Another residential development is coming to Downtown Denver’s Riverfront Park district!
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!
Great news! When viewed from above the footprint of this project is actually pretty substantial. Just one question though, with the vast amounts of open space already in existence at Riverfront is it really necessary to have the dog park? It seems to me a future infill project there would make better use of that space.
Yes, the dog park is essential. While there is plenty of open space in the area, dogs need an area where they can run and play off leash.
I live in the area, and many others who do – myself included – have dogs. It’s illegal to walk your dog off-leash anywhere else in the area, and you’re hit with a hefty fine. My dog loves socializing with other dogs freely in the park, and their owners do too. It could be worse… it could’ve been just another parking lot.
If there is a glut of apartments down the road it is very common for apartment buildings to be converted into condominiums. For example, a 1930’s apartment building near Washington Park I once lived in “went condo” about 10 years ago.
I don’t think there will ever be a shortage of apartments in the Riverfront, Prospect, Union Station, LoDo, and Lower Highland neighborhoods, especially once the train lines are completed. With its proximity to the redeveloped river front, mass transit, and downtown, I think this entire area has reached a critical mass and there will be very little remaining infill opportunities within about 5 years.
I have heard recently that among U.S. cities, Denver has the highest percentage of young adults moving here and is the number one city people want to relocate to. Yea!
Beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose, but is it too much to ask for some of these apartment/condo buildings to have some new, exciting styles? This thing looks exactly like so many other buildings in the same area. It is sorely lacking for any sort of ‘wow’ factor.
I am always happy to see Denver Infill projects but just because there is a high demand for Apartments TODAY does NOT mean there will be 2 years from now, when these are move in ready. Financing apartments may be a “safer” bet right now, than condos and or commercial but can Denver really absorb all these planned dorm like apartment complexes everywhere? I don’t think so.
Before the recession, I personally did not think that Denver could sustain the high housing prices or absorb the new condo projects at that time. looking into my crystal ball, I see a lot of empty, cheaply built, over priced apartments in our future and maybe even a shortage of For Sale Housing Stock, which will only create another bubble and bust. I hope developers and city planners learned from the recession and know something I don’t. When the economy is bad, more people Rent and when the economy is good, more people Buy. In my opinion, as the economy improves the demand for apartments will decrease not increase. However, I still rather see any type building Downtown instead of in the burbs.
So…2 years from now, the economy is gonna be so greatly improved that everybody is going to start buying and stop renting? Which will then send the apartment vacancy rate soaring? Rendering Denver’s vast supply of mediocre apartments un-rentable??
I wonder if you could place a bet on that in Vegas. Or Blackhawk. Because I totally would.
Suggest reading the DP article, specifically Tami Door’s comment for insight you may not have considered. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19636040?source=pop_section_business
Should the apartment market become over-built then the apartments would hardly be “over priced” but rather bargain priced which would be an assist to those that want to live in the urban core.
I can understand anyone disliking this building or any other building for that matter since its a matter of personal taste but just because its of a particular style does’nt mean it looks exactly like so many other buildings in the area. If you wanted to you could say a great many of the old apartment houses on capitol hill look exactly alike because they’re of the same style.I think all of these buildings have features that distinguish them from the others.Even though I generally like the buildings in the area I do think some could have been better designed. You can nitpick anything to death.
Thank You! You could also make the statement that all the bungalows in The Highlands “all look the same,” or that New York City Tenement buildings “all look the same,” but that’s the way that most great cities are! Personally, I don’t want Denver to become an architectural grab bag where every single building fights for attention. Only the most important buildings in town need to stand out the way some people on here seem to desire. A simple “filler” apartment building like this SHOULD match the others around it.
I don’t personally have an objection to this design. What shocks me though is the lack of height on this development and the Nichols development previously posted about. Given the value of this real estate with the proposed Union Station/Fastracks development, I’m amazed that we’re not seeing at least 10+ story buildings being built. Just seems like such a waste in this location, especially given that developers don’t have to deal with the NIMBYs here that certain other parts of Denver seem repleat with. If we can’t build more than 5 stories in the middle of our city, seems like we’re going to be doomed to a future sprawl, especially given our anticipated population growth.
In response to Stosh’s comment, I would like to propose that downtown Denver was underdeveloped with respect to residential properties heading into the 2008/2009 crash. Compared to other cities around the country attracting young professionals, Denver was very much lacking in this type of housing. I would wager that there is plenty of excess demand out there to soak up this future supply.
SC48,
Part of the problem is that the max heights under zoning go down to 80 ft along Little Raven for this project so the max you can do is probably six stories along Little Raven with maybe ten stories by the CML. But, since the most economically efficient multistory construction method in Denver under current code is currently 4-stick plus one floor of reinforced concrete you end up with a lot of five-story projects. Not exactly a bad thing as we are actually getting filler buildings that will allow the architectural gems stand out, but it’s hard to push for a six-story building when the cost per unit shoots up so much higher versus a five-story.
I think comparing bungalows in the highlands, or any other old neighbourhood in Denver for that matter, to this apartment building, is besides the point. Houses over time in these neighbourhoods take on their own characters due to the differing tastes of their owners. Such change is impossible in a large apartment complex like this (or like so many new suburban developments).
I’m not asking for something in some crazy new style, just something showing a bit of ingenuity, like the new uptown development profiled on this blog the other day. This design is just so relentlessly boring, it’s invisible.
Even those Cap hill apartment buildings you mention are changing and getting facelifts, something also profiled on this blog (or it could have been the sister blog).
I’d say this project looks rather snazzy. If you survey the different projects either existing, under construction or planned there is a good variety of architectural styles, even within Riverfront.
I can attest that other metro areas are highly envious of Denver’s urban residential projects.
Below is a link to a recent Denver Post article that talks about the Apartment Boom in Denver.
Developer David Zucker, seems to agree with the point I made earlier. In the article he says
“Anyone who is not thinking about the effect of so many units is sticking their head in the sand,” Zucker said.
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19755615#ixzz1jpjKIT00
I would like to add, If any area in Colorado can support a large number of Apartments, it’s Downtown Denver; especially near Union Station and transit development (TOD’s)IMO