DenverInfill Blog

Last December, we reported on RedPeak Property’s exciting development in Denver’s Uptown district at 19th and Logan. Today I’m happy to give you an update on the project, along with some new renderings.

First, the project has a new name: One City Block—kind of appropriate since the project will cover one full city block. Currently, that one city block is covered by one ugly sea of asphalt. Here’s a GoogleEarth aerial where I’ve outlined this project’s location (click to embiggen, of course):

As you can see, this part of Uptown needs a parkinglotectomy, so One City Block is just what the doctor ordered.

The project consists of four buildings named after some of Denver’s urban parks: The Benedict, the Congress, the Washington, and the Commons. Here are some updated renderings (thanks to Davis Partnership Architects) of this 300-unit residential development that’s aiming for LEED-Silver certification.

This first image shows the block’s north side along E. 19th Avenue, with The Congress on the left and The Benedict on the right. It’s along this side of the project where the approximately 9,000 square feet of retail will be located.

Moving around the block in a clockwise direction, here’s the northeast corner, E. 19th Avenue and Pennsylvania Street, looking southwest at The Congress:

This is a view looking northwest at The Washington, located on the block’s southeast corner of E. 18th Avenue and Pennsylvania:

Next, this is the block’s southwest corner, with E. 18th Avenue in the foreground and Logan Street off to the left. The building on the right is The Washington, and on the left, The Commons:

Finally, here’s a rendering showing the pool in the center courtyard, looking southwest. On the left is the western end of The Washington, followed by The Commons in the corner and then on the right, The Benedict, which wraps all the way around the block’s northwest corner to bring us back to where we started in the first image:

Parking is no longer being permitted on the site. Later this month, site prep work and utility relocations should begin as the first steps in the project’s construction. The entire project should be completed by late 2013.

Denver-based RedPeak Properties is planning a major new infill project in Downtown Denver’s Uptown district.

The Residences at 19th & Logan is a market-rate rental apartment project that will occupy the entire block bounded by E. 19th Avenue on the north, Pennsylvania Street on the east, E. 18th Avenue on the south, and Logan Street on the west. Currently a surface parking lot, the site was the home of the Machebeuf High School gymnasium when that institution was located in Uptown. In 2005, RedPeak purchased the property and began making plans to develop the site into a mixed-use retail and apartment project, but the financial crash hit before the project could get underway. Now, with the improving economy and the hot rental market in Denver, RedPeak is ready to develop the property. You can see the full-block parking lot site here on the Uptown page aerial photo at the original DenverInfill website.

The project will include approximately 300 apartment units in four buildings, named after four of Denver’s urban parks (Washington, Benedict, Congress, and Commons). The buildings will range from four to five stories in height and sit above two levels of underground parking containing approximately 400 parking spaces. About 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail will face 19th Avenue. Landscaped plazas and common areas will fill the gaps between the buildings.

Here’s a rendering, courtesy of Davis Partnership Architects, of the center of the 19th Avenue side with The Congress (left) and The Benedict (right) and the plaza entrance in between (click and expand to embiggen):

This is a view of The Congress at the project’s northeast corner, with Pennsylvania Street on the left and 19th Avenue on the right:

Finally, here’s a view of the southeast corner showing The Commons, with 18th Avenue on the left and Pennsylvania Street on the right:

The good folks at RedPeak and Davis Partnership tell me they are finalizing the project’s site plan and building designs, so I’ll probably have some additional project images and details to share with you in another month or two. Construction will begin Spring 2012. The two buildings along 19th Avenue (Benedict and Congress) will be completed first, opening Summer/Fall 2013, followed by The Commons and The Washington a few months later. The project team is aiming for LEED-Silver certification.

This project is fantastic news for Downtown Denver. East 19th Avenue will become an even more viable local retail street and a full city block of ugly surface parking goes away. In fact, given this project’s proximity to Uptown Square, Park Avenue Lofts, Tower on the Park, and the many other recent infill projects nearby, it wouldn’t surprise me if this RedPeak development pushes Uptown past the tipping point, causing a rush to develop the nearby vacant parcels and elevating Uptown into one of Denver’s most desirable, walkable, and livable urban districts.

Can you imagine a parking-lot-free Uptown? I can, and this project is getting us there.