Back in August we introduced an exciting new project planned for Lower Downtown: the 18th and Market Apartments. It’s exciting because the proposed 11-story, 305-unit residential building will not only remove a wretched half block of surface parking and a weedy lot, but it will also provide more homes for people who want to live in the downtown area with excellent access to public transit and good ped/bike infrastructure. Since August, the new development—proposed by Trammell Crow Residential—has been working its way through the design review process with the Lower Downtown Design Review Board (LDDRB). The project architect is Johnson Nathan Strohe.
In my August post, I mentioned that the project’s first submittal to the LDDRB included parking on the second level that was not screened from the street by other uses, which resulted in the LDDRB not approving that preliminary design. In the project’s October submittal, that issue among others had been fixed, with the parking on the ground floor and second level fully wrapped by retail or residential uses. Consequently, the LDDRB approved the project’s mass, form, and context at their October 6, 2016 meeting. Here are the proposed ground-floor and second-level floor plans extracted from the project’s December submittal to the LDDRB (as always, plans and renderings are subject to further refinement):
In addition to the removal of the existing blighted conditions, the construction of this new residential development will also greatly improve the vitality of the area. The retail/restaurant spaces anchoring the corners at 18th and 19th Streets shown on the floor plan above will greatly enhance the pedestrian appeal of the block. Now, if we could only get something developed on the vacant half block across the street!
Here are the latest renderings (courtesy Johnson Nathan Strohe) from the project’s December submittal to the LDDRB. At the December meeting, the LDDRB approved the project for design details.
Hopefully, the 18th and Market Apartments project will successfully conclude its development review process with the city and move toward construction in 2017.
The changes are awesome! This development needs to happen in the worst way. And who the hell owns the lot across the street? That’s next on the list!
It’s looking better with each iteration.
If Denver had any foresight whatsoever, this would be the base of a point tower rising another 20 stories (ala Confluence).
FYI, this project is located within the “Market Street District” special review district which allows a maximum building height of 130 feet, per the Lower Downtown Design Standards and Guidelines.
I’m aware. I don’t think that max height or LDDRB necessarily result in the best potential usage of this site.
Agreed.
Love this project! Totally classy and well done…and filling HALF of the worst parking lot situation in Lodo.
And no bitching about it being a land barge!!
PS Properties across the street (2 of them) owned by Blecker, LLC.
This is how all landscrapers at that scale should look. Plus, I love that they are adding retail at both corners. I wish that all of those landscrapers along Welton or in Arapahoe Square would’ve taken some of the same design considerations or at least had retail on both corners.