Better pics of DNC goings on.

Here.

Seriously, there was butt-loads of people out yesterday.

The last time there was this many people downtown was when the NBA All Star Game was here.

Cool Pic

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Denver Infill

Cool Pics

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The Millennium Bridge looking up 16th Street Mall



Wider Shot

From Denver Infill

Cool Shot

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A view from the construction crane at the 1900 16th project.

From Denver Infill

Pitching A Tent

Since they didn't have enough time to do anything with the old Republic Hotel building site, they decided to throw this thing up for the Dem Convention.

I wonder who is going to rent this thing out.

Sweet!

Denver Infill has some info on a project that reclaim that eyesore of a surface parking lot behind Hotel Monaco.

...as much fun as watching concrete dry.

'For those that are having trouble making concrete plans, the pouring can be viewed through the construction site web camera at:

towerprivateresidences.com.'

That's a Lot of Concrete!

Colorado Saddlery Co.

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Up until recently, this building housed a cowboy accessories manufacturing plant.

It has since shuttered and stands in disrepair.

I hope someone is planning on refurbishing it since there is a lot of activity in that area now.

For Colleen!

Since I know she loves abandoned buildings and such, and I don't have an email for her.

Denver Infill got the chance to tour the dilapidated Fontius Building.

Link is here.

Cool photo.

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Image from Denver Infill.

It's a picture of One Lincoln Park that is going up.

As you can see in the surrounding area, it is in the middle of a sea of surface parking lots.

You can see why I get so hot and bothered about infill projects.

I want too see people hustling and bustling about.

Not rows and rows of Suburbanite Commuter Environment Destroyers, sitting in a derelict surface lot, roasting in the sun, like like metallic multi-colored baked potatoes.

Tabor Center - Tower Two!

Denver Infill has the skinny on the proposed plans for finally completing the second structure at the Tabor Center.

That's like the fifth project scheduled for what is about a six square block area.

The proposed building is kind of Plain-Jane if you ask me.

Neato: Denver's getting a W Hotel.

Via Denver Infill:

'W' stamps brand downtown

Luxury hotel brings high-end hipness to mall

The long-awaited W Hotel finally will make its debut in Denver.

The hip hotel will be on the site of the current Office Depot at Market Street and the 16th Street Mall.

It will be developed by Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources, headed by Walter Isenberg.

Initial plans call for a 12-story building with 180 rooms and 56 condominiums, called W Residences.

The condos, which will average 2,000 square feet each, mark the first residential properties developed bySage, which focuses on hotels, Isenberg said.

Construction could begin as early as the third quarter of 2008, with the opening in late 2010.

Office Depot has four years left on its lease, but Isenberg said he hopes to help find a new downtown location for the office supply store long before its lease is up..

The Office Depot site has long been talked about as a redevelopment opportunity. The building previously housed a Dave Cook Sporting Goods store before the Denver chain was bought in 1988 by rival Gart Brothers (now The Sports Authority).

"We love the location, Isenberg said. "We think it is just a great corner. And it is also a site today that is very underutilized."

Sage also bought the 15,000- square-foot parking lot directly across the mall from the building. Isenberg said there are no immediate plans for the parking lot.

Isenberg noted that the W, owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, has wanted to come to Denver for several years.

He said the chain had been in discussions with East West Partners for a site in its Riverfront Park neighborhood in the Central Platte Valley.

Officials at Starwood did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Isenberg said the Office Depot property, "is clearly a better site for a hotel.

Clearly the Platte Valley is great for residential.

This is very good for residential, too. We think it is the best of both worlds."

Isenberg said the W "fills a niche in downtown not being served."

He said there is room for the W and two other luxury hotels coming downtown - the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons.

"The W customer skews the demographics a little younger than at the Four Seasons and other alternatives for high-end hotels," he said.

Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, said the W will help Denver compete with other big cities as far as amenities and lifestyles.

"The W begins to really put us on par with other signature cities like Chicago," Door said.

"The W, and a couple of other high-end hotels on the horizon, gives us the density in higher-level hotels that bodes well for downtown."

Ken Schroeppel, an urban planner with the Matrix Design Group and author of the Denverinfill.com blog, said the W "bridges the central business district - what we think of as downtown - and LoDo. It really brings those two district together."

The W, as well as the Four Seasons and the Ritz, have the ability to generate increased demand, although the hotel industry is "notorious" for overbuilding during good times, said Richard Scharf, president of the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Another one bites the dust.

From Denver Infill: Block 162 Demolition Update

Woo-hoo!

You guys know I am a geek for this stuff, but I am super jazzed about this. I have to look at it on my commute. Total eyesore.

From Denver Infill:

'Downtown Denver’s “Fontius Building” Acquired by Evan Makovsky

Less than one month after announcing the acquisition of the majority of Block 162, Evan Makovsky with Shames-Makovsky Realty Company has announced that the historic landmark Steel Building on the corner of 16th and Welton has also been acquired. Commonly known as the “Fontius Building” because of the vacant Fontius Shoe store located on the ground floor, this property has been almost completely vacant since 1988.

“The stars have aligned…again,” said Evan Makovsky. “We are in the early stages of identifying what companies will occupy the building, however, we will proceed with vigor to rehabilitate the exterior. We wish to thank Gary Cook for making this opportunity available to us.”

The building will be refurbished and now has the potential to contribute to a larger development plan currently being slated for Block 162, which was targeted for redevelopment including exterior building improvements and quality of ground level retail uses. Fragmented property ownership of Block 162 had intimidated developers for many years, resulting in a grossly under-utilized parcel of land in the core of Downtown Denver. The redevelopment of the Steel Building has long been the focus of local government, business and civic organizations. The architecture firm klipp will manage the redevelopment of the Steel Building, and an Urban Land Institute (ULI) panel will travel to Denver to study the site and make recommendations on best uses.

“We are please to have consummated a transaction with Evan Makovsky and wish him success in the redevelopment of the property,” said the Gary Cook Family, previous owners of the Steel Building.

On June 19, 2007 Makovsky announced is acquisition of approximately 75,000 contiguous square feet on Block 162, which serves as a gateway between the Colorado Convention Center and the core of Downtown Denver. The Steel Building was not included in the announcement, as conversations with Gary Cook were still underway.

“To say we are ‘thrilled’ is an understatement,” said Tami Door, President & CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “We are so fortunate to have leaders in our community that see the bigger picture, and how a single building can have a ripple effect in an urban area.”'

I'm such a geek.

Because I am totally stoked about this. That stretch of the 16th Street Mall is an eyesore, and ghetto.

From Denver Infill:

'Approximately 75,000 contiguous square feet has changed ownership in an area that serves as a gateway between the Colorado Convention Center and the rest of Downtown Denver. The City & County of Denver and Downtown Denver Partnership are now working with the new land owners, Shames-Makovsky Realty Company, to maximize the potential of the land.

Known as Block 162, this land has long been targeted for redevelopment including exterior building improvements and quality of ground level retail uses. Fragmented property ownership of the block had intimidated developers for many years.

“This is an example of the stars aligning,” said Evan Makovsky, General Partner of Shames-Makovsky Realty Company which has acquired the land. “Business and City leaders have advocated for change in this area, and I commend the property owners for coming forward and working with us.”

“We’re committed to an action agenda relating to vacant and undeveloped properties, poorly-maintained storefronts, deteriorating streetscapes, and 16th Street Mall safety issues,” said Don Hunt, Chair of the Downtown Denver Partnership’s “Revitalizing the Core Task Force”—a group that focuses on improving the quality of the experience in the core of Downtown, and aggressively pushing for change. “We feel very fortunate that Shames-Makovsky Realty Company is willing to incorporate our input on how to leverage the potential of this block.”'

1490 Delgany Reimagined

From Denver Infill

Oh, wow.

I didn't know they were completely tearing down the old Rocky Mountain News building. I thought they were going to incorporate it in to the new Justice Center.

Denver Infill

Yay! They started construction.

"Spire" Project Site Cleared for Construction

More infill, yay!

From Denver Infill:

'The Nichols Partnership's newest project, Spire, a 41-story, 504-unit condominium project is getting closer to groundbreaking.

The project is slated for the corner of 14th and Champa on Block 131 in Central Downtown Denver, across the street from the Colorado Convention Center.

The surface parking lot at that corner was officially closed on April 9, with some equipment and materials brought onto the site since then. Here's a photo from today:'

Crazy.

Denver Infill has a bunch of photos of projects going on around, and in Downtown Denver, here.