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Archive of posts filed under the River North category.

New River North Project: Beleza

Posted by Ken on July 24, 2008

A new urban mixed-use project named Beleza is coming to Brighton Boulevard in the River North district.

The first phase of the new infill development, located at the north corner of Brighton Boulevard and 31st Street, will consist of 66 residential condominium units and approximately 20,000 SF of retail space (restaurant/bar and a specialty grocery store) in a 14-story tower. Two underground and two above-ground parking levels will also be included. The project is being developed by Curt LeRossignol and Neil Boucher of River North Properties LLC. The project architect is Techné Architecture and the general contractor is Tom Martin Construction.

The entire development site owned by River North Properties totals approximately 8 acres and is located between Brighton Boulevard and Arkins Court north of 31st Street. Visible in the GoogleEarth aerial below, the assemblage consists of the property right at the corner of 31st and Brighton and the two large warehouse buildings immediately to the north. Several additional mixed-use buildings are envisioned for the site as future phases.

Here’s a rendering of Beleza’s first phase (images courtesy of Techné Architecture):

One of the interesting aspects of the project is its proximity to the South Platte River. The developers are currently working with the City of Denver’s Parks & Recreation and Public Works departments on the possibility of vacating a portion of Arkins Court north of 31st Street. This would allow for the creation of a new park that would stretch for several blocks along the northwest side of Beleza to the banks of the river.

Currently there’s a temporary sales office for Beleza at 1620 Market Street, with a permanent sales office in development at 1575 California scheduled to open in mid-September. The project website is http://www.live-beleza.com.

I’ll post more about Beleza, the developer’s efforts to create a new park along the river, and other unique aspects of the project in a future blog post.

Filed under Infill, Residential, River North.
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TAXI Project Construction Update

Posted by Ken on December 19, 2006

I recently had the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the TAXI project in the River North neighborhood. Thanks to Kyle Zeppelin and the rest of the folks at Zeppelin Development, I was able to check out the very cool TAXI Phase 2 project currently under construction along the Platte River just north of Downtown. Phase 1 was the renovation of the former Yellow Cab Company terminal into a 28,000 SF office/studio multi-tenant commercial space. Phase 2 is a new “landscraper” building that’s 550 feet long and features 44 two-story residential units above 14 ground-floor commercial spaces.

Inside the colorful Phase 1 building, the TAXI theme is evident throughout. The site still features the taxi company’s old radio transmission tower. In fact, the Phase 2 building wraps around the tower’s guidewires and anchor as a design feature.

The new building under construction includes a lot of window openings and open floor plans, including a mezzanine level for the commercial units.

The views from the TAXI project are excellent, with skyline or mountain panoramas available from just about every unit.

The River North neighborhood, with its combination of industrial grit, river/recreation amenities, and Downtown proximity, is clearly one of the city’s brightest up-and-coming districts. If you haven’t gone to check out TAXI yet, you should. It’s an interesting part of town to explore and a great urban infill project!

Filed under Infill, Office, Residential, River North.
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Major Infill Project Planned for Denargo Market

Posted by Ken on October 5, 2006

In yesterday’s Rocky Mountain News, John Rebchook reported that Cypress Real Estate Advisors of Austin, TX has acquired the 29-acre Denargo Market site north of Downtown Denver, with plans to redevelop the site into as many as 2,200 residential units in buildings as tall as 22 stories. The Denargo Market area is an industrial enclave in the River North district with a land-that-time-forgot feel to it, yet it is only three-quarters of a mile from Union Station. The Denargo Market area represents the last significant area on the perimeter of Downtown Denver that hasn’t yet undergone a revitalization or transformation of some kind. Its redevelopment will essentially give Downtown a 360-degree ring of renovated, reinvented, or reenergized urban districts. Here’s the article from the News: Redevelopment Taking Shape. Here are a couple of preliminary renderings from the CB Richard Ellis website:

Site Plan:

Massing Image:

Another Massing Image (with what appears to be taller buildings than the image above):

What’s interesting about the middle image is that it shows in the background the massing of the full buildout of the Prospect district across the Park Avenue West viaduct and the Central Platte Valley/Riverfront Park/Union Station developments beyond that.

Finally, do you know where the word Denargo comes from? North of Downtown near the I-25/I-70 interchange of today was the little industrial neighborhood of Argo. The market’s founders took the first half of Denver and combined it with Argo—Denargo—in an effort to describe the market’s location half way between the two locations.

Filed under Brownfield, Infill, Office, Residential, Retail, River North.
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