Today I am wrapping up 2020 Lawrence as it has recently been completed. 2020 Lawrence has been through a lot before getting out of the ground considering years past. It all started back in 2006, before the economic meltdown, as a 60-unit 9-story condo building that took up only 1/4 of the block. Then in 2009, it was re-announced with design changes but nothing came out of the ground. Finally, in 2011, a half block long 231-unit 10-story apartment building finally broke ground. You can follow the legacy of this project here:
First 2020 Lawrence Condo Design
2020 Lawrence Project Underway
2020 Lawrence Update #6 (Completed Night Lighting)
As we know, 2020 Lawrence is a pretty massive building taking up a huge gap in the Arapahoe Square neighborhood. Last time I did an update, we only saw a little bit of the facade complete which raised a lot of curiosity on how well the final product would turn out. Zocalo did a great job using some design elements around Arapahoe square and incorporating them into this project. A couple unique elements are the metal cladding with the metal flaring out of the bricks as well as the awnings that will soon have a little ground floor retail behind them. Combined, these add lot of character to the building.
2020 Lawrence has a very defined entrance and makes quite the presence at street level. This is a huge improvement from a parking lot.
Now for a look on the other side. Before judging the more plain nature of this side, remember there is an empty lot that sits right behind 2020 Lawrence we hope will be filled soon. The impact of this building can really be seen from this prospective especially paired with it’s neighbor Solera. There’s a lot of new density around here!
2020 Lawrence may have taken 5 years to get out of the ground with many changes but, it is a key infill project for the Arapahoe Square neighborhood. It’s helping activate areas of downtown that used to be a barren wasteland of parking lots. There are some more infill projects planned around 2020 Lawrence and it will be great to see more projects rise in the Arapahoe Square neighborhood. Welcome to the neighborhood 2020 Lawrence!
I like this building overall except aspects of the base. The exposed cinder block just looks really bad to me. It would look much better with some nice brick work in those areas. The steel looks cool and I like the ” vibrant colors”.
I’m not a big fan of the cheap cinder block look either, but the street level corner at 21st and Lawrence is well done, and enough in itself to classify this building as a success.
Nice infill, Denver! Keep it comin!!!!!!!!