DenverInfill Blog

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.

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.

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.

Back in August, Ryan posted a construction update on the new Denver Police Department’s Crime Lab building in the Civic Center district. DPD’s new crime laboratory is being funded by the 2007 Better Denver Bond Program, heading towards its final year in 2012. For details on the Crime Lab project along W. 14th Avenue between Cherokee and Delaware, check out this post from DenverUrbanism and the project’s webpage at DenverGov.org.

Here are two photos of the project from this weekend. The photo on the left shows the Cherokee corner, and on the right the Delaware corner:

Along with the Denver Justice Center’s three buildings nearby, the Denver Crime Lab will continue the development of an urban street wall and better pedestrian environment on this stretch of W. 14th Avenue where mostly parking lots once dominated.