In early 2016, World Trade Center Denver announced ambitious plans to build a new campus in Denver’s booming River North district. More recently, WTC Denver and their development team released some exciting details about the first phase (of three) of their new campus planned for a prominent site adjacent to RTD’s 38th and Blake transit station. For many years, Denver’s World Trade Center was located at 16th and Broadway in Upper Downtown and recently moved to the Clayton neighborhood while plans for its new RiNo campus take shape. In the image below we’ve outlined the location of WTC Denver’s three phases. For more details on the WTC Denver plan, click here to view/download a PDF available on the WTC Denver website.
Phase 1 of the new WTC Denver campus in River North is envisioned to include around 200,000 square feet of corporate office space, 50,000 square feet of co-working space, a 20,000 square foot conference center, 30,000 square feet of restaurant/retail space, and a 200-room hotel. These uses would be housed in two towers in the 8-12 story range above two levels of underground parking. Here are conceptual massing and stacking diagrams for Phase 1. All images below are courtesy of WTC Denver and OZ Architecture, the project architect
These renderings by OZ Architecture provide a sense for the integrated design of the proposed WTC Denver Phase 1:
WTC Denver is planning on getting started on Phase 1 in 2017 at an estimated cost of $200 million, with completion set for 2019.
What an incredibly ambitious project. I would really love to see this one get off the ground as it would bring RiNo to a whole new level, and probably my rent too (I live in Freight Residences). Hopefully the economy stays on track this upcoming year to allow for this thing to break ground. It’s also interesting to see hints in some images of other projects nearby that are in the early stages of development.
This development is actually in the Cole neighborhood.
The city’s maps show the Cole neighborhood boundary runs along Walnut and the site is within the River North BID.
The Pepsi plant has some increasingly valuable land. Have there been any rumors of development?
This is an ambitious project, and its good to see transit driving development like this.
That being said, I am disheartened that something like this is being built in RiNo and not in/around Upper Downtown’s parking wasteland near Block 001-B.
The renderings above suggest that RiNo may soon become Tech Center Round 2, which is fine, but unfortunate when there is still so much empty real estate in Denver’s core.
I think once all the areas around downtown are built-up, the downtown lots will support some possibly amazing development. The downtown should be reserved for taller buildings, and when everything around downtown is built-out and dense, I think those buildings will have a lot of support to be built.
RiNo is contiguous to downtown so it won’t be Tech Center II. The more RiNo develops the more downtown increases in value, creating the opportunity to build real density.
I don’t know how you can be disheartened by this. This is quintessential transit oriented development – exactly what we should be hoping for at a major transit station this close to downtown. I don’t think the tech center is analogous. The DTC is about 15 miles from downtown and consists of automobile oriented developments that are surrounded by moats of parking and separated by substantial distances. It’s an office real estate market that competes with downtown, rather than enhancing it. River North on the other hand is a downtown neighborhood, one stop away from Union Station on the A Line, and this WTC campus, along with the development surrounding it, will be dense and walkable. Upper Downtown / Arapahoe Square will fill in soon enough – likely with developments substantially more dense than the WTC campus. We can have both.
I can’t wait, this will be a game changer for RiNo. My only concern for this project is traffic. Walnut and Blake can handle it (for now) but that 38th street underpass is pretty small, and that’s my commute. Here’s hoping this either has no impact to that route, or there’s some thought into traffic management for the area.
I agree; that underpass is well over due for an improved through way. With land prices skyrocketing in this neighborhood, I wonder how long the Rockies will hang onto the vast expanse of parking lots? Seems like they could be tempted to sell two or three blocks worth of asphalt towards the far northern reaches and still have plenty of room for parking.
I love the architecture style. And I echo about the 38th underpass being too small. What about bike lanes through there? Also thinking with the Western Stock Show Complex not far that more than 200 hotel rooms would be planned.
Keep in mind the HUB project two blocks away on Blake will also have a 150 room hotel.
This is probably my favorite project due to unfold over the next few years along with the proposed DPAC “Next Stage” project downtown. Speaking of which, do you guys at Denverinfill know if there are any updates on the Next Stage proposal?
A.J., Good observation. Denver for some reason always builds and develops first and then by necessity is forced to redeveloped and improve infrastructure as an afterthought,
I anticipate that the retail will be filled with big-company chains, providing little if any real character. Big developments like this rarely offer anything for local establishments.
Your concern is understandable, but given that the majority of the retail in RiNo is local, I’m holding out hope for the same at this project.
Seems like there’s something planned for the block between 38th to Downing along Blake as well, since that site has been cleared. Any word on that?
This project leaves me feeling rather conflicted. On one hand, this development could be yet another catalyst to trigger more interesting, positive redevelopment in RiNo. This project could really transform the character and cause a fundamental shift in what RiNo is in the future. As such, it’s really important to consider the implications of this project on the development of the RiNo area. Fundamentally, the question is what should RiNo be? While this project does offer the mix of uses and general form that contributes well to a vibrant, urban core, this project does not seem to fit in with the industrial chic aesthetic established by Zeppelin’s developments and many of the other project underway in the district. Other commenters have mentioned this and I think it is a very important consideration as a project of this magnitude can cause a huge shift in the thinking of what an area could and should be. Other important considerations include, in my estimation:
– Pedestrian experience on Blake Street and 38th Street: what will the pedestrian experience be like coming from the 38th and Black station? None of the images shown provide any detail on this but this is one of the most important considerations of a TOD project.
– Sky bridges: what purpose do these serve? I am weary of bridges taking pedestrians off the street and so these should serve a very clear purpose and not detract from the pedestrian experience.
– Extension of Blake Street improvements: how will this development and the other intervening parcels tie in to the improvements that will go up to 35th Street? This can’t be an afterthought if RiNo is to be as walkable and bikeable as people desire.
Also, I have a pet peeve with that show potential building envelopes surrounding the site. I get that the architect is trying to show a future scenario of development but I think they end up being more misleading than anything.
Long story short, this is an exciting development and will need a lot of scrutiny to ensure this project further contributes to the uniqueness of RiNo rather than detract from it.
I agree about the sky bridges. It’s sort of a gimmicky holdover from the bad urban planning of the 80s and I’m surprised to see it here.
This is always the problem with gentrification. First you have the young adult artsy crowd move in and start to rehab the neighborhood. I had some experience with exactly that in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood in the late 1980s when I was an undergrad urban planner at Cleveland State. After the neighborhood is good and sanitized, and lots of the former residents and businesses have been driven-out, as well as plenty of the early artsy crowd too, that’s when the money starts to flow into such neighborhoods, driving more and more of both original residents and the early artsy gentrifiers out too.
I used to work for a wholesale produce company at Denargo Market in 1990-91, and I used to hang-out at the Filling Station on Brighton Blvd in the 1990s too, so I have mixed feelings about the alleged success in sanitizing the RiNo neighborhood and making it safe for big money development.