On June 2, 2022, the proposed 36-story, 139-home Bell Tower development received unanimous approval from the Lower Downtown Design Review Commission for Mass, Form, and Context—the first phase in the design review process in the Lower Downtown Denver Historic District. Ryan covered that in his post on June 3 and provided the latest project renderings at that time.
On October 6, 2022, the project will have its second phase review with the LDDRC for Design Details, which includes things such as materials, color, windows, entrances, and other exterior elements. The city planning staff recommendation to the LDDRC for this second phase submittal is “conditional approval” with the condition being that the tower’s lighting details must be provided—a fairly minor issue that is unlikely to jeopardize the 375-foot project from moving forward. While the LDDRC members don’t always vote as recommended by the planning staff, they usually do, so this is a positive sign. The developer is Kairoi Residential, with GDA Architects and Norris Design on the project team.
The designers did make a few tweaks to the tower’s massing conditions since the project’s submittal in June, so here are some fresh renderings taken from the package submitted to the LDDRC for their October 6 meeting:
Even with approval from the LDDRC on October 6, the project still needs Site Development Plan approvals and must complete the Building Permit review and approval stage before construction can begin. Nevertheless, it appears we might be one step closer to eradicating an ugly surface parking lot from a prominent downtown location and replacing it with homes for people.
| Project Description | Developer | Architect | Most Recent Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 Stories | 139 apt homes | 197 (v) parking | Kairoi Residential | GDA Architects | Address Assignment (2022-07-19) |
It looks appealing, not under or over designed and will be an interesting feature off of Larimer Square. That it stands apart from the other buildings in the area gives it a look similar to the condos at Confluence Park.
Love it.. Build it!!
Glad to see this sort of height and density, but the tower itself looks dated and uninspiring. The exact same looking tower could have just as easily gone up in 1999. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that a tower 30+ stories taller than anything around it has to fit into the surrounding design style its entire height. Would love to see the browns/beiges gone, which were overused during the 80s construction boom downtown.
The light tans/browns help but more glass for appeal would look nicer. Although, overall it looks very similar to the Four Seasons next door which could be what they are looking for.
Good! More cameras too that will catch the typical LODO nightlife trash when they come down to flex. I really wish they had just focused on a pure glass facade from the Speer side.
Well that escalated quickly
Please keep that kind of comments for all the other sites available for that. Why not just say “I really wish they had just focused on a pure glass facade from the Speer side?” This is one of the few sites I still read the comments. There have been arguments about building style, but I don’t remember seeing someone trash people on this site.
Thank you Steve. Comments must be civil and on topic.
Looks like the Four Seasons hooked up with Brooks Tower, and this was the result. I’ll take it.
I think it’s more of a One Lincoln Park and Spire looking spawn. Not much to look at but gets the job done. I lost hope for good design on this parcel several years ago.
What are people’s thoughts on Brooks Tower? Could be a good discussion
Hate to see it take this route. This is honestly offensively lazy looking. How did a design review let this happen? Could have been a show stopper and now it’s just further proof that Denver has no ambition or sense of pride in terms of design. #MissedOpportunity #Eyesore
Design review is the one that made it look (even more) boring – the initial concept had a pretty cool glass element running up one side of the building. Review board said nah, too racy, needs to ‘blend’ more with the neighborhood.
I like the deep sapphire blue of the window glass. The building is quite conventional otherwise, except for a few interesting elements. It will fit in well with the site and surroundings. It’s obvious a really dramatic and cutting edge building was never going to get constructed there. I’ll just be thrilled to see condos built.
sad to see this once exciting project get so watered down and stripped of any interest and end up as another uninspired boring architectural statement, so sad for denver once again!
I agree on the 80’s earth tones, Denver has quite enough brown. I keep waiting for the 1801 California tower to get a new coat of paint, something lighter, maybe a houndstooth pattern? LOL! BUT I do like this building’s scale being thin instead of the typical square buildings. Looks like it will make for connecting a building row to the River Mile eventually.
Ive been waiting for this one to get moving.
This project represents a complete failure of design review. It is an undeniable challenge trying to figure out how to review a 375′ tower against the standards of a historic district, but the City and LDDRC had the better part of two decades to figure out how they were going to review this thing, and ultimately how to get an iconic piece of architecture at this critical location. It hasn’t worked. Now LoDo, Larimer Square, and the city are going to be saddled with another piece of developer-grade architectural drivel – not dissimilar to Confluence Tower – at a hugely visible and important gateway to the most vibrant part of two. Such a missed opportunity.
Is it possible to vote out the people on LDDRC? The submissions versus actuals are horrible. Make the city more modern and edgy to be able to pass the “visual” test when new people want to call downtown home. I think there is something to learn about some of the “less attractive” places to call home downtown.
Keep in mind the LDDRC covers only LoDo, and the guidelines are intended to help new buildings fit in harmoniously with the historic urban fabric in the area. The rest of downtown has a less-demanding set of design standards so architects have much more architectural freedom in the rest of downtown. This Bell Tower property is in a “historic edge” zone within LoDo where there is much less historic urban fabric to respond to.
Thanks for the additional information
Well, I liked some of the earlier designs better as a building. There was a design a few years ago that was mostly white with a cubist and frosted glass looking (from the drawing) facade, and I liked that as a building much better. However, looking at this building now, I think the new design proposed here actually does fit in better with the area. I guess I, timidly, admit that I think the LDDRC process worked. I know that may not be a popular viewpoint in this discussion, but that’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it.