The weather was nice this past weekend and I grabbed my camera and went on an urban hike to take a look at the progress of the construction projects taking shape in downtown Denver.

I stumbled upon a fortuitous site while walking down 14th Street. I noticed that the crane that had been used to construct the dual brand Hyatt House Hyatt Place was being taken down. Although it is more exciting to watch a crane being installed, this does signify that another Denver project is successfully nearing completion.

The below photograph was snapped at 18th and Broadway, the location of the 26-story Skyhouse Denver apartment project. At this point, below grade work is taking place. When I attended the ground breaking ceremony construction personnel pointed out to me that large parts of the old Cosmopolitan Hotel foundation were discovered once excavation began. The Cosmopolitan Hotel was demolished in 1984 and the site was used as a parking lot for the last 30 years.

Pictured above is the 22-story 1401 Lawrence office tower with work beginning on the third floor.

Demolition of the an existing structure (pictured above and below) takes place at the future site of Z Block, a mixed use project that will feature office space and a hotel component. A water truck is on site to spray water while the structure is torn down to prevent dust and other particles from becoming airborne. This project is located at 18th and Wazee Street in Lower Downtown.

Construction began on the Kimpton Hotel (pictured above) just a few days ago. The above photo was snapped at 16th street halfway between Wewatta Street and Wynkoop Street. The project will also feature an office component.

Glass has now been installed on the front facade of the office building 1601 Wewatta (pictured above), a development by Hines. The planned office tower 1144 15th street is also being developed by Hines. Denver Urban Review was told by Hines that the 1144 15th Street project is slated to break ground this May.

The base for a crane has been installed at the 17W (pictured above and below) site. A Whole Foods is slated to occupy ground floor space, while apartment units will site above reaching a height of 13 stories.

Below grade work continues at The Confluence site pictured above. This luxury apartment project will rise to 34 floors.

Pictured above is a photograph snapped from the pedestrian bridge located at 18th Street and Chestnut Place. For now this is a great vantage point to view the construction that is taking place in the Union Station neighborhood and Central Platte Valley. It won’t be long before buildings rise and block the views from this spot, but so is the progress of the Mile High City.