In 2017, an ambitious “proposal” was submitted as a concept plan to the city that never made it past the “pretty rendering” phase. While it got a lot of press and hopes for a tall skyscraper, that project never had any real traction. Now, 650 17th Street is back with a much more realistic proposal.
Greystar has proposed a new residential tower that will rise 47 stories, filling in a surface parking lot smack in the middle of Downtown Denver. A concept plan was filed with the city on February 8 and is still under review. At 574 feet, the new tower will still make a nice mark on the skyline. Here are a few massing models we drafted in Google Earth showing the building from the Golden Triangle, Auraria, and Uptown.
Below is a high-resolution rendering of the project. As with any project in the concept phase, this design is not final and can change. The architect on record is Ziegler Cooper.
With Greystar behind this new tower, there is a good chance that this project will move forward. DenverInfill will be actively monitoring 650 17th Street over the coming months.
| Project Description | Developer | Architect | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47 Stories | 342 apt homes | 15,800 sf retail | 416 (v) parking |
Greystar | Ziegler Cooper | TBD |
Looks good. It would fit very well at that site. Is the proposed development of towers at DCPA still active?
Not feeling ambitious about a take anything that comes along plan. My opinion is that Denver needs a new tallest, with all the attraction here, it’s time. Throw another 25-30 stories on it. Denver skyline needs a remake it’s tired and forever been blocky. Seems like developers here don’t possess the ambitions for any remarkable change. Since office probably won’t be pulling that off for a while, mixed use – residential/ hospitality is the only thing that could right now.
As Philip Johnson said when presenting the ‘Cash Register Building’….”The Denver skyline needs a gimmick”. I actually don’t mind our blocky skyline. Some cities are starting to look like amusement parks with all their gimmicks. I do agree, we do need something new to look at. Tall would be great, but not goofy.
Right? Not goofy or gimmicky but I got to say my heart is still broke over the last 650 17th architecture, in my opinion it was brilliant with it’s slight angular shapes and a blue metallic hue. And that was architect was Crown or Davis Partnerships, I wasn’t certain. So yes we’ve seen Denver weather so many different markets over the decades, I’m sure a supertall would weather anything in Denver’s particular upbeat long haul record. If not then tell me what other opportune location “within the unlimited height zone area” of downtown would be available for such a feat if not now but in the future? I suppose the someday equation could come into play where Denver zoning makes adjustments.
17th & Welton, 18th & Glenarm, 14th& Glenarm, 14th & Court, 14th & California, etc…. sooner or later land squatters will want to cash in on the development potential. Hell, it only took Buzz 30-plus years to do so.
“Denver needs a new tallest” is not a business model and I doubt it’s part of the consideration when a developer is deciding whether or not to risk hundreds of millions of dollars on a huge project.
I think Denver needs a new tallest too, but no one is going to loan me hundreds of millions of dollars to build a massive skyscraper, so all I can do is root for one from my architecting armchair.
I think you may be right that it would have to be a mixed-use project and it doesn’t seem to me that the current economic conditions are right for it. Obviously the office market is struggling, but the hospitality industry also hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic and it’s hard to know if/when it will.
Goodie, goodie, another building with a seven stories of completely dead looking above ground parking! When will Denver learn how to place parking underground like a real city? Also seems way over parked, for a supposed transit oriented city.
The original rendering smacked greatly of overly ambitious, way out of scale Austin building proposals and really didn’t feel like anything more than a potential money laundering scheme like so many obnoxious supertall proposals in the US. I like this new building, but I agree w Scott that a 7 story parking podium feels like a slap in the face when this lot is one of the most transit accessible for a high rise residential building in the city.
Any way to get more people living downtown is good IMO, but RTD’s capacity to connect people to jobs and services is so often overlooked by some of these proposals.
Needs to be about 300 feet taller.
That is one beautiful rendering. I hope the design doesn’t get “cheapened” along the way. I’d love to see that thing on the skyline. I think it would go a long way toward giving that side of downtown a more modern look.
Denver is changing rapidly. It’s hard to believe this was a cow town the size of Greeley 30 years ago.
Soon things will be changing again.
Elitch’s will be moving and that land will get built on, The city of Denver and The Denver Broncos new owners will want a BRAND new stadium, and they’ll get it.
That land will be built on.
We’ll get another tollway highway that circles around from Golden tonRed Rocks, to Roxborough Park- Castle rock, out east towards Elizabeth before circles around out past Aurora Reservoir I-70 north bound ending in Weld county somewhere.
RTDs next big rail line should head further West higher into the high country, Blackhawk, Frisco and then Vail. The #15 East Colfax should be a elevated train.
At some point in time Denver’s metro area will reach from Pueblo to Cheyenne. Natural disasters will keep bringing people.
Even though this project replaced the idea for a 90 story tower, when Denver is ready they’re going to build two or three 80-90 story towers at the same time.
Well yet another proposal. Residential at that location. Really? Not going to happen.
Why not residential at that location? The Amacon development is only two blocks away, and there is plenty of smaller-scale residential within a block–Baldwin, Denver Dry, Neustetters, and whatever is in store for the Cotrell’s site at 16th and Welton
Hello, is this where the Debbie Downer society is meeting?
Hahaha Brett so true thanks for the LOL while I’m in this meeting!
Hey Ryan! The massing models are great, it really gives a great feel about how this building could fill in the skyline. I agree with you that graystar, which has built highrises already in Denver, comes into this process with knowledge of the process and can get this building across the finish line!
Thanks for the post!
Nothing like infill in a dense urban environment with a parking:unit ratio of 1.2. We need parking maximums yesterday.
Very expensive early 21st Century tower block, nothing more.
The building looks nice actually, but I do not like that Greystar is the developer. This private-equity backed developer/property manager is the same group that owns the Grand, another downtown “luxury” building that has had all sorts of problems including flooding, mold, trash, chunks of glass breaking from the façade, and terrible management that makes it hard to break leases even when units are all but uninhabitable (https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/contact-denver7/infuriated-residents-calling-out-downtowns-grand-apartments-amid-several-issues-flooding).
I’m all for development of some of these underused lots, but we really need to get better tenant protections from these greedy developers/property management companies that charge higher than average rents for terrible management and maintenance.
Just to be clear, Greystar was not the developer of The Grand nor are they the current owner. They are the property manager only. Shorenstein Properties, based in San Francisco, is the developer/owner.
There are still a ton of street parking lots that will be perfect for Denver’s “new tallest” when the market is ready. I like this project for two reasons. First, it’s residential in the CBD. That area badly needs life after 5 PM and a handful of large residential projects is just the thing. Second, it’s 45 stories in a spot that will make an impact on the skyline. I disagree that the skyline hasn’t changed. The big 3 are still dominant but there has slowly been a curtain of glass wrapping around them. When viewed from many angles the skyline looks quite modern, particularly from the west (highlands).
Well said, JS
Denver’s skyline is becoming an embarrassment for the city. Nothing says second rate city better than low square buildings.
show people, from other places in the country, pictures of out skyline and 9 out of 10 people wouldn’t even know.
Why does everyone on this website jerk themselves off about parking in the comments? This is a midwest city and everyone owns a car. Stop crying about developers building what the market wants.
Agree with this. As long as RTD stands for “reason to drive” and people still prefer the personal car, parking will still be a thing.
1) Denver is not in the Midwest 2) This is an urban development forum and cities are for people not cars. Also we overbuild parking therefore encouraging driving as a default.
Being between the west coast & the mid-west, Denver certainly has qualities of both. We have a bit of a Chicago vibe as the people here are generally approachable & nice. Our mtns provide some nice beauty like SF and we have an outdoorsy edge similar to Seattle. I also think our tech/startup focus is more similar to the W coast, but our work-life balance is better than CA. We’re awesome because we’re a bit unique.
And yes, a new tallest is needed. Wouldn’t be surprised to see one or more in the 3-5 year window.
Denver is NOT a midwest city sir!
Lebanon Kansas is the geographic center of the United States. Between Lebanon and the coast (San Francisco) it is 1,577 miles. 750 miles west (midwest) is Utah. Denver is arguably Midwest and a City.
Dave,
Denver is NOT a Midwest city. Per Google: The Midwestern United States (or Midwest) refers to the north-central states of the United States of America, specifically Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Denver is a Mountain State City!
Hey Ryan! This is a huge, major ask! But, I’m wondering if you would be willing to take the massing models you did for this post and ADD the new towers going up at 18th and Glenarm? I think it would be really interesting to see how the three towers would impact the skyline. I think in the first two massing model pics you have the other two towers wouldn’t show much, but in the third, I think it could be really dramatic… I know you are busy with real-world stuff, but I thought I would throw it out there! Anyway, thanks for this blog, its great!
P.
Hey Patrick – we should hopefully be featuring a 3D Skyline soon which will highlight the 18th and Glenarm towers as well. Standby. 🙂
awesome! Thanks!
It’s not tall enough for that site. There should be height minimums for 17th street. Wasn’t the whole purpose of our current zoning to allow the tallest development only on 17th street?
With all the talk about parking podiums, is it possible that the cost of installing underground parking is prohibiting this? What I assume is bedrock isn’t far from the surface of the ground. Does anyone know more details about what’s prohibiting the UG parking? Seems like a trend so I’m thinking there is a good reason. I’m aware some UG exist but doesn’t mean it was worth it. General inquiry…
this would have been cool to!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfsuguLdbSg
I checked that out…besides generically plugging 17th & California (and Denver in general), I couldn’t really figure out what that was about. What exactly was the pitch?
Ryan and Ken, love to see the new content. I’ve been following along from the shadows for almost a decade, but wanted to say I really am appreciative of all the hard work you do for this site. It’s one of the reasons I’ve continued forward with my passion for buildings and am now studying architecture. I think this project looks pretty good compared to some of the other residential towers that have gone up recently. I’d also say Denver’s skyline is fairly recognizable and not bad looking at all in terms of density, massing, materials, etc; especially in comparison with most other cities/metros with a similar population. It’s always shocking to see how much whining some people do in these comment sections.
I would love to see a new tallest building that reframes the skyline, and am not a fan of the above ground parking, but as people have said things will change with time. Lots are only just beginning to grow a bit sparse around downtown, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for our city. For now, the added height and density to downtown, a unique roofline, and another splash of visible glass in the masonry-thick cbd qualifies this project as a win for me!