Not too much has changed in six weeks but we can clearly see one outstanding feature start to show. Today’s update can be summed up in five words: Look at all that brick!

I usually like to conclude posts on a positive note but last week there was a tragedy. Evan Lichtenfels, a development director at RedPeak (the developer of One City Block) had unexpectedly passed away which is very unfortunate news for RedPeak and the development community. I’m sure Evan had a huge part in making this project a reality and would have been incredibly pleased with the outcome. John Rebchook wrote a very touching post about Evan, make sure you head on over here to read it. One City Block is going to look phenomenal in Uptown and I can’t wait to see the south buildings take form!

As a refresher, this the site. There isn’t much around it and just to the east there are still seas of parking. This is a great development taking another step to help rectify the surface parking lot problem in Arapahoe Square.

The underground parking structure has started to go up along with the elevator cores. There will be one underground floor of parking with 5-stories of residential on top.

Continuing with the high-resolution bonus photos, here is a shot of Arapahoe Square looking down 22nd Street. You can see the the Renaissance Stout Street lofts, The Douglas, the recently completed completed 2020 Lawrence and soon Legacy 22nd and the Curtis Street Lofts will rise! Lots of infill!

There is a lot of infill going up north of Downtown Denver. It’s very exciting to see parking lots disappear in mass quantities. Renaissance Stout Street Lofts is expected to be complete by April 2014.

Please join me this Sunday, May 19, 2013 for relaxing stroll around the DUS project area and an informative discussion about this major transformative project. Remember to bring your camera!

Here’s how it works: Head on down to the LoDo side of the historic station at about 9:50 AM—meet at the corner of 17th and Wynkoop. Whoever shows up, that will be our tour group. We’ll start promptly at 10:00 AM and conclude around 11:15 AM at the light rail/mall shuttle station  by the Millennium Bridge. The suggested donation for the tour is $10 per person and all proceeds go to the non-profit Student Chapter of the American Planning Association at the University of Colorado Denver, but you are absolutely more than welcome to take the tour whether you make a donation or not.

After this Sunday, our next tour will be Saturday, June 15, 2013.

First we’ll take a look at what is going to be the courtyard. There will be a paved portion along the edge of the property where cars will be able to get in and out of the parking garage. This will be a single entrance / exit garage. The courtyard will be pretty standard from what we’ve been seeing with these new developments: a common meeting place with a swimming pool wrapped around with residential units.

If you haven’t noticed or been by the site lately, the wood framing has also started to go up. Many sections are at different stages but along the parking structure facing 20th Street they are working on the 3rd floor. When this tops out, it will cover the parking structure along 20th Street.

There are two areas where steel has been needed. This is for two story open indoor spaces where wood framing cannot be used for structural support. The future clubhouse, pictured on the left, is an open 2-story space where residents will be able to meet and host private events. On the right is a 2-story leasing office which will have a very good street presence along Little Raven.

Lately I’ve been getting some pretty good vantage points on all the development going on. So, for this post’s high-resolution bonus photo, here is the whole Denver Union Station redevelopment taken from the top of the parking structure. Neat!

AMLI Riverfront Park is expected to open this Fall and will be providing the neighborhood with 242 rental units.

Like many other projects around Downtown Denver, Balfour at Riverfront Park is at the earth moving stage. Bassett Street has also been closed which will be interesting to see when the building bridges over it. Remember, this development will consist of two buildings: a 3-story building adjacent to the tracks / the DaVita Headquarters and a 5-story building towards Little Raven.

High resolution bonus photo time! I think I found a pretty good spot to follow this project’s progress.

Seeing how many projects around Downtown Denver are in the same stage of construction, it’s going to be quite a sight when everything goes vertical around the same time!

As always, I have some pictures of the new crane for you! Nothing like fresh rain and a deep blue sky on this gorgeous spring day!

For a little high resolution bonus shot, here is the view off of the Millennium Bridge. Notice 16M’s new crane? Also, this is the last year you will be able to see the skyline from this bridge, so get all your pictures taken!

Construction just keeps on trekking along around Downtown Denver. What an exciting year so far!

Today we’re happy to report that 2100 Delgany just started construction!

I’m not going to let Ryan have all the fun taking construction photos, so today I walked over to the site and took a few shots. Here’s the view from 21st Street…

…and the view from Wewatta Street:

2100 Delgany should be finished by next summer/fall.

We all love tower cranes, right?

This will be a very exciting project to see rise out of the ground! For additional details on this project head on over here.

At the western edge of the Auraria campus, the proposed AHEC 5th Street Parking Facility is in the works. This new 1,100-space, five-story parking structure will occupy a site that’s currently a surface parking lot and will provide parking capacity to replace the surface lots removed due to the construction of the above-mentioned new buildings. The 5th Street Parking Facility is part of the implementation of the AHEC Master Plan which envisions the eventual replacement of all surface parking lots on campus with parking garages. Here’s the site:

The development is only a block north of RTD’s Auraria West Campus transit station, so of particular importance is the fact that this project will include ground-floor retail (approximately 15,000-sf) on its 5th Street and Larimer Street sides. Larimer Street runs along the southern side of this project—currently just a parking lot drive aisle—but it’s envisioned to be re-established in the future as a street/transit corridor to connect with the existing segment of Larimer Street on the eastern side of the campus that runs from the Tivoli to Speer Boulevard and into Lower Downtown. (That big parking garage to the east of this site will have to be “modified” in the future to make that happen.)

Below is a rendering of the AHEC 5th Street Parking Facility, courtesy of Denver-based Pahl Architects, looking at the 5th and Larimer Street corner:

The expected completion date of the project is Summer 2014.

White Lodging, a national hotel developer based out of Merrillville, Indiana recently announced plans to construct a 21-story hotel at the corner of 14th Street and Glenarm Place in Downtown Denver. White Lodging also developed the Embassy Suites Downtown Denver/Convention Center hotel at 14th and Stout that opened in late 2010. The new project will be located across the street from the Denver Athletic Club and next door to the small but historic Colorado Press Association and Denver Press Club buildings. Here’s a Google Earth aerial where I’ve outlined the project location:

The project will be a dual-branded Hyatt Place and Hyatt House property, with a total of 346 rooms. While an official rendering of the project is not yet available, here is a site plan the developers recently submitted to the city as part of the development review process:

What this site plan tells us is that the hotel’s main entry will be off of 14th Street, with a drop-off/valet lane to the right of the bike lane, similar to the condition at the Hotel Teatro at 14th and Arapahoe. Also, the streetscape will be upgraded in front of the tower to include the enhanced 14th Street landscaped planters, plus additional streetscaping along Glenarm and sidewalk canopies along both 14th and Glenarm, which will greatly improve the pedestrian environment.

This project is significant not only for the fact that it is a new 21-story tower in Downtown Denver, but also that its location is in a part of Downtown—sometimes referred to as the Silver Triangle—that hasn’t seen a lot of private-sector development in many decades. This project represents the expansion of developer interest into a part of Downtown ripe with development potential.

Here’s the site:

According to White Lodging, construction will begin late this year and be completed by Spring 2015.

This is great news for Downtown Denver! We will keep you posted as the project works its way through the development review process with the city and when official renderings of the tower are available.