Greetings Denver infill community! As I connect with Rick’s contacts at Kiewit, you can expect longer and more informational updates.  For now though, updates will be brief and generally based on observations.

Big News!! For the first time on the project, there is construction activity in front of and adjacent to the historic building.

Over the past 6 weeks, a new series of fences have gone up around the former parking lots that straddled the station. That’s right…I said former…because the parking lots that used to exist are now history. Also gone are the sidewalk and traffic lane of northbound 16^th Street between Wynkoop and Wewatta which were dug up to install a new sewer line underneath. Here are a couple of pictures that show how the west parking lot and 16^th Street looked about a week ago. Apologies in advance for the terrible shadows in the first pic—I was going to take a replacement, but then the snow storm hit!

No word on when 16^th Street will go back to two lanes, but for now, mall shuttles going each direction are sharing the remaining southbound lane.  Additionally, this new traffic pattern has resulted in the closure of the southbound Wynkoop mall shuttle stop.

So why is this big news? For starters, you have construction activity on a new section of Union Station…its big. But far more exciting news is that the removal of the parking lots and installation of sewer systems foreshadow construction activity on the two wing buildings and public spaces that will line the station!

The project has reached its full height and the facade is starting to show. On the left you can see a little bit of the complete facade. But, most of the building is still wrapped in scaffolding.

The little rotunda on the top is showing which definitely gives this project more character. On the right, looking down the alley, you can see more of the almost-complete exterior. The brick makes it stand out a little more given what’s around it. (Glass House and The Manhattan)

Speaking of The Manhattan, in the shot on the left, you can see it as a nice backdrop to the second phase. When I was walking down the alley to get to the other side I ran into this mock up which gives you a rough idea of what each unit is going to look like on the outside. Neat!

Today, I give you two bonus pictures. On the left is the site where the new AMLI Residential project is going to go. That will add a lot to this area and is a very exciting sign for this area. On the right, you have a nice canyon that was created because of this project. It’s always nice to see these areas turn dense and look very urban.

This area is going to explode with infill this year and it is a great step in the right direction. I recommend you read the 2011 Retrospective if you haven’t yet and see what’s going on in this next year. I have made a nice long list of sites I’m going to have to keep up with for DenverInfill and it is very exciting.

Looking directly at the front of the project from 16th Street, you can see the nice seamless glass wall, matching its neighbor building as well as some other buildings in the area. On the other side, facing 16th Street directly, it looks like there will be a complete wall of glass as the facade. Neat!

On to the back side, you have a nice slanted rooftop and a great looking backdrop to the rail tracks. On the right, you can see how DaVita and its neighbor (1900 16th Street) have very similar facades. Having the two buildings so close together prevents any clash and is easy on the eyes. The slanted roof also gives Denver something it hasn’t seen much in the past.

It’s always nice seeing other construction projects around you when taking pictures. From the Millennium Bridge, you can see 2020 Lawrence beginning to poke out. That’s its red crane and a concrete pump. Soon you will be able to see this project from the bridge!

Taking a look from a higher vantage point, you can see most of the facade is complete and the columns on the court houses are not just raw concrete anymore. One noticeable difference is the new glass on the dome and all the scaffolding is removed. On the tower, it’s amazing what glass can do to the overall look of the building.

On the left, this is the project from the steps leading up to the Capitol. Notice how much of a presence this project on this corner and from the view of The Capitol. On the right is the entrance to the court houses with real granite columns with ‘Liberty and justice for all’ inscribed in gold at the top.

As stated before, these buildings have a great street presence. On Broadway (left) you can see both the office tower and the court houses creating a decent size street wall. On 13th Avenue, the office tower creates a canyon with 1290 Broadway right across the street.

Finally, one of my favorite aspects of this project. The 14th Street view-plane. This completes the wall at the end of 14th Street and resembles a much denser Civic Center skyline.

If you are new to this website or new to Denver, you need to know that there is a new bus terminal behind Union Station. Really! It’s there. And here’s the story of it so far.

The two photos below are from Update #48 on January 7, 2011. As you can see in the first one, much work on phase one of the bus terminal had been accomplished in 2010: the giant hole was excavated; the four-foot thick floor was laid; the walls were built; and the roof beams were being installed. Notice that three cranes were at work.

In the second photo above, the canopy over the light rail platform was completed, and finishing touches were in progress on the mall shuttle canopy.

So that’s the way it was at the beginning of 2011. The day after returning from a long road trip in late February, I met with Hunter Sydnor at Kiewit’s office to get an update on seven weeks of progress. And there was plenty for us to talk about.

By the end of February, the bus terminal roof was nearly complete (first photo below), the vertical walls of the skylights had been built (second photo), and the foundations for the three air inlet/outlet towers were in place.

Still in February, finishing touches were being made on the light rail tracks, and the Amtrak station had  moved to its temporary quarters on February 3.

By mid-March, the bus terminal was water-tight so the dewatering system was dismantled and the filtration system was hauled away. Work on the light rail overhead catenary system was underway (see photo below) and backfilling behind the bus terminal walls was nearly finished.

In Update #58 on April 10, I showed the following contrasting photos of the scene immediately behind Union Station. The span of time between the two photos was a mere five weeks. The tracks were gone, and the Amtrak passenger platforms had been demolished. However, the mall shuttle platforms remained for a while longer.

Backfilling on the roof of the bus terminal began in early April. In the photo below, you can see early backfilling and the waterproofing material being applied to the roof.

On April 26, excavation of the second half of the bus terminal began. It wasn’t long before the mail and baggage tunnels were revealed for the first time in many decades. Here’s a photo of the mail tunnel near 16th Street.

On April 28, I got my first tour inside of the bus terminal and wrote about it in Update #61. I remember being struck by the immensity of the space.

Moving along, the month of May saw the construction of streets. The mall shuttle loop was being built and Chestnut Place was being rebuilt, crossing over the bus terminal roof.

If there is a sad part of this story, it’s the loss of the beloved, historic passenger tunnel. In several posts throughout 2011, I gushed about the historic significance of that tunnel and my personal attachment to it: my Dad’s passing through that tunnel upon his return from the war in the Pacific in 1946 en route home to Medina, New York, to see his four month old son (me) for the first time. Here’s a photo of the beginning of the tunnel’s demolition in May 2011.

I like the following photo. It’s a wide shot of the area behind the station at mid-year. Phase 2 excavation was well underway; the mall shuttle station was still in operation, all three of the tunnels were gone; Wewatta Street was still open.

It’s exciting when a project gets to the finishing-touches stage. Lots of highly visible stuff happens. In mid-July, the Chestnut Pavilion started to take shape, and the new light rail station passenger platforms were completed (first photo below). Also, streets were completed, and the three air intake/outlet towers were built. The second photo is a good reminder of the appearance of the towers since they have been wrapped in blue plastic for the past several months. They are due to be unwrapped soon.

The Central Platte Valley Light Rail Line was shut down on July 22 in preparation of connecting the tracks at the new light rail station to the main line. Also in late-July, 16th Street and the light rail tracks embedded in it were torn up.

The lights were turned on for the first time on August 2 at the newly completed light rail station. This is another of my favorite shots.

The month of August was huge. Everything to do with the new light rail station was coming together: tracks, lighting, sidewalks, signage, railings, even light rail tests rides. The place was ready for action.

Then it finally happened. The new light rail and mall shuttle stations opened on August 15, 2011. This photo is from 5:50 that morning. I think it was the arrival of the first train. A VIP train following a couple of hours later. Go to Update #82 to see several videos of the celebration.

The first photo below is the scene at 8:00AM on August 22. The second one is 2:00pm on August 25. Nuff said.

By mid-September,the Chestnut Pavilion canopy was finished, the tear-drop planters started to show up, and a new pile of dirt was growing.

After a delay of several weeks due to a water contamination problem that was difficult to remedy, phase two excavation resumed by late-October. At the same time, there was plenty of activity constructing the tear-drop planters near the new light rail station.

Phase two excavation was nearly complete in November. Work began and continued into December on foundations for the eight sets of tracks (commuter rail, Amtrak, and Ski Train) that will be place over the roof of the bus terminal immediately behind Union Station.

As most big construction projects near completion, they rise up to highly visible structures that can be admired from near or far.  Not so with the Union Station project; progress results in its disappearance. I can’t wait for that first bus ride from the shining, new terminal that is someplace underground.

At the end of almost every blog, I remind you to take a look at JobSiteVistor.com for a more thorough visual tour of the project. By now, I have posted hundreds of photos on that site. You may enjoy a complete tour as I have done while writing this year’s retrospective.

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.

AMLI Residential, a national apartment developer headquartered in Chicago with a local office in Greenwood Village, is planning a 5-story apartment project for the corner of 19th and Little Raven next to the Railyard Dogs dog park, with construction likely to begin in 2012. Here’s a GoogleEarth view of the area, with the site outlined in yellow. Across 19th Street is where the Manhattan Phase 2 project is under construction.

The development will include 242 rental apartment units and 344 parking spaces. A leasing office and fitness center will anchor the corner at 19th and Little Raven. The residents’ lobby entrance is located mid-block along Little Raven, and the parking garage entry is on 19th Street near the corner of the dog park.

AMLI Riverfront was approved by the Denver Planning Board in October, contingent upon some minor revisions to the building elevations facing the dog park and the railroad tracks. The following images were obtained from the project’s submittal package to the city. First, the site plan:

The project architect is Paul T. Bergner Architects. Here’s a rendering of the project looking at the 19th and Little Raven corner (please note that these renderings do not necessarily represent the final design):

And here’s one looking at 20th and Little Raven:

AMLI Riverfront is another significant step forward for completing the Riverfront Park master plan. It also means more people on Downtown Denver’s streets and in Downtown’s parks and plazas. More people in Downtown also improves the basis for more and better retail. And, given the project’s proximity to Union Station, it also means more people riding transit. Yay!

Looks like most of the wood framing work is done. It creates a nice street wall and is a great infill project for the area.

Here is a shot on the other side of the project which appears to be a courtyard.

Next project is Prospect on Central. The facade is nearly complete and as well contributes to a great street wall that faces Interstate 25.

It also looks like the project at 1560 Boulder Street has started to get underway. Ken did a post on this in October with the details.

I was recently up in the Hyatt Regency and have some bonus shots of a couple projects: one of 1099 Osage and the other of the new Auraria hotel. It’s great to see new development wherever you are in the city!

Covering most of the block bounded by Chestnut Place, 20th Street, Wewatta Street, and 19th Street in the redevelopment area west of Union Station, the project will feature 55,000 square feet of retail (most of which will be a full-service national-chain grocer) and 312 rental apartments. Our last profile on the project was in April 2011, and since then the project has received its approvals from the city and is preparing for the start of construction.

Courtesy of the Nichols Partnership and the Mulhern Group, here are the latest and final renderings for the project. First, an axonometric view looking south at the corner of 20th and Chestnut:

Here’s a closer view of the same corner at 20th & Chestnut, with 20th Street on the left and Chestnut on the right:

Next, a perspective looking east at the corner of 19th & Chestnut, with Chestnut on the left and 19th Street on the right:

Finally, here’s a view looking north from near 19th and Wewatta, with 19th Street on the left. The grassy area on the right is the remaining portion of the block along Wewatta that will be developed in the future as a mid-rise tower:

Of course, the presence of the grocery store component of the project is big news for Downtown, but this development is also important for the way that it will begin to close in the gap between Riverfront Park and LoDo, as well as help connect the Prospect district with the Union Station area. It will be the first project to get underway in the area immediately west of Union Station and north of 16th Street, but it certainly won’t be the last. We’re on the cusp of a once-in-a-lifetime building boom around Union Station.

The Nichols Partnership’s 20th & Chestnut project will open in December, 2013.

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.