A major new mixed-use development has been proposed by the Colorado Rockies baseball club for the full-block surface parking lot adjacent to Coors Field at 19th and Wazee in Lower Downtown Denver. Here’s the location:

Owned by the Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District, the 130,224-square foot parcel, known as the stadium’s “West Lot” parking area, was a key component of the new lease signed this past spring by the Colorado Rockies and the Stadium District that keeps the Rockies at Coors Field for the next 30 years. You can get all the details here as reported by 9News.

Today, the development plans for the block were announced publicly by the Denver office of Stantec (formerly RNL Design), the architecture firm hired by the Rockies to design the project.

The plans are still in the early stages, but the project could include hotel, office, residential, retail, and restaurant uses along with a significant public space activated through baseball-related entertainment and events, and a Colorado Rockies Hall of Fame. For more, check out these articles published online today by the Colorado Real Estate Journal and 303 Magazine. Preliminary renderings, courtesy of Stantec, show several 10-story connected buildings surrounding a grand public space. It appears all parking is underground.

Street-level view from 19th and Wynkoop looking towards 20th and Coors Field:

Proposed Colorado Rockies Mixed-Use project viewed from 19th & Wynkoop, rendering courtesy of Stantec

Bird’s-eye view of the development from above 19th and Wynkoop:

View of the public space in the interior of the project looking toward 19th and Wynkoop:

Proposed Colorado Rockies Mixed-Use project viewed from the interior public space toward 19th & Wynkoop, rendering courtesy of Stantec

This project is significant for not only the Rockies and the Stadium District, but for LoDo and all of Downtown Denver. This block is the largest development site remaining in Lower Downtown and, for the 22 years since Coors Field opened in 1995, has been a major gap in the urban fabric separating the vitality of the historic district from the stadium. This project will close that gap and significantly energize the connection between Coors Field and Lower Downtown.

The project is still in the early stages, but if all goes as planned, the Rockies hope to break ground on the project in 2018.