In the Union Station North district tucked behind Coors Field, two related projects are currently under construction.
X Denver. Rising 12 stories, X Denver will feature 251 new apartment homes and an expansive rooftop deck. Developed by Property Markets Group, the project is located on a wedge-shaped parcel at the end of Inca and Huron streets immediately south of the railroad tracks. X Denver broke ground in late 2018 and is scheduled for completion later this year.
X Denver 2. On the parcel just south of X Denver on Inca Street is X Denver 2, also a 12-story development that will provide 204 new homes. X Denver 2 started construction in early 2020 and has risen about five stories so far.
We stopped by last weekend and took these photos of the two projects. The first six are taken from Inca Street, with the topped-off X Denver on the left and X Denver 2 on the right. The seventh image is taken from the alley in the center of the block, and the last image is taken from Huron, where only X Denver has frontage.
We’ll stop by again later this summer with an update on these two X Denver projects.
If the city would replace the street parking with tree lawns this neighborhood could be really cute rather than desolate.
John, Where are visitors supposed to park? How about people who are delivering items, health care workers visiting, etc? You need some level of parking in ANY urban setting. The key is keeping it to a minimum. This neighborhood offers very limited parking as is. NUFF SAID!
X2 will have 6 floors of structured parking, or 50% of its total height – and none of it screened by active uses. That’s a parking garage as tall as the building to the left of it, and most other buildings in the neighbourhood.
I’d say this neighbourhood is likely well served enough by parking already.
This whole experience the past two months has further illustrated how important these types of urban designs will be going forward. Moved to the “south” side of this neighborhood this past December and I can’t imagine how much more difficult everything would have been living anywhere else. Stores are a block away, parks are just around the corner, restaurants offering pickup service (because you can’t stand the taste of your own cooking anymore) are right there.
I’m privileged to still be working. That work is being done from home. I haven’t driven my car in months—even since before mandated isolation. It’s pretty easy to see the paradigm shift we’ve been heading toward for a while: a world without driving, communal office space, neighborhoods with no walkable community amenities. That shift was on the distant horizon before. Now we’re living it in real time—and not only is it viable, it might be necessary.
The world as we know it has changed.
We sold in October 2019, dodged that bullet. The unit types of both buildings are aligned with current market trends-young transient rentals, lock off bedrooms, amenity rich common space and huge planned turnover rates. More of a resort destination or air bnb than a “neighborhood” although it got a cool neighborhood label-Union Station North. In my opinion, the area is now simply an extension of “dorm living”, plastic take-out containers and bags, and a preponderance of marginally coordinated millennials drunk or high riding on scooters meant for less heavy people.
That’s a decidedly grumpy way of looking at things. I love that there’s a cool place in our city for people that live that way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong or less-than about people having lifestyles different than my own.
Union Station is practically on a different planet these days, compared to how it was a decade ago. Every time I go there it seems like there’s something new going up!
Thanks to Ken & the rest of the Denver Infill team for keeping the site going during the pandemic. 🙂
For this neighborhood it is notable how little retail has been built into the streetscape. It’s a desolate area that has not been served well by developers and the planning authority.
What kind of retail do you think should exist in this little enclave that is not available in the Union Station district?
Seems like everything is right there and available within walking distance.
With out a doubt this neighborhood is ugly and the City of Denver and Building owners and developers do not seem to care about trees, grass, and any sort of beauty – the area is plain and simply ugly.
There is almost no grass in all of Paris. Is Paris ugly? Also there are trees in almost every single one of those photos.
You are right, Matt. Due to infill development not only in Union Station North but in all downtown neighborhoods, there is a big net gain of trees. The city requires street trees of all new developments and so many of these projects replaced surface parking lots or old industrial/commercial buildings where the adjacent treelawn was usually treeless. That’s not to say that we couldn’t use MORE trees and pocket parks and whatnot than what we are getting already, but the pedestrian environment along the sidewalks throughout these developing areas is significantly improved from what was there previously.