Construction on a new ultra-green condominium and townhome development, S*Park, is underway on the edge of RiNo in Denver’s historic Curtis Park neighborhood.
Located on the full city block bounded by 25th, Lawrence, 26th, and Arapahoe streets, S*Park will provide eight townhomes and 91 condominiums comprised of a mix of studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, and 4-bedroom units. S*Park is being developed by Treehouse Brokerage and Development in partnership with Tres Birds Workshop.
The green nature of this project is evident in several ways. Rooftop solar panels will generate electricity for the development while the exterior facade will incorporate reclaimed brick from former Denver buildings. A landscaped park in the center of the block will provide outdoor space for residents, and a greenhouse/restaurant and urban garden will anchor the site along 25th Street. Ground-floor commercial spaces at 26th and Lawrence will help connect S*Park to the walkable shops and restaurants on Larimer Street one block away, while the project’s three-story building heights, setbacks from the street, and front lawns mirror the lower-scale residential character of the neighboring blocks. Here’s a bird’s-eye view rendering of the project, courtesy of Treehouse and Tres Birds Workshop. Lawrence Street is on the left, Arapahoe on the right, and 26th Street at the top:
This block, along with the adjacent block to the northeast, once contained public housing owned by the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) that was demolished in the 2000s. As an interim use for the site, DHA partnered with the Colorado Renewable Energy Society to develop Sustainability Park, a three-year pilot project that featured a variety of “earth-friendly technologies and strategies for renewable energy, efficient resource use, sustainable design, urban agriculture and transportation.” Sustainability Park was the inspiration for the S*Park name and the development’s strong emphasis on sustainability and urban agriculture. The project’s next phase on the vacant block between 26th and 27th, as well as the undeveloped parcel at 27th and Arapahoe, hasn’t been designed yet but will be similar in scale to the current phase and will also feature a mix of condominiums and townhomes including a number of affordable income-restricted units under the city’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance.
Let’s take a tour of S*Park using the above image, starting in the upper right (26th and Arapahoe) and moving clockwise. At that corner are eight three-story townhomes featuring rooftop decks and tuck-under garages, followed by a three-story condominium building and then the urban garden at the corner of 25th and Arapahoe. On the Lawrence Street side is the greenhouse/restaurant and two more three-story condominium buildings in the middle of the block. Finally, at 26th and Lawrence, the building will include ground-floor commercial units with two-story condominiums above. For the site plan and unit floor plans and pricing, visit this page at the S*Park website. Here are a few more renderings, courtesy of Treehouse/Tres Birds:
Two-story condos above ground-floor commercial spaces at 26th and Lawrence:
Exterior of condominiums along Lawrence:
Exterior of condominiums and townhomes along Arapahoe:
Interior park:
Ground-floor unit interior with park view:
Parking for the condominium units, greenhouse/restaurant, and commercial spaces are provided underground along the Lawrence Street side of the block. I recently had the opportunity to tour the site, thanks to Clem Rinehart, owner of Treehouse Development.
Here’s a big panorama showing the excavation for the underground parking on the half block facing Lawrence:
The Arapahoe side of the block:
Mid-block along 26th Street is a large beautiful tree that will be preserved:
We will stop by S*Park in a few months with another update as construction continues.
Ya know, at first glance I thought, oh great another missed opportunity, town homes and low rises where high rises should be. But after reading what this project actually is, I got very excited. I love the goal of creating a truly green development. With the solar panels and the reclaimed brick, I look forward to seeing the finished product!
Besides, John, the majority of the land is zoned G-MU-3. So nothing taller than three stories. Just the corner at 25th and Lawrence and the both corners at 26th and Lawrence are zoned G-RX-5 and that was at the request of the developers.
Yawning. 🙂 Denver’s zoning makes no sense to me. I’ll have to assume it’s just another growth control issue. Density is an unpopular idea in the network of planning and zoning for this city. Not many within that civic network wants anymore than moderate density downtown from here to eternity. It’s also a basic standard predetermined by the infrastructure of mobility within the core city. Only X amount of additional residents can be handled downtown because the city refuses to expand the movility of it’s core anymore. The core infrastructure might allow for another 50,000 residents if they all were to opt out of cars and ride bicycles. Of course city offices wouldn’t divulge in their vision because they don’t want to seem anti-growth (in essence). So personally I’ve given up on any of my own fantasies about Denver becoming much more of an energetic or national magnet type city, there’s way too much red tape strangling the notion of any idea like that under the guise of greenness and assorted think tank panels.
Really? I think you’d be upset that there aren’t 20-story towers going up everywhere with a multi-billion dollar subway system running all over Denver proper. There are plenty of places to build high-rises, and while some are being built, there is still plenty of empty land and surface parking lots in and around the urban core. Denver is growing more than other cities, and continues to be an up-and-coming place. I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Beautiful Infill project! Ken, this is a wonderful example of how much the City of Denver is re-thinking, re-purposing urban residential land, from the depressing public housing projects of Post-World War Two, to reclamation for middle class and affordable inner-city housing. The retail component revives sidewalk life and strengthens walkability. All-underground parking reduces car street dominance, and yields ground to urban parkland. And the biggest plus is that this will be a full HOMEOWNERS’ block, the most positive factor in restoring neighborhood stability. It’s green, it’s great!
Wow yes, head for Detroit! There’s much cheaper land in Detroit’s core center and that city will out perform Denver for decades to come because it’s economic need to transform is greater. Where Denver has a better opportunity to expand on it’s core population and a vitality from that it passes for lesser volumes because they are green, when they could be green and highrise.
So glad they are keeping that magnificent white oak on 26th Avenue. Once established (as this one is) oaks are extremely tolerant of anything and can grow incredibly large with large canopies that provide some of the best shade of any tree. They are extraordinarily deep-rooted so in some ways it makes sense to keep the tree and use it as a specimen tree as they are here.
Terrible name.
I read it as shit Park. Strange name for a development
Yup.
That looks like a decent amount of solar panels. I’m curious what proportion of the development’s electricity it will provide.
At first glance of the headline I thought it said Sh*t park. I would suggest a name change before selling condos.
Same
I agree. Who does this development think it is… Prince? Only he is allowed to used symbols in his name. Besides, whenever you see s* – you’re going to assume the word is redacted for being a cuss word.
Agreed. sPark would have been better.
This looks like a great project for that area and the design looks to be well thought out. I love the brick climbing walls too.
Looks like a great project! I’ll be glad to see more stakeholders coming the neighborhood.
and can we just call it Curtis Park. RiNo should stay on the other side of the tracks.
Wonder if all those people buying know they’re completely surrounded by homeless people sleeping across the street.