City Living Archives - Denver Urban Review

Architecture, City Living, Construction Updates

Justin April 18, 2018 at 12:20 am 0

Sagebrush Companies, a firm specializing in real estate investments and development, has announced that construction is underway on 29ZEN, a luxury townhome development in Denver’s Highlands neighborhood. The property is located at West 29^th Avenue and Zenobia Street and will include 14 residences, with prices starting at $649,999.

“We have had the pleasure of delivering quality residential developments to people living and working in Denver’s urban core, and 29ZEN will be another development that meets our company’s very high standards,” said Robert “Jake” Jacobsen, CEO and founder of Sagebrush Companies. “We take a great deal of pride in identifying unique real estate opportunities that will bring success to our partners and most importantly, the communities we intend to serve with our projects. 29 ZEN will accomplish all those things.”

29ZEN will feature two and three-bedroom units, with an average square footage of 2,000 square feet. Rooftop decks with views of the Denver skyline, and walkout basements are available with select townhomes. All of the townhomes provide a selection of high end finishes.

The architect for 29ZEN is Sanzpont Architechre (http://www.sanzpont.com) partnered with local engineering team S-Arch, the general contractor is K2 and the brokerage firm is MileHi Modern.

Renderings courtesy Sagebrush Companies.

Also be sure to take a look at my photography website where you will find stunning photos of Denver. Architectural and real estate photography services are available at Justin Martin Photography: http://justinmartinphotography.com/

Architecture, City Living

Inside The Daniels & Fisher Tower

Justin April 21, 2016 at 11:15 pm 0

This week I was provided the opportunity to tour The Daniels & Fisher Tower in Downtown Denver thanks to the folks that manage the event space on the upper floors of the building. Over a hundred events a year are held at the property and range from weddings to corporate events. The structure is located at the corner of 16th Street and Arapahoe Street. The Daniels & Fisher Tower was completed in 1911, and at the time was not only the tallest building in Denver, but the tallest building west of the Mississippi. The tower reaches 393 feet and was designed by architect Frederick Sterner. The tower was inspired by the St Mark's Campanile, a bell tower located in Venice, Italy. A performing arts venue is located in the basement of the property and is home to the popular Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret. I attended the cabaret show a couple of years back– it's a trip and worth attending. During the urban renewal chapter of the 60s and 70s entire downtown blocks of Victorian era buildings in Denver were demolished. The Daniels and Fisher Tower nearly fell victim to the wrecking ball during this time. However, there was enough public outcry to save the structure. The original department store that was connected to the tower was demolished however. This was my first time back inside The Daniels & Fisher Tower since I was a little kid in the early 90s. My dad had a friend who had an office in the tower and I have a couple of faint memories of tagging along with my dad to visit his friend's office. A narrow outdoor space encompasses the tower a level above the clock faces. The views from this historic structure are amazing, and it makes for a great vantage point to check on the ever-changing urban landscape of the Mile High City. In this photo we see downtown Denver looking towards the south. If you look below the Convention Center Hyatt, the construction site of what will become the 20-story dual-brand Le Meridien/AC Hotels at 15th and California is visible.

This photo aims towards the southwest directly at the 45-story Four Seasons Hotel and Residences. From this perspective the construction sites of 1144 Fifteenth Street and 1401 Lawrence are visible.

Pointing the camera towards the northwest, the 16th Street Mall can be seen all the way to the Millennium bridge. Looking down 16th Street adjacent to Union Station is the construction crane for the Kimpton hotel development. Just to the right of the Barclay (the white high-rise) and in front of the glass house, we have a peek at the Pivot Denver project.

Here is a photo looking towards the north:

Looking towards the northeast:

Here is a pano of the western side of Downtown Denver. Click to enlarge. When this image is enlarged you can see the one of the construction cranes of what will become the 34-story The Confluence apartment project- the crane is gray, so it's not the easiest to spot but it is seen just the right of the upper part the red brick Larimer Place Condos.

City Living, Denver Photographs

Hockey at Coors Field

Justin February 21, 2016 at 10:39 pm 0

This past Saturday night a hockey game was held at Coors Field between the University of Denver Pioneers and the Colorado College Tigers. The warm weather in Denver the last few days may not invoke thoughts of outdoor hockey, but it was still a great atmosphere with 35,000 fans in attendance at Coors Field. The hockey rink on top of the baseball field will remain through next weekend as the Colorado Avalanche will play their arch rival the Detroit Red Wings this upcoming Saturday. A Friday night game between Avalanche and Red Wings alumni players will take place, which should be interesting considering many of the players in the alumni game exchanged punches with one another during their playing days. Colorado Rockies' pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Arizona this past week, but for the time being, the sounds of slap shots will echo throughout the stands at Coors Field as we wait for the crack of the bat to return in April. It was a unique site to see an ice rink sitting on top of a baseball diamond. The University of Denver out skated Colorado College to a 4-1 victory. Since Denver Urban Review covers construction news I had to find a way to sneak in a construction photo. Below is a photo looking west from Coors Field. From left to right we see the construction cranes of the Dairy Block, Kimpton Hotel, Pivot Denver, and Union Tower West.

Coors Field located in Denver's LoDo neighborhood opened in 1995 and the view from the the below vantage point has changed the last 21 years. Notable additions to the Denver Skyline in Coors Field's lifetime include 1800 Larimer and The Four Seasons. Once 1144 Fifteenth is completed it will obstruct The Four Seasons from this vantage point except for the very top the spire.

Here are a few more photos of Coors Field from Saturday night's hockey game:

City Living

Report: 72,767 residents live in downtown Denver neighborhoods

Justin November 20, 2015 at 1:49 am 0

Denver skyline November 2015

The Downtown Denver Partnership has released a report which highlights the population growth of downtown Denver and its adjacent neighborhoods. According to the report, the population of downtown Denver neighborhoods has now reached 72,767. The neighborhoods that comprise this figure:

Central Platte Valley
Jefferson Park
Auraria
Golden Triangle
Capitol Hill
Central Business District
La Alma/Lincoln Park
RiNo
Highland
Sun Valley
Uptown
Ballpark
LoDo
Five Points/Curtis Park

The report also states that 12,933 residential units have been completed or are under construction since 2011. “The explosion of population growth in the center city, where some neighborhoods have grown by more than 30 percent since 2010, is a testament to our collective progress towards building an economically healthy, growing and vital Downtown,” said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “Residential development projects and access to high-quality amenities and multi-modal transportation options are critical components of attracting Downtown’s next generation workforce who continue to place Downtown living in high demand.” Additional highlights from the report include:

Residential population in the center city has increased by 15 percent since 2011.
2015 is the most active year in residential development since 2011, with 29 projects completed or under construction.
There are currently 6,165 residential units under construction in the center city
95.9 percent of the units completed or under construction since 2011 are rental units
Capitol Hill has the highest population with 16,468 residents within center city neighborhoods, while the Ballpark and Central Platte Valley neighborhoods have both experienced the largest percentage in population growth since 2010 at 31 percent
The Central Platte Valley neighborhood has also seen largest increase in residential units added or under construction since 2011 at 3,808. This is due in large part to the development around Denver's Union Station

“Although we are well on our way to achieving our goal of adding new housing units to Downtown, we know that we must continue to advocate for a broad array of housing options to ensure that we achieve diversity in housing type and affordability,” says Joe Vostrejs, chairman of the Downtown Denver Partnership and partner at City Street Investors. “While the residential development market is rising to increased demand, the Partnership remains committed to advocating for the right mix of housing options by supporting the passage of Denver’s proposed construction defects ordinance, serving as members of the Homeownership Opportunity Alliance, and continuing to collaborate with the City, our member organizations and community leaders to reach our goal of a diverse and inclusive place.”

City Living

Name for Cherry Creek hotel under construction revealed

Justin November 18, 2015 at 12:23 am 0

Rendering of Halcyon courtesy BMC Investments

The hotel project that is under construction in the Cherry Creek North neighborhood of Denver at 245 North Columbine Street is now named Halcyon. This 155-room hotel project has been taking shape on the west side of Columbine street opposite the 250 Columbine condo and office development.

Denver-based BMC Investments is the developer of Halcyon and Sage Hospitality will run the hotel. Sage Hospitality also manages the Oxford Hotel at 17th and Wynkoop and the Crawford Hotel that is housed within Denver's historic Union Station. The mixed-use Dairy Block project that is under construction on the block of 19th, 18th, Wazee, and Blake Street in downtown Denver will include a hotel that Sage Hospitality will manage as well.

Halcyon is slated to open in the spring of 2016. The hotel will include a rooftop bar, and space for two restaurants. One of the restaurants has been announced as Departure Restaurant which will be operated by Sage Restaurant Group.

“Halcyon will be not only an exciting place to be for travelers, but with the culinary offerings, roof top bar, pool and comfortable atmosphere, we look forward to it being a favorite place for locals as well,” said Peter Karpinski, COO and co-founder of Sage Restaurant Group. “It will be well appointed, with subtle art, textiles and amenities that make it more than a normal hotel room."

Mortenson Construction is the general contractor on this project.

BMC Investments also developed the Steele Creek apartments that opened this summer in Cherry Creek at 1st Avenue and Steele Street. This property houses 218 units.

In October, BMC Investments announced plans to develop three additional projects in Cherry Creek:

240 Josephine is planned to become a 165-room hotel designed by JNS Architects
3000 East 3rd Avenue is slated to be a mixed-use development with ground-floor retail and high-end apartments
210 St. Paul is planned to feature ground-floor retail and high-end apartments as well

Saunders construction is slated to be the general contractor on both 210 St. Paul and 3000 East 3rd Avenue. 4240 Architecture is designing the exteriors and StyleWorks is designing the interiors for both properties as well.

Including completed, under construction and planned projects, BMC Investments has invested over $350 million in the Cherry Creek North neighborhood of Denver.