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Downtown Denver: The Boom is Back (at least it seems that way)!

Posted by  on April 20, 2012

How many projects does it take before you can say your downtown’s experiencing a building boom? Five? Ten? Pick a number, but Downtown Denver is getting pretty darn close to that point. By my count, there are over twenty projects under construction or proposed in the Downtown Denver area. That’s pretty remarkable considering the severity of the Great Recession of 2008.

This time around, there aren’t too many high-rise towers being proposed (yet). Instead, it’s mostly mid-rise buildings, which is terrific news if you believe (and you should!) that great cities are comprised of a tight-knit fabric of pedestrian-friendly buildings that frame public spaces used for mobility, access, and social interaction. Nothing kills the cohesiveness of an urban environment more than a surface parking lot. Surface parking lots interrupt the continuity of the intensive human-oriented downtown environment and they suck the sense of character out of a place. They are a blight on the cityscape. Surface parking lots are, simply, the antithesis of what urban means. We have too many surface parking lots in and around Downtown Denver, but the good news is that over the past 20 years we have eliminated dozens of parking black-holes in the city center and, lucky for us, this current development boom happens to feature building forms that consume good-sized swaths of asphalt. At this stage in the progression of our city’s urban core, we’ll benefit substantially more from ten 5-story buildings than we would from one 50-story building.

Therefore, this is the first in a series of posts highlighting many of the new Downtown-area infill projects that I’ve been overdue in covering. Since January, my new job with the College of Architecture and Planning at UCD, where I teach full-time in the Master of Urban & Regional Planning program, has kept me exceptionally busy. But, with the Spring semester drawing to a close, now’s the time to catch up on what is really an amazing number of new development projects in central Denver.

So, let’s proceed… on with the infill!

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Filed under Economic Growth, Infill.
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ULI – Recharging Colorado on December 9

Posted by  on December 6, 2010

Mark your calendars! The biggest event of the year for Urban Land Institute-Colorado is this Thursday, December 9. Here’s what’s in store:

The overall theme is “Recharging Colorado”. This Explorer Series event (open to both ULI members and non-members) will take place at the new 1800 Larimer building, Denver’s first LEED-Platinum office tower. The first panel discussion will focus on “The Art of the Deal”… what it took to build 1800 Larimer. Hear from the project team (developer Westfield, architect RNL, contractor Mortenson, and anchor tenant Xcel Energy) about the vision and story behind Denver’s greenest building.

After the first panel, check out the fantastic views from the tower’s 20th floor while exploring the 1800 Larimer Exhibit Hall, where about 20 contractors and vendors who contributed to the city’s most energy-efficient building will feature displays and demonstrations of the technologies that went into the project.

Then, the second panel will focus on “The New Energy Economy and Job Creation” and will begin with a welcome from Governor-Elect John Hickenlooper, followed by an in-depth discussion about the future of Colorado’s green economy by top leaders from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Rocky Mountain Institute, Vestas, and the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.

After the second panel, head back to the 1800 Larimer Exhibit Hall to enjoy the city lights and a cocktail, and to take a tour of some of the finished tenant spaces at 1800 Larimer. Finally, the event wraps up with ULI-Colorado’s legendary holiday party featuring plenty of food, drink, and music!

For all the details and to register, please visit this page at ULI-Colorado. See you on December 9!

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Filed under Economic Growth, Events & Meetings, Sustainability.
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DIA Excavation!

Posted by  on November 8, 2010

The almighty DIA construction gods were smiling at me – here’s a quick look at what is going on at the hotel/FasTracks station site.

2010_11_08_DIAConstruction01

I’ll ask around and see what I can find out as to exactly what is going on. Stay tuned!

UPDATE – Preliminary word is that excavation at DIA is part of what is known as the Safety Area Widening Project. The project will  excavate dirt from the south side of the main terminal and deposit it along taxiways on the south and west side of the airport. However, they may be excavating more than originally planned to make room for the station and hotel project. So not for the hotel and station just yet, but this project is making way for it…

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Filed under Economic Growth, FasTracks, Government & Civic, Hospitality, Transit, Transportation.
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Eagle Project Update

Posted by  on August 13, 2010

Work’s gotten in the way of posting as of late, but there’s some big news from RTD regarding the East Corridor and the rest of the Eagle Project.

Yesterday, RTD issued the offical Notice to Proceed to their selected Eagle Project concessionaire –  Denver Transit Partners (DTP) - for Phase 1 of the Eagle Project which includes the East Corridor, Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility (located near 48th and Fox), new commuter rail train cars, as well as final design work on both the Gold Line and Northwest Rail Electrified Segment (NWES). The Notice to Proceed came following the agreement of a $1.649 billion construction deal. Phase 2 includes the Gold Line to Wheat Ridge and Arvada as well as the NWES to South Westminster at 71st and Lowell. Phase 2′s NTP is expected as some point next year as RTD works to secure Federal funds through a Full Funding Grant Agreement.

Even better news, especially in these tough economic times, the Eagle Project is expected to provide an estimated 5,400 jobs at the peak of construction (2012 & 2013) – this would include direct and indirect employment numbers.

RTD and DTP signed a 34-year contract in which RTD will make annual payments to DTP for their investment in addition to operating and maintaining the corridor(s). For more info on DTP, check out their website at www.denvertransitpartners.com. DTP is lead by the Fluor Corporation of Irving, Texas, and Macquerie Group of Sydney, Australia. Other team members include Balfour Beatty Rail, ACI, and Ames Construction. More information on the Eagle Project can be found at http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/ep3_2.

Groundbreaking on the East Corridor is planned for Thursday, August 26 at DIA.

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Filed under Economic Growth, FasTracks, Transit, Transportation.
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Denver Leads State In Population Gain Yet Again

Posted by  on April 8, 2010

You may have caught this about a week ago when it was announced, but just in case… the US Census Bureau released its last annual July population estimates before the 2010 Census and, once again, Denver led the state in population gain.

From 2006 to 2007, Denver squeaked past Douglas County by a little over 100 people to have the highest numeric population gain in the state for that year, with an increase of about 12,500. Then, from 2007 to 2008, Denver topped second-ranked Arapahoe County by almost 5,000, gaining over 15,500 people that year. The numbers just released for estimated county populations as of July 1, 2009 has Denver gaining over 17,000 for the year, with Adams County in second place at over 11,000.  The City and County of Denver’s population has now surpassed the 600,000 mark for the first time ever.

2010-04-08_population

Source: US Census Bureau – Counties gaining 1,000 people or more sorted in descending order by numeric change

Of course, the point isn’t really the county vs. county aspect of this. At some point in the future, El Paso County (and other counties as well) will pass up Denver County in population given that Denver covers only 155 square miles (a third of which is DIA) and must rely on infill development for growth, while El Paso County, for example, covers 2,130 square miles and is only about 10% urbanized at present.  The point is that Denver is growing in a significant way after several decades of decline during the era of peak suburbanization. This tells us we are on the right track. People are voting with their feet (or perhaps, their house keys). Denver does have some undeveloped areas left (e.g. Stapleton, Green Valley Ranch, DIA/Gateway), but clearly the city’s long-term source of population growth is going to occur through infill development and the densification of its Areas of Change (former industrial areas, the greater Downtown area, transit-proximate areas, etc.).  This is a good thing. Densification and urban infill is sustainable development at its most simple.

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Filed under Economic Growth, Sustainability, Urbanism.
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It’s Official: Union Station, Gold Line, East Corridor, Get Funding

Posted by  on February 5, 2010

Here’s Federal Transit Administration head honcho Peter Rogoff announcing that Denver’s FasTracks program will receive $300 million in loans for Denver Union Station and $1 billion in direct payments over several years for construction of the Gold and East commuter rail lines.

2010-02-05_fed_funding

This is a great day for metro Denver!

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Filed under Economic Growth, Events & Meetings, Transit, Union Station.
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