This is the worst one-block stretch of any street in downtown Denver:
The 1800 block of Market is an ugly hole in the urban fabric that features nothing but the open storage of cars and a pedestrian environment that is depressing and unpleasant. It is the only street segment in downtown Denver with no buildings on either side.
As of yesterday, the half-block of land on the right in the Google image above ceased to be a parking lot. Urbanists rejoice!
In its place will be a new 11-story brick building with 302 homes for people, ground-floor commercial spaces, and 15-foot wide streetscaped sidewalks. As we reported in our previous post on this project in early August, Greystar purchased the property along with the development plans from the previous owner and was hoping to break ground this fall. Check! Building permits have already been approved by the city.
Let’s celebrate another parking lot eradication with some photos I took this afternoon as workers were installing concrete construction barriers around the property.
Why is this change important? Why is this development a good thing? Because all great cities are organized around the pedestrian and designed to prioritize walking—the most affordable and equitable form of transportation. When we replace a lifeless empty space like a parking lot with a building full of people and ground-floor activities that are interesting and engaging, that makes Denver a more walkable place and a better city.
Hopefully in the coming days we will see the 18th and Market site go full-construction!
I have been waiting for this to happen for several decades. To me this signals the final phase of filling in the remaining lots in LODO. Now we just need the lot across the street to fill in, and coupled with the Coors Field parking lot construction we only have a handful of small parcels remaining to be developed.
Maybe Ken can give us the current status of the lot across the street? I heard it changed hands so that is hopeful.
I haven’t heard anything about the lot across the street since the sale was announced, hopefully we will soon!
It’s amazing to see so many projects breaking ground. Thanks for the continuous coverage!
Great news! I wonder what will eventually happen to the adjacent lot on 18th? I’ve never even heard rumors about that location.
In our post in August we mention that the parcel across the street was recently sold to a new owner with with plans to develop it. But I haven’t heard anything since.
It’s great to see this finally underway. The RTD bus stop that was on the corner is closed until May 31, 2021; so this appears to be a 31 month construction timeline.
Another one (parking lot) bites the dust! And this is a big one. It appears several projects, big and small, are now revving up. The next two to three years should be interesting in the Denver development world. In 2018 it feels like we saw somewhat of a lull in development – or at least new projects – given many big projects were/are wrapping up. But now we have this and more to look forward to.
I don’t need to be told why this development is a good idea, i have a hatred for surface parking lots and that hate has grown harsher as i continue to witness all the great development this city has seen in the last five years. They just shouldn’t exist in 2018. Perhaps it would be helpful to all those people who are complaining about Denver’s growth and focusing on things like traffic, rent costs and “overcrowding”, which is an exaggerated description of Denver, to read your posts sometime. I am elated that i no longer live in a cow-town!
Thanks for your comment. I mention why this is a good idea because occasionally we do have commenters who don’t get it, so I offer a short explanation now and then. Cheers!
This is great news and long overdue! I’m excited to hear what the plans are for the lot on the west side of Market. Ken, have you heard anything about the lot east of market between 20th and 21st? Also any word on the lot that is east of Blake between 20th and 21st? Thanks
I love reading about the 15 foot wide sidewalk, as well. As, I’m sure, do all the Bird and Lime scooter riders 🙂 I also enjoy widening out the satellite imagery to see where the next giant parking lot sits, trembling in fear that it isn’t long for this new urban world! I’m thinking 19th and Arapahoe.
Curious to see what the parking ratio here will be….
I was sucker punched, knocked out and left bleeding in front of that parking lot back in 2013. Good effing riddance!
This has long been an area with the highest crime rate in the city, particularly after sunset and in the hours around 2:00 am when alcohol sales are no longer legal.
I am guessing both sides of the street have been and clear of structures going back to the early to mid 1970s.
Any info on what was on these stretches then and in past decades, and perhaps why the land stood vacant for longer than we have been alive ?
At this point the area around 15th St and Market by the PF Changs parking lot is probably the greatest crime zone, so hopefully a significant marked change with that will be forthcoming in the next year to two.
We await news on the northwest side of Market between 18th and 19th in the coming months, and a grateful farewell at long last to the Denver Stabbing Zone !
I looked at some historical aerial imagery: it looks like both sides of the block were direct or indirect casualties of the DURA era and the Skyline project. Sometime between 1971 and 1991, both sides of the block went from being 90% buildings to 100% parking.
More recently, the vacancy has been entirely due to the depredations of real estate speculation. A number of developers had plans for this site, but they were axed by the financial crisis. Then, BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, took control of the site in the midst of the post Great-Recession reshuffling. BlackRock doesn’t care about anything except return on investment, and they were more than happy to hang on to the site until someone was going to pay their asking price. Luckily for us, that finally happened.
“Na na na na, na na na na, HEY HEY HEY, good bye!”