A new 29-story hotel has been proposed for the corner of 14th and Stout on Downtown Denver’s Block 131. The vacant site, currently a surface parking lot, is located across the street from the Colorado Convention Center and would share the block with the Nichols Partnership’s 41-story Spire project currently under construction. The site is also where St. Charles Town Company once planned a 30-story age-restricted condominium tower before selling the site to Focus Property Group, a co-developer of the proposed new hotel.
The hotel project was first reported last Friday in the Denver Business Journal. Here’s the article by the Journal‘s Noelle Leavitt: Developers respond to idea for downtown Denver hotel
If this project becomes a reality, it will join about a half dozen other projects along 14th Street that total about $1 billion in private-sector investment. Add in the nearly $1 billion in public-sector investments made along 14th in the form of the Colorado Convention Center, the Hyatt Hotel, and the Performing Arts Complex, and it’s no wonder that 14th Street is becoming one of Downtown Denver’s hottest streets.
But what really amazes me is this: if the only thing that was currently happening in Downtown Denver was just a couple billion dollars-worth of investment along 14th Street, that would be reason enough to celebrate and to declare this a solid mini-boom. But, also add in all the development occurring in that corner of Downtown called the Central Platte Valley; the half-billion dollar Union Station transit development; the ubiquitous LoDo office/mixed-use projects; the new buildings planned for the Auraria Campus; the one-two-three combination of the Denver Justice Center, Colorado History Museum, and Colorado Justice Center projects in Civic Center; and a few “miscellaneous” projects like Block 162, Two Tabor Center, and One Lincoln Park… and I’d say we’re experiencing a boom in Downtown unlike anything we have seen in generations.
Granted, the late 1970s/early 1980s boom added dozens of towering skyscrapers to our skyline, but that boom was almost entirely focused on office construction and, when it was done, left Downtown Denver just as quiet and empty in the evenings and on the weekends as before. This time, it’s different. This time, the boom is occurring all throughout Downtown in every district, in every direction. This time, the boom is being fueled by both the private sector and the public sector. This time, the boom includes projects of virtually every kind–hotels, condos, apartments, offices, retail, cultural, educational, governmental, and public works projects too. This time, the boom is not merely a collection of concurrent construction projects, but an across-the-board intensification of things that will make Downtown more interesting, vibrant, walkable, engaging–you know, urban.
For every boom there is a bust, and we seem to know that all too well here in Denver, Colorado. But for right now, take a good look at what is happening Downtown and enjoy it.
For all of you who have been anxiously waiting for something to happen at 1800 Larimer, there has been activity at the site this last week. It looks like the construction is about to start.
The bust will be nothing like the one in Miami with there 45,000 (condo's only) on the market in the next two years. boo whoo two them.
Denver needs a nice luxury hotel that caters to 20 & 30 somethings – similar to the Hard Rock Hotel or Hotel Ivy in San Diego. Done right, this could be huge for these investors, and great for our city's overall image and a nice change of pace for the nightlife. I'm surprised it's taken so long for Denver to get going on something like this.
Hey Shane Percival: regarding the "hip" hotel – I think the W hotel that will be developed into the current Office Depot on 16th street should fill that market niche pretty well.
As for my dream list – I would love to see Denver create something a setting similar to The Reading Terminal in Philadelpia, which for those who haven't been there, is a huge renovated train station that houses a massive farmer's market every day of the week. It's the best place to grab lunch in the city and also is a huge tourist attraction. Imagine if we had something like this within blocks of the convention center?
My second wish list would be to see cable cars in DT that would make a loop around 14th and 21st and then Blake and maybe Glenarm, which would then hook up with north Broadway. Imagine the revitalization that a cable car could have to the area between Park and 20th as it drops people off in front of Coors Field as well as criss-crossing the light rail on Welton and bus shuttle on 16th. It would be a fun little jaunt for hotel/convention people staying on 14th and get them moved throughout the city and to the ball game, or to LoDo, etc.
My 3rd wish list would be to see the roads sub-dividing Civic Park to be put underground, primarily Colfax between Broadway and Bannock. How cool would it be to stroll over to Civic Park without having to worry about the traffic on Colfax? It would make the park much more accessible to people and more tranquil due to less congestion and noise pollution.
My 4th wish list would be to see a rec area that contains an ice-skaing park somewhere in the city along with basketball/tennis courts – maybe dressed up with surrounding landscapping and fountains, etc.. The city helped intall a world class skate partk on 20th, but there is no place for adults to play on their lunch hour. Imagine the spectacle and attraction of seeing office workers donning a pair of sneakers to play handball at noon – or friends getting together to workout on the huge outdoor climbing wall? Since we're a city of outdoor enthusiasts, this would become the de-facto meeting place of Denver for hanging out and people watching. And then, when people like hanging out somewhere, they're more apt to buy things, which means commerce increases..
^^ Isn't the W a luxury hotel that caters to 30 somethings?
Any news on the OD demo? They've got a "Now Hiring" sign up and no sign that they're getting ready to move.
So what does this mean for Spire? Sounds like within a few years of moving in, half the residents on the eastern side of the building will have no sun, and no view other than "hip" 20-somethings enjoying our city. Obviously buying downtown is always risky w/ regard to views, I just hope Nichols will price those units accordingly.
And the Curtis markets for 20-30 year olds as well…
Just read the article. A groundbreaking of early 2009 sounds a bit hopeful, doesn't it? Unless they're farther along in the process than it sounds like.
this is great to hear about more development along 14th St.
Now let's get some real action on 15th Street (of course the Makovsky development may help start that going)
Saint, demo? Demo? Hehe, they havent even found a new location to relocate to yet. Patience and we should hear something within the next 9-10 months.
"and I'd say we're experiencing a boom in Downtown unlike anything we have seen in generations"
Whoopdie freakin doo. When are Denver strippers going to be less ugly?
Saint,
Since they haven't even picked a co-developer yet, I think an early 2009 groundbreaking is an absolute pipe dream. Also, the capital markets are completely busted right now, and finding money for a construction project of this magnitude will be next to impossible. I know that Bahman Shafa is a very wealthy man, but not nearly wealthy enough to fund this project by himself.
All the big investment banks (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, etc) have completely stopped their commercial real estate lending programs, indefinitely. Those wall street lenders accounted for more than 60% of the mortgage capital for commercial real estate in the beginning of 2007. Now, they have completely dropped off the map.
Construction of commercial property can be funded by any kind of bank, but a construction lender will not agree to fund a loan until they know for sure (via legal documentation) that a long-term permanent loan is in place to take-out their loan.
It will be very interesting to see how this project gets funded, if at all.
Wow. Guess people are a bit more up on the Denver hotel market than I am. Thanks for the info. The W will be great and I totally forgot about the Curtis. However, the newer downtown boutique hotels around the country are different than both the Curtis and the W's I've been in. Let's hope these guys do this one right.
As far as the list of things in Denver to change/add – I'll give my support to submerging Colfax – this would likely create a more welcoming Civic Center. Also, I like the cable car/loop idea as well as something like this will surely ben needed in just a few years.
Hey Rainshine…
"Whoopdie freakin doo. When are Denver strippers going to be less ugly?"
… When your momma decides to retire from the bizness!
sunshine?? there is really no reason to be concerned about this in denver – not only are we inundated with over 300 days, the downtown streets (and alleys) are wider than most cities and provide sunlight penetration. on top of that, the DT grid is turned 45 degrees to increase sun exposure, plus setback requirements provide even more sunlight…beyond that – that's life in the city (but it's not so bad here and shade is a welcome relief at times.)
The Downtown street grid wasn't created to optimize sunlight but rather it parallels the river since the streets were laid out in the 1850's is impossible to imagine that the pioneers were considering shade studies on 21st century skyscrapers.
I'm not saying a hotel across the alley would be a deal killer for all interested purchasers. I'm just saying, I don't know about you, but I would demand a lower price if I knew that the extent of my view in several years was a hotel room.
It's a shame too, because I feel that the Spire is a great product for downtown – what with its mantra of more affordable units and all – and I think we need more of that sort of building downtown. 4S will probably be a lot of weekenders, second home owners, etc – in contrast, Spire will (hopefully) bring actual 7 day/week residents to downtown. But, if developers need to start purchasing entire city blocks to protect the returns on their investment, we may not see too many more Spires going up.
I thought the streets were set diagonally to help melt snow in the winter, so the pioneers were aware of shade and sunshine! Anyways, all of this growth is much welcomed, I'm a native to Denver and am excited to watch downtown boom and become bigger and better than I thought possible! Yay Denver!
Anon 7:30, I was citing the article. The article states that they'll have a groundbreaking in early 2009. Like yourself, I'm quite a bit doubtful of that. I don't know, maybe they do have a lot done already, it's hard to say from the article. I assume that if the developer expects that groundbreaking, then maybe he is farther along in the process than we realize.
Except for the top 10 stories or so, Spire units do not have tremendous views of anything (except the nice old electric company builing and the convention center). Across the street is the ATT building that has to be the ugliest building in Denver. The proposed hotel next door will definitely be a better view than the ATT. This building should get a facelift now that is very visible with all the new activity on 14th Street. Anyway, I think the Spire units will sell due to their good downtown location and more reasonable prices than the Four Seasons, etc. I am excited that all of the parking lots near the convention center should be redeveloped over the next few years.
Hopefully, 15th Street will start getting more redevelopment. I think the old data storage building at 15th and Champa would be an ideal location for a downtown Target store, with apartments above. The parking lot and the pawn shop across Champa would be ideal for more residential development. Along with the Spire, these additional residential units will help ensure the Target will be successful as a place for downtown dwellers to buy daily necessities.
^Anon 3:49
I agree that the AT&T building is quite ugly and that the location would be great for a downtown Target. However, the whole block between Curtis & Champa, 14th & 15th is a massive "telecom hotel". This is where all of Denver's fiber optic lines confluence together. I would recommend taking a walk around that block and try to count up all of the security cameras. Also the alley on that block has 24/7 security personnel on site. Hardly any people actually work in those buildings as most of the space is filled with servers, network equipment, data storage devices, etc. I don't think those buildings will ever get redeveloped, unfortunately.
Hopefully the city's plan to make 14th into the 'Times Square of Denver' will include dressing up the old AT&T bldg facade with some giant screens, murals or other artistic elements.
We should start sending letters to Target… encouraging them to open DT.
I think besides a DT target, or some other department store… Denver NEEDS a market, as a previous poster said. How awesome would it be to have one? A large urban market would be a great place for lunch, great place for tourism, great place to be groceries, great place to support the local and small business… and a great atmosphere. There really is SO much room DT for such a thing, and PLENTY of demand for such a place. I feel like there is talk of such a market area with the Union Station development, but as far as I can remember that was more of a weekend farmers market… not a permanent development. Maybe Makovsky could do this on his massive block of property… which is now a surface parking lot btw…
Why is there such an insistence to demolish with no plans to develop for a few years. I am confident that Makovsky WILL indeed develop that lot, but I still disagree with the hasty demolition. How many times have we seen demo with plans for development that – OOOooops never happen – or at the very least take 20 years. I hope that he at least does something for the DNC on that block like was blogged about awhile back, and that a surface parking lot wasn't the best idea for the part-time infill that people could come up with.
Seriously? Target? I can understand the desire for some big retail outlet that can be a catch-all for nearby residents' needs, but why is rally behind a corporate chain that causes other small retail outlets to shut down virtually the same way Wal-Mart does (which is arguably bad for the urban environment we want to see) and doesn't have a very good track record with living wages and employee benefits?
How about a Whole Foods, a Costco (which pays employees extremely well) or a scatter of neighborhood groceries for downtown? Even a King Soopers or Safeway would be better than Target. There are so many businesses out there that have good environmental and civic records, and the last thing we need is a big box store that makes other downtown retail outlets go out of business.
The convention center expansion is truely beginning to pay dividends. This is true economic stimulus for the Downtown Denver area.
I agree – but how do we get those businesses here! More grocers, more small convenience stores… other popular but non-corporate retail.
How?
I like this idea about a marketplace type deal… How does everyone else think? How could this come into action?
bheb-
There is some kind of tent structure planned for the Makovsky site before the DNC. Couldn't tell you any more about it than that…
Lets hope the DNC is a peaceful celebration instead of a riotous protest zone as it could turn out to be… Not all publicity is good publicity…
BTW, other anonymous person, I really like the idea of going subterranian with the streets that cut through civic center park. That would help more than anything Leibskind had going on in his plan.
I've also noticed funding drying up on some local projects… lets hope this national trend doesn't shut down our local boom…
Downtown Denver needs both a year-round market and stores that provide the local residents with their daily domestic needs. A store like Target is much more convenient with a larger selection and better prices than corner mom-and-pop markets. Target definitely has a better track record than Walmart. Also, Target's clientelle is more in line with the urban demographic. Costco would not work right down town, but could be built nearby in Arapahoe Square, Golden Triangle, etc. (Off subject: I hope the denver area gets an IKEA and Trader Joes soon. I hear that Trader Joes has plans to expand to Colorado beginning in about one year).
The year-round market should be built at the Market Street Bus Station once it has been moved to Union Station. This site is perfect because it will provide a day-time attraction for tourists and locals in LoDo, where currently there is not much to do during the day. People would like to enjoy the atmosphere of LoDo during the day as well as going there for dinner and nightlife. An upscale shopping center, condominium, hotel, and even office complex should be built at the Federal Reserve Bank site. The FRB could be moved to a site in the Federal District.
With more residential development and increased tourism the critical mass would be realized and all of these projects would benefit from one another and all be successful.
Lastly, I think the idea of tunneling Colfax, Broadway, and Lincoln around Civic Center Park is terrible. Turning these streets into freeways will encourage drivers to speed through the tunnels. High density residential development, especially family units, close-by in the Golden Triangle, a increased police presence, and creating some year-round attractions in the park will go far to activate the area in a positive way.
Well, let's see, I think that is everything for today. Thanks for reading my thoughts.
Rather than burying streets we should be removing auto traffic lanes, widening sidewalks, and creating many more additional bike lanes. Its dicey getting around the core of downtown on a bike now.
how tall will this building be if it will obscure views up to the top ten floors of the spire?
On their website they said they had three different options, a 25 story office/hotel a 45 story hotel/res
or 51 story pure res. I really hoping that Denver gets a new tallest from the 51 story building!!! here is the web site http://www.focuspropertygroup.net/developmentsites.htm
^^^ "A new 29-story hotel has been proposed for the corner of 14th and Stout on Downtown Denver's Block 131."
…read the blog…
Actually, I don't think tunneling the road around Civic would be a bad idea at all. We could do what Boston has done by putting some of the busiest streets underground and thereby creating a better walking area – in this case around Civic Park. Besides – we're only talking about a few blocks so speeding is hardly a concern. However, getting this approved would be a pipe dream even though I think it would create an improved park experience downtown – almost like a "Central Park" of Denver. Without interfering roads, there could easily be softball parks and other recreational things put in its place. Who knows – the citizenry might actually use the park then..
Looking at that website…
I am having some trouble with which parcel this proposal is for? I was under the understanding that it is for the lot RIGHT next to the Spire… but they seem to have designs for a building adjacent to the Hyatt. Are the proposing buildings for each location? That's how it appears.. but they use the address 1417 for both models they have posted on their website..
Help?
I was confused at first too, but they are different address's. One is 1417 Califonia and the other 1417 Stout.
According to the Focus Property website, Klipp is the architect for the Stout Street site. I really hope they give Denver some exciting new towers. They are also the architects for Evan on his 16th St. block. C'mon Klipp, you guys are a local firm, please do something great!!!!
Anon 3:49, most of the Spire's condos on the NW side will have tremendous views, since they'll be above the AT&T building. The parking garage will carry the Spire up to nearly the height of the AT&T building. Only the first two or three levels of the condo portion will be blocked by it. And they can simply go out on the balcony and look left.
As for a hotel on the SE side, well, so? If you're living in a high rise in a big city, you'll probably have a tall neighbor next to you. That's part of the fun of a high rise. Besides, those will sell cheaper anyway, since they don't have mountain views (barring that you don't go out on the balcony and look right).