DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

Dude, quit killing our no-post streaks. We could have been post-free since 9/3. That would have been a great record. Time to let this forum die already.

Do you realize how many people left the Nuggets for dead when they were down 1-3 to the Utah Jazz? Even more people left the Nuggets for dead when when they were down 1-3 to the L.A. Clippers. Yet here they are entering the Western Conference Finals against Lebron James and the L.A. Lakers starting tomorrow night. While I wouldn't bet the farm on the Nuggets winning this series, I'm hesitant to assume they'll soon be 'dead'.

Count this site out for dead at your own peril.

Originally Posted by RyanD

Have ya looked at the weather outside? I'm not taking pictures with an AQI of 160+ and smoke. I love development but not the black lung.

I've been dealing with my own issues.

The performance on my Windows 7 PC was (finally) starting to be uneven. I got the idea that if I'd agree to use Microsoft Edge they would continue to update my PC but I was unwilling to let go of Chrome.

Always looking for a bargain I found a refurbished Lenova PC on Amazon for $187 out the door (including tax). I chose the Lenova b/c it came with an SSD or solid state hard drive which I much prefer for its snappiness.

With Windows Defender now highly rated I decided why not. But the performance was glitchy, seemed to have issues syncing with Chrome. Since I watch all sports via free-streaming Euro sites I decided to buy some good protection. While Trend Micro is still a top five rated service I decided to go with top-rated BitDefender for $30 plus tax.

So far everything is working great - but it's been a process.

Originally Posted by wong21fr

I've been stuck in my basement office for the last six months. Are the mountains still there?

The mountain tops have disappeared but the bottoms are still there.

[EngiNerd]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

I've been stuck in my basement office for the last six months. Are the mountains still there?

Not for anyone east of Jefferson county.

[TakeFive]

What is that you like about Denver's developing downtown and nearby neighborhoods?

New post pending... (soon)

[James7576]

FUTURE OFFICE DEVELOPMENT DOWNTOWN DENVER
Well denver ever see new projects come on line in the future
Now that projects are getting done.
I hope to see new projects
Tabor Tower 2, Back parking lot at Denver Pavillion
One time a 35 story tower
Parking lot around the Trinity Methodist Church
Denver Bus Station.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by James7576

FUTURE OFFICE DEVELOPMENT DOWNTOWN DENVER
Well denver ever see new projects come on line in the future
Now that projects are getting done.
I hope to see new projects
Tabor Tower 2, Back parking lot at Denver Pavillion
One time a 35 story tower
Parking lot around the Trinity Methodist Church
Denver Bus Station.

I never want to see Tabor 2 proposed for the rest of my lifetime.....

[davedensf]

Originally Posted by EngiNerd

Only during the day and on weekends, no one hung out downtown at night except the "winos" and a few adventurous types.

As a suburban white kid of the 80s who's father worked downtown, I remember hanging out at my dad's office in the Park Central building and playing around in the Skyline Park fountains, going to the Tabor Center at Christmas Time, parades, etc....but that was about the extent of time that we (and pretty much anyone of the suburban types) would hang out downtown. Even as a kid, I remember being told we don't stay downtown past dark (unless you were heading to a Petroleum Club event, I wasn't old enough for those...)

No way those were the "good ole days" of Downtown Denver, it was a place for city "getaways", but not city life.

Slight disagreement here. The CBD was dead at night, true, in the mid-80s, but there were at least a couple of good nightclubs at the edge of downtown--Thirsty's and Rock Island, I think, maybe others. They were popular and crowded and I danced to some great New Wave music at them (and other stuff too, but I would dance to anything.). My college years were some of the best of my life.

[davedensf]

Originally Posted by RyanD

Have ya looked at the weather outside? I'm not taking pictures with an AQI of 160+ and smoke. I love development but not the black lung.

I flew Oakland to Denver on September 9th, the day the Bay Area's sky turned dark orange and the streetlights never came on. As we ascended I thought the plane had caught fire but it turned out it was just the smoke from all the wildfires getting circulated into the plane's cabin. It cleared up quickly.

The air wasn't bad most of the week I was in Denver. Well, nothing so bad as compared to the Bay Area. It reminded me of Brown Cloud days from the 70s when I was a little kid.

The air had cleared up when I got back to Oakland on the 16th. So I guess I've lucked out (for once) in 2020.

Today the air in my neighborhood is in the 60s and 70s, according to PurpleAir.

[rds70]

It looks like Mill Creek Residential is scraping the two tower Modera Golden Triangle plan at 11th and Bannock. The company has submitted a new concept plan for the site (the old Rocky Mountain PBS building):

8 story, 326 unit apartment building with approx. 4500sf ground floor retail and 391 parking spaces.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by rds70

It looks like Mill Creek Residential is scraping the two tower Modera Golden Triangle plan at 11th and Bannock. The company has submitted a new concept plan for the site (the old Rocky Mountain PBS building):

Where did you see this? That’s a surprise given the land costs in GT but 324 units is still a sizable project

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by BG918

Where did you see this? That’s a surprise given the land costs in GT but 324 units is still a sizable project

Originally, they had proposed a 16-story which utilized zoning max height. This change reflects more their recent model so I assume there's efficiencies with that.

It could go to how much capital they want to allocate to this specific project. It could also hint at a reassessment for urban versus suburban investment going forward.

Just Found this tidbit

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n..._news_headline

According to Zillow, 46.6% of Denver-area rental listings on its website in August were advertising some sort of rental concession. That's up from 28% in August 2019, and from 32.5% at the start of 2020.

Among the top 50 U.S. metros, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood is home to one of the highest percentages of rental listings offering concessions on Zillow. Only five metros in the U.S. are home to a higher percentage: Raleigh, North Carolina (46.8%); Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (47.2%); San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California (50.9%); Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina (56.5%) and the Washington, D.C., metro (59.2%).

In my best misogynist voice: Sometime the demand-supply curve is a fickle lady.

[DenverInfill]

Originally Posted by rds70

It looks like Mill Creek Residential is scraping the two tower Modera Golden Triangle plan at 11th and Bannock. The company has submitted a new concept plan for the site (the old Rocky Mountain PBS building):

With this the design will go from two boxes sitting on top of one box to just one big box.

[TakeFive]

Land = Dirt


Photo by Thomas Gounley via BusinessDen

Seems like someone had asked about this.

Developer buys land for proposed 20-story Belleview Station hotel
September 21, 2020 By Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen

A development firm planning a 20-story hotel in the Denver Tech Center’s Belleview Station has purchased the land. Englewood-based Cypress 16, acting as DTC Hospitality Venture I LLC, paid $1.29 million last week for the northwest corner of Chenango Avenue and Olive Street, according to public records.

Cypress 16 proposed a 20-story, 190-room Kimpton Hotel on 0.41 acres at the site in 2019. The land is immediately south of office building 6900 Layton, which is being completed by Denver-based developer Prime West.

[TakeFive]

Palisade Partners Closes on Land for TOD in SoBo
September 21, 2020 By Mile High Cre

Palisade Partners, developer of innovative and sustainable multifamily and mixed-use projects in Denver, has purchased 25,000 square feet (±0.57 acres) of land located at 1900 South Acoma Street in the popular South Broadway (SoBo) neighborhood.

According to plans submitted on April 6 to Denver’s Community Planning and Development department, Palisade plans to develop a 9-story, 165-unit residential tower on the site, as well as 7,030 square feet of ground floor retail. The mixed-use project will also include a 96,782-square-foot parking garage. Craine Architecture is the architect of record according to concept plans.

Summarize your thinking for us.

“The transit accessibility to this location is unmatched, with an extensive list of nearby amenities in every direction,” stated Cowan. “A 5-minute drive leads to over 12.4 million square feet of upcoming development. The active transit oriented development (TOD) location of SoBo has spurred mixed-use and multi-phased development in three major projects: Broadway Station, Santa Fe Yards and Broadway Park.”

Image provided by Palisade Partners via Mile High CRE

Art Soothes the Soul

Vacant Office Building in Lakewood to be Converted into Affordable Housing for Local Artists
September 21, 2020 - Mile High CRE

Zocalo Community Development will serve as the developer, general contractor and property manager. The project is reported to have received $47.6 million in construction financing, arranged by Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital through the direct purchase of tax-exempt and taxable bonds issued by Colorado Housing and Finance Authority.

The Notable is an adaptive reuse of a 4-story, 160,000-square-foot office building on more than six acres at 730 Simms St. In addition to one and two bedrooms apartments, the re-development will also include 3,000 square feet of on-site retail space.

How did the Art angle come up?

The project took on a performing/musical arts personality after Zocalo met with neighbors and neighborhood associations. According to Zocalo, amenities will include practice and performance space for musicians and a large art studio for artists.

The Notable
730 Simms St. Lakewood, CO


Image courtesy of Zocalo via Mile High CRE

[kemachs]

Originally Posted by DenverInfill

With this the design will go from two boxes sitting on top of one box to just one big box.

AKA the Denver vernacular..

[rds70]

It looks like the proposed Ace Hotel at 19th and Logan/Grant is still slowly moving forward.

Per BusinessDen - https://businessden.com/2020/09/22/d...us-into-hotel/ :

A former Catholic school campus in Uptown continues to sit empty, three years after a rendering was released showing the property transformed into a hotel.

But the New York-based developer that now owns the property is still pursuing the project.

Last week, Tracy Huggins, executive director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority — which works to spur redevelopment in areas in need of revitalization — briefed a City Council committee on a proposal that would help finance the project in the 1800 block of Logan and Grant streets.

The developer, GFI Development Co., has proposed renovating three nearly century-old structures at the site, and building an 11-story building on an existing parking lot.

DURA is asking the council to sign off on $14.25 million in tax increment financing, meaning the developer would be reimbursed up to that amount when the project generates sales tax revenue and increased property tax revenue.

[DenvertoLA]

if a $14 million + incentive can't get a hotel off the ground, we're done for a while

[The Dirt]

It's not the hotel that's the issue, but the rehabbing of several historical properties that are crumbling. The developer has been chasing HUD money for at least 2 years to get this to work and if they can't do it, I don't know who can. That Cathedral High School building is ready to fall over any minute.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

It's not the hotel that's the issue, but the rehabbing of several historical properties that are crumbling. The developer has been chasing HUD money for at least 2 years to get this to work and if they can't do it, I don't know who can. That Cathedral High School building is ready to fall over any minute.

I've been through every inch of that building it's solid, very good bones and very well maintained for most of its existence. The real need for the incentive is on the adaptive re-use side and in the retail uses I'm sure ACE is planning. Much harder to get hotel financing for mixed-use, which is why we see so many boring flags with no ground level activity. Anyone remember how much DUS cost?! If TIF incentives are what we need to do to get better looking/functioning projects in this city, I'm all for it.

[spr8364]

Originally Posted by The Dirt

It's not the hotel that's the issue, but the rehabbing of several historical properties that are crumbling. The developer has been chasing HUD money for at least 2 years to get this to work and if they can't do it, I don't know who can. That Cathedral High School building is ready to fall over any minute.

That seems very unlikely. Do you have any data supporting that? I've done work in a lot of old buildings in Denver that are very run down. And rarely is the structure seriously compromised unless the roof and windows are all broken out and the weather is allowed to get in.

[The Dirt]

I meant DURA, not HUD. The exterior is crumbling, so that's all I can speak to.