If you thought there was a lot of construction activity in the Denver Union Station neighborhood, hold on because there’s even more that’s coming our way! Back in December, we reported that heavy equipment had begun mobilizing on the Triangle Building site.
Two months later, the site is buzzing with activity. Nothing says progress like a big hole in the ground! With the Triangle Building, 1601 Wewatta, and The Platform all under construction, there is 500,000 square feet of office space and 288 residential units going up within the radius of a single block!
The 10-story office building has a long way to go but it’s always nice to see that construction has commenced! Completion is expected around May of next year.
It’s sad to think how the view of the semi-circular building behind The Triangle will be affected. Shouldn’t the architects have thought about this before they went with a design which seems so dependent on a good view?
Can you elaborate? Who’s view of what is being affected? The architect of the Gates Building or the architects of the Triangle Building?
I hope your NOT saying that the views from an 8-story office building in downtown should be protected from developing a vacant lot next the region’s new transit hub.
I am saying the view of the Gates Building will not be nearly as interesting or pleasant as it is currently. It will be losing its view of the mall and the Union Station. No question about it….Which would you prefer? A view of another building or a view of the mall, its people and the constant activity of a train station. Just think about as if the offices of Gates were condos. Which would sell more quickly?
I genuinely don’t mean to sound harsh here, but protecting the views of an office building downtown is absurd, particularly since it overlooks a lot that is owned by someone else. If the inhabitants of the Gates building would like to protect the views of the mall, they should have purchased the lot.
We all benefit from new buildings being built in the city, including—and perhaps especially—people working in the Gates building. With the loss of views comes the gain of a great deal of other things.
I am quite grateful that they were not condos or those residents would be putting up a huge fight to protect any and all views of Union Station. There are two problems with that response. One, it is not possible for everyone, everywhere, to protect their view of whatever they think is important. Second, trying to ‘protect’ the views of iconic or unique buildings in the city actual detracts away from said buildings. Those buildings need to be surrounded by boxy, boring buildings in order to emphasize and celebrate their iconic nature, so as the pedestrian comes upon it, they are struck by its uniqueness and therefore invited to explore. Unique buildings need to be surrounded by boring buildings to actually be….unique.
Good,informative response. As far as protecting views go, let the buyer beware. I sure hope these young kids that buy condos downtown are aware that their views could really suffer and that it could affect the price of their unit. This reminds me of the 25+ building going up right next to Spires.
Concerning iconic buildings being surrounded by boring boxes, I am reminded of London where the city has the benefit of existing for 1000 years and due to their age almost all buildings were by themselves quite unique.London flourished in an era when construction quality and style were were at their zenith. I guess that’s one reason why there is only one London in this world.
I’m quite sure that the architect and developer of the Gates building would have anticipated that something will be built on this lot in the future, given it’s location.
This is an urban area: if you want to preserve your view, build tall.
I believe the expectation of being able to see down multiple city blocks from an eight story building is completely unreasonable. It’s an attitude that yields dangerous under-utilizations of urban space in cities like Colorado Springs, who have maddening height restrictions for buildings.
I think my definition of a “good view” from a downtown building differs from most. I love looking out of buildings with large windows to city streets and buildings. You know what I think isn’t a good view? Being 35 stories up and looking at a bunch of brown fields leading toward some hazy mountains in the distance. Yes, I’ve said it: the mountain view from downtown is overrated.
If I want to see mountains, there are plenty of superior locations along the front range to do so.
Amen Ryan. I agree 100% with you.
I’m excited about this building. I love uniqueness. a triangular building of glass…around other buildings with lots of glass. I’m going to love “growing up” here.
Infill projects like this are what made great cities like NYC and Chicago. If you wanna see what happens when you preserve view corridors in a downtown go to LA and witness the sprawl. This building is exceptional in its attention to the context and challenges of a three sided site. Architects had to work really hard.