A concept design review application for a new infill project that would add 169 units of affordable and workforce rental apartments to Downtown Denver’s Arapahoe Square district has been submitted to the Arapahoe Square Design Advisory Board (ASDAB). The 13-story project proposed for 2250 Champa Street and currently called Champa Flats will have its first review by the ASDAB on December 12.

Below is a Google Earth aerial with the 0.36-acre site outlined, and a Google street view image showing the property’s current status as an ugly surface parking lot:

Location of the proposed Champa Flats project on a Google Earth aerial
Google street view image of the proposed Champa Flats site

According to the project’s ASDAB application, the Champa Flats includes a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments on floors 4 through 13 with an indoor/outdoor resident lounge also on the fourth floor. A total of 94 vehicle parking spaces are located on the first three floors plus one level underground. The parking on the first three floors is shielded from view from Champa Street with building uses. At the street level, a commercial retail space and the building lobby front the sidewalk, with each of these ground-floor spaces extending vertically to hide the parking on the second floor as well. On the third floor, a fitness center and resident amenity space obscure the parking from the street view. Access to the parking is via the alley.

Here is a rendering (courtesy of OZ Architecture) taken from the project’s ASDAB application of the front (Champa) side of the proposed building. Please keep in mind that this is a concept design only. The project is just starting its journey through the design review process with the ASDAB and the City, so it is likely that the tower’s design will be refined over the coming months.

Champa Flats concept design, courtesy of OZ Architecture

It is exciting that another forlorn Arapahoe Square parking lot may be eradicated and replaced with desperately needed affordable housing, no less!