First off, we will be looking at the front from Osage Street. This building has great street presence and is the tallest in the surrounding area. Given the master plan of the project, more buildings of this scale will add a great urban density feel to the area. The facade also catches the eye as each floor doesn’t line up with the other. It adds a neat effect when looking at it.

Looking closer at the building itself, you have a great glass wall at the entrance and some very colorful, ‘urban’ art that crawls up the entire length of the building. This is something I didn’t expect when I went to take pictures. It really makes this building stand out even more, in a positive way.

Now to the back of the building. On the left, you’ll see that the artwork continues. This was taken as far back as possible; from the 10th and Osage lightrail station. Nevertheless, I found a way to get to the back so we can take a better look. On the right you see the building in the background of the train tracks. This is clearly dominating the area even being only 8-stories.

The back looks a lot like the front. I was able to get a closeup of the art on the back which, in contrast, is very different from the front. As it still catches the eye, it is a lot harder to see because of the tracks behind the building and the limited accessibility to get behind the building.

As the South Lincoln Redevelopment continues, I share with you this last picture which I took to show you the density of the area around 1099 Osage. For now it is only one 8-story building but there will be much more going in around it which is very exciting for this downtown neighborhood. On a side note, those slanted rectangles on the top are solar panels which is a huge win for any new development.

Here’s a first glance taken on the corner of 11th Avenue and Osage Street.

There’s a nice glass wall connecting what looks like two parts of the building.

Here’s an overall view of the project with the new facade.

I like the wall this building creates. The roads end at the tracks right behind this building.

Now that school is back in session I will be down by Auraria more often. Hopefully in the next few days we will be taking a look at the projects going on around there.

The tower crane has been taken down and the building is starting to take form quickly.

Compared to what this project looked like back in May, it is no longer just a shell. Siding and windows are now being installed.

Looking down Osage Street this building has quite the street presence with more of similar size to come in this area.

Just across the intersection on 11th and Osage Street, there are plans to build a community pool. Crews were busy getting that underway.

The South Lincoln Redevelopment has acquired $22 million from HUD and there will be continued coverage of this area on DenverInfill. Here is once again the rendering for the entire site:

As you can see 1099 Osage is only a small portion of this entire development but a great start to this entire project.

To celebrate the federal funding, here’s the latest rendering for the entire redevelopment site:

Now it is 8 stories up which is the height this project is going to be.

Here is looking at the project down Osage from 10th Avenue.

In this next photo I took a step back to the 10th and Osage light rail station to get an idea what 1099 Osage would look like from the platform.

As some projects around the downtown area are beginning to build up, some have come to life and are just starting. Next up we will look at a couple that are just getting off the ground.

It appears they have closed Osage between 10th and 11th for this project.

This site was the busiest I have visited so far. It looks like they were working on the 4th floor.

I took a few steps back to give you an idea of how large this project is compared to everything else in the area.

1099 Osage will be an 8-story, 100-unit senior apartment building that will achieve LEED-Platnium status. There is much more to come in the La Alma – Lincoln Park neighborhood and 1099 Osage is a great start to the redevelopment.

Since the Central line opened in 1994, the only notable feature at the 10th & Osage light rail stop in Denver’s La Alma – Lincoln Park district has been the historic Buckhorn Exchange restaurant. Weedy lots framed the station to the north and south, and no development next to the station ever managed to get off the drawing board. Until now.

Thanks to the Denver Housing Authority’s ambitious redevelopment plan for their South Lincoln Homes project, the area around the 10th & Osage station will be transformed into a higher-density, mixed-use transit-oriented community. The master plan calls for the replacement of the existing 270 public housing units built in the early 1950s with over 800 new residential units (a mix of  rental and for-sale, subsidized and market-rate) and over 70,000 SF of commercial, retail, and community space. All together, the redevelopment will cost $250 million and take a decade or so to complete. Here’s an aerial of the site from GoogleEarth looking west. W. 11th Avenue is on the right, W. 9th Avenue on the left, and Mariposa Street at the bottom. The light rail station is top center.

Here’s the South Lincoln Redevelopment plan and bird’s eye rendering, both from DHA:

It gets even better. The first building in the redevelopment area, 1099 Osage, broke ground in September. The site for 1099 Osage is the brown U-shaped building in the upper right corner of the redevelopment plan map at 11th and Osage. The $21 million project is an 8-story, 100-unit senior apartment building that will achieve LEED-Platinum status. Here’s a rendering of the building, courtesy of project architect Buchanan Yonushewski Group:

The redevelopment of the South Lincoln Homes follows DHA’s successful redevelopment of another large Downtown-area property: the Park Avenue project in Uptown. That project is in the final phases and has dramatically improved the area around Park Avenue, E. 20th Avenue, and Tremont Place. It will be wonderful to watch a similar transformation take place in La Alma – Lincoln Park around the 10th & Osage station.

John Rebchook, formerly with the Rocky Mountain News and now doing a fantastic job at his Inside Real Estate News blog, has a full article on the South Lincoln project (with renderings!) here.

The project consists of 185 market-rate rental units wrapped around/above a parking structure. The project is also aiming for LEED Silver certification, and it’s within walking distance of both the 10th and Osage and Auraria at Colfax light rail stations.

Construction is planned to be complete about a year from now.

An active development case is currently under review with the city for the Osage Apartments project at the same site. The project, proposed to include 288 rental units in a four story building, is being developed by Carmel Partners. Construction may be underway by late summer.

Good to see this project finally moving forward. The site’s proximity to the Colfax at Auraria light rail station makes it a particularly good development site. I’ll try to round up a rendering.