. This project is also coming along great and looking more complete by the week. In case you missed the inside tour take a look at it here.

Most of the orange panels are gone and you can now see what this project is all about. With the jagged edges and blue reflective glass, it looks very futuristic and sports having the title of a crime lab. This is one of the more cutting edge developments Denver hasn’t seen until now as far as design and architecture go.

 

The back doesn’t look like the front, the east side doesn’t look like the west side which gives this project a very unique look. It breaks up the boring old symmetry that we see in a lot of modern day projects along with catching the eye making you want to see every angle of the building when you are passing by.

 

This LEED-Silver project is a dedicated crime lab for the Denver Police department which is expected to open next month.

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Filed under Civic Center, Government & Civic, Infill.
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Auraria Projects Update #3

Posted by  on March 19, 2012

Last time I did an update at Auraria, we were taking an exclusive look on the inside of the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center. Given that was last September, a lot has changed. The exterior of the hotel is almost complete and the Student Success building is right along with the hotel.

A lot of the exterior masonry is done as well as the glass. It contrasts nicely against the other buildings on campus due to the darker brick. There are also some vertical glass columns and setbacks that break up the facade which keeps the project exciting and adds a nice finishing touch.

 

One of the more impressive features of this building is the front. There is a great glass curtain wall on the bridge that connects the hotel from the learning center which also contains the 7,500 square feet of meeting space. This will benefit from some great natural light for the bridge and the lobby in the hotel.

On to the Student Success center just up the road on Auraria Parkway. Last time I took any picture of this, it was just a steel frame. Now the building is nearly complete outside and in. This creates a dramatic wall along the parkway as well with the glass curtain in the upper floors of the building. The building is nicely labeled and is much more modern looking than anything else around it.

 

The back side of the building is also very welcoming with the Metro State logo at the top of it. The architect of this project is RNL Design and is expected to open next month.

Just as a refresher the Student Success building is a 143,000 square foot, LEED-Gold building will house the Registrar’s office, Financial Aid, Student Academic Success, New Student Orientation and other critical support services. Full details can be found in Ken’s post here. These are very exciting developments that create a nice wall along Auraria Parkway as well as connect the urban fabric of Auraria to Downtown Denver.

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Filed under Auraria, Education, Infill.
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Denargo Market Apartments Update

Posted by  on March 17, 2012

There has been a lot of speculation around what is going on in the Denargo Market in the River North neighborhood and what is being developed. There is a crane up and there is something being built which makes it one of the more mysterious developments Denver has seen lately because there is no website, and no renderings of this.

But, even if there are no renderings to be found for this project, I am happy to share some details of the project. MPC Construction (who’s website is currently non-existant) appears to be the construction manager, and Cypress Real Estate Advisors is the developer and owner. Here are some pictures of the site which is located between Brighton Boulevard and Denargo Street.

 

This particular project titled ‘Denargo Market Apartments’ is going to be a 5-story, 301 unit Class-A apartment community according to the sign that is outside of the project. Hopefully soon renderings will be released so we can see the design aspects of this project.

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Filed under Infill, Residential, River North.
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