Talk about quick progress! The 16th and Wewatta Hotel and Office Complex is rapidly rising. As I was in the area, I decided to take a few photos of the progress. Another update never hurts, right?
The hotel structure is now over halfway up, at seven stories. It will eventually top out at a total of 12 stories and feature a dark brick and glass facade.
For the sake of comparison, the 12-story Hotel Born will be roughly as tall as the Triangle Building, and the grey blank wall of The Platform.
The office portion is currently up four stories and will top out at five stories. You can also now clearly see the opening between the two buildings which will be used by pedestrians to access the commuter rail platforms.
To wrap up, here are four shots of the project from the commuter rail canopy. This project is just starting to close in the space between the canopy and the 16th Street Mall. Ground floor retail will be featured along the inside of the commuter rail canopy.
We should see this project topped off by mid-summer with the facade following behind. Tomorrow, we have an exciting post coming up. Stay tuned!
One of the things I like most about this project is how it helps enclose the canopy area, creating a large outdoor “room” within which the train platforms are found–connecting it conceptually to the world’s great train halls where the platforms exist in a huge voluminous enclosed space. The Coloradan, when it gets built, will be the final “wall” in place.
It is too bad that there will not be a building over the tracks to the east to fully enclose the space. I believe it was originally in the plan but turned out to not be feasible. Coming out of the “tunnel” and suddenly finding yourself in the train hall would have really provided a great sense of arrival for passengers on the train; sort of like arriving at Winter Park on the old ski train.
On the other hand, it is a shame the view corridor from the 16th street mall to the canopy is now blocked by this building. Poor city planning in my eyes.
Ryan, any idea what the width is of the pass through between the hotel and the Platform? Seems wider than the walkway between the hotel and the office tower but it is tough to tell with the steel addition. And of course you are correct, we are only hurt by a lack of updates 🙂
I’m not sure. I originally didn’t think there was going to be a walkway between the hotel and The Platform, so it caught me by surprise. We will have to wait and see with this one!
This surprised us as well … is it possible that they’re still going to build in that large corridor between the hotel and the Platform? We assumed the Platform left that large wall blank (no windows, no balconies) because the hotel would be built right up against it.
My understanding is that there will be a narrow alley between the back of the hotel and the blank wall of Platform for valet, service deliveries, etc.
I’m hoping the pathway between the platform and 16th Street is creative. It looks narrow and dark currently. I think they could pull something really creative off with that space to make it inviting.
Well, there was this: https://denverinfill.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014-03-05_block-A_rendering4.jpg
I would have like this passageway to have been a little more substantial so it could be an interesting node at the terminus of the train lines. It is a focal point of the train hall for people moving from the north to south side and looking down from the pedestrian bridge. They could have added some interesting art piece or architectural detail.
You never know, they still might! That is just a rendering after all…
Ryan, don’t tease me! I tend to get my hopes high, especially with the Union Station neighborhood.
We do have an art piece planned, on the West edge of the “Paseo” as we are calling it, on the full height concrete stair core wall. The entry to the new restaurant planned to front the Platform http://denver.eater.com/2015/8/20/9182671/frasca-food-and-wine-denver-restaurant-kimpton-hotel-union-station as well as the Office Lobby should make this space pretty activated and interesting. Think of it as a newly-built alley, but filled with 2000 pedestrians/hour!
I love the wood, lighting and glass. There are so many options to access the train shed.