Click Here to Subscribe Free
 

 

The Regional Transportation District (RTD) recently introduced its newest rail cars - the commuter rail vehicles that will run on four FasTracks rail lines currently under construction. RTD has purchased 66 vehicles to serve the East Rail Line to Denver International Airport, the Northwest Rail Line to Westminster, the Gold Line to Arvada/Wheat Ridge and the North Metro Rail Line to Thornton. The commuter rail cars are larger than light rail cars, travel at faster speeds and carry more people. They also have luggage space, bike racks and level boarding.

 

RTD and Denver Transit Partners -  its contractor building the East Rail Line - recently commemorated the last mile of track laid on the East Line. A "golden" FastClip, or fastener, was installed on the track at the bottom of the I-70 Flyover Bridge located west of Airport Boulevard on Smith Road. The FastClips attach the steel rail to the concrete railroad ties.  When it opens in 2016, the East Rail line will be a 22.8-mile commuter rail line operating between Union Station and Denver International Airport. The rail line will connect these two important areas while serving adjacent employment centers, neighborhoods and developments in Denver and Aurora. The East Rail Line is being constructed as part of RTD's Eagle P3 Project, a public-private partnership also building the Gold Line to Arvada/Wheat Ridge and the Northwest Rail Line to Westminster.

 

RTD has been awarded LEED® Gold certification for the Union Station Bus Concourse. The LEED® rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the foremost program for buildings, homes and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.  RTD continues to be a leader in the transit industry-less than a dozen transit centers in North America are LEED® Certified, and the Union Station Bus Concourse is the second transit center in Colorado to receive the certification.

 

November 2 marked the 10th anniversary of the vote by citizens of the eight-county Denver metro area to fund FasTracks 58% to 42%. FasTracks includes four projects completed-first components of U.S. 36 bus rapid transit (2010); West Rail Line or W Line (2013); Denver Union Station (2014); and Free MetroRide (2014). Six FasTracks projects are currently in construction including East Rail Line, Gold Line, Northwest Rail Line to Westminster, I-225 Rail Line, U.S. 36 BRT service (all opening in 2016); and North Metro Rail Line (opening 2018).  FasTracks injected more than $5 billion into the Denver metro economy so far and created more than 13,000 direct full-time jobs with transit-oriented communities emerging around many of RTD's new transit stations.  Economists say every $1 invested in transit infrastructure translates into a $4 boost in the local economy.

 

As RTD completes FasTracks, the agency has joined CH2M Hill, an independent evaluation team, to identify options to simplify the agency's current fare structure for bus and rail service. The next step is to present the options to the public and gather input, so between Dec. 3-11, a series of public meetings are being held throughout the metro area. The fare structure alternatives and a short video explaining the options are also posted on RTD's website with an option to provide public comments online. RTD staff will make a recommendation for a new fare structure to the RTD board in early 2015.

 

Denver City Council Member Jeanne Robb reports that election Day brought a long-hoped-for milestone on East Colfax -- the final creation of the Fax-Mayfair Business Improvement District. An annual assessment was voted in by property and business owners to fund economic development, public improvements, safety and advocacy activities. In addition, the Denver Office of Economic Development has awarded a $150,000 grant to offset start-up costs and fund a streetscape master plan for the district. Back in the late 80s, restaurant owner Paul Samaras and partners organized Colfax United to clean up the street and improve its image. But the area continued its steep decline. By 2004, a group of concerned citizens formed the Fax Partnership, which secured city funding for business support programs, marketing and other initiatives. However, there is a limit to what a grassroots, nonprofit organization can do.  The Fax-Mayfair BID includes all businesses from Elm Street to Monaco Parkway, including the Mayfair Town Center between Colfax and 14th, Kearney and Leyden. While the BID will serve as a catalyst for the rest of East Colfax, it is possible that other areas could eventually be included within the service boundaries.

 

The Denver Department of Arts and Venues and the Department of Parks and Recreation recently obtained input from citizens on the future of Burns Park.  Burns Park, on the northeast corner of the busy Colorado Boulevard/Alameda Parkway intersection, is a 13.3 acre park that lots of people see, but few actually visit.  Burns Park is not officially part of Cherry Creek but it's very close to the Cherry Creek East neighborhood and could be part of a gateway to the whole Cherry Creek Area. Officially part of Hilltop, Burns Park both buffers that neighborhood from the busy streets and points to the hill.  In 1968, Denver offered Burns Park as a location for a sculpture symposium to be sponsored by a national organization called "Art for the Cities, Inc." For more than two months in the summer of 1968, the sculptors worked on site as the public watched the pieces take form, and in August that year, in an informal ceremony and public picnic celebration, city officials accepted the completed structures. This year Parks and Recreation is creating a master plan for Burns Park.  In several small group meetings, stakeholders from the art community and surrounding neighborhoods have been discussing the vision and goals for the plan.  How can we engage park users in an active, safe and inter-connected park space with additional recreational uses?  What should those uses be?  What will attract people to this park?  How can we make its location on two highly traveled thoroughfares a plus instead of a minus?  How can we improve pedestrian, bicycle, auto and transit connections to the park?  Possible park improvements and concepts were discussed.

 

Denver City Council Members Robb and Mary Beth Susman report that Continuum Partners held another in a series of community meetings in September to discuss the redevelopment of the 9th and Colorado former UCHSC campus. The Denver Urban Renewal Authority joined Continuum at the meeting and provided an update on the progress being made on the public finance package for the redevelopment. Tracy Huggins, Executive Director of DURA, walked through the process for tax increment financing in the project and the anticipated schedule for approving a tax increment package for the project. DURA anticipates approvals of the Urban Renewal Plan Amendment, Cooperation Agreement, and Redevelopment Agreement early to mid-December this year. Continuum still anticipates closing on the land by the end of December.  Continuum discussed the current status of the master planning, design, and development efforts for the 26 acre site (see site plan below), engaging the community in a dialogue about the character of the place and the project. Some recent changes include adding northern access into the site from 11th Avenue just east of the parking garage. Continuum also is interested in purchasing the site between 11th Avenue and Hale Parkway, which will mostly likely provide affordable and possibly market-rate senior housing. Finally there will only be two, rather than three blocks, that will have underground parking.  In addition to the community discussion on project design character, Continuum engaged the community in a dialogue about what the project should be named. Continuum solicited ideas from the community and has committed to work with the everyone on selecting the name for the project.

 

Denver announced its plan to unlock $1.3 billion in energy savings through a targeted effort to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gases from the energy used by commercial and multi-family buildings. At the official launch of the Denver City Energy Project, 57 building owners pledged their commitment to benchmarking and measuring their performance.  The City Energy Project, a two-year, grant-funded initiative of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), plans to cut Denver's carbon emissions by 18 percent through a targeted effort focused on the largest sources of climate-changing greenhouse gases-commercial and multi-family units.  In addition, the Denver City Energy Project is expected to create 4,000 jobs through the improvement generated by benchmarking. Learn more about the Denver City Energy Project at:

 

www.denvergov.org/cep

 

Whole Foods will be the retail anchor tenant in Seventeen W, a large mixed-use project planned for 17th and Wewatta streets near Denver Union Station in downtown Denver. Holland Partner Group will construct a 640-unit apartment building with Whole Foods taking about 56,000 square feet of the ground floor retail space in the building. Seventeen W is due to be completed in 2017.

 

Ivanhoe Cambridge bought a 40% stake in a portfolio that includes the US Bank Tower, Tabor Center and a site for a second building at the Tabor Center. The portfolio share was acquired for $200 million from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Ivanhoe Cambridge is based in Quebec.

 

California investor NB Auraria DST Trust bought Auraria Student Lofts, 125 apartment units atop the Curtis Hotel at 1405 Curtis Street in downtown Denver. The Auraria Foundation created the student apartments on fourteen floors in what was then the Executive Tower Inn. It sold the apartments for $36,310,000, or the equivalent of $290,460 per unit or $83,578 per bed, based on units occupied by several students. ARA brokers Doug Andrews,Jeff Hawks, Terrance Hunt and Shane Ozment handled the sale for the foundation. 

 

PM Realty Group is expected to begin construction shortly on The Confluence, a 288-unit apartment building at the south corner of Little Raven and 15th streets. The 34-story building is named for its proximity to Confluence Park where Cherry Creek flows into the South Platte River. The building will also contain about 8,600 square feet of retail space. Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2016.

 

Walgreens is expanding its pharmacy on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. The company is taking a vacant space formerly occupied by Dress Barn adjacent to its store at 801 16th Street. The expansion will create a renovated 17,000 square foot store.

 

A study by the Colorado Hotel and Lodging Association reported that the occupancy rate for hotels in downtown Denver set a record for the year to date. The report found that the average occupancy for 2014 was 75%, including an 86.3% rate for the June through August period. The average daily room rate for hotels downtown was $178.10, up 10.7% over 2013.

 

A study of oil industry employment by the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business found that about 31,900 people are employed in that sector in Colorado. The study was commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute. Of the total employment, about 9,800 people work in downtown Denver at regional and corporate oil company headquarters.

 

McWhinney plans to begin construction in December on Z Block, a $235 million mixed-use project in LoDo. The complex will occupy the block bounded by 18th, 19th, Blake and Wazee streets and will contain about 220,000 square feet of office and retail space, a 400-space underground garage and a 170 room hotel. McWhinney is developing Z Block in a joint venture with Grand American, Inc. which owns the property. 

 

Trammell Crow Residential plans to start construction by the end of the year on Alexan Uptown, a 372-unit apartment building at East 19th Avenue and Logan Street. The twelve-story building will occupy a 1.2 acre site. TCR announced development of the project earlier this year. Alexan Uptown is scheduled to be completed in late 2016. .

 

The Colorado Department of Transportation is starting work on the second phase of a $98 million reconstruction of part of West 6th Avenue. The work involves the replacement of several bridges along the freeway, including one at Federal Boulevard, and the reconstruction of the highway's interchange with I-25. Work is scheduled to be completed in August of 2015. In conjunction with the CDOT work the City and County of Denver is improving pedestrian connections in the area and making improvements to Barnum Park. 

 

Metropolitan State University of Denver received State of Colorado funding for the planning of a 142,000 square foot aerospace and engineering sciences building at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver. The $60 million building will be located on the southwest corner of 7th Street and Auraria Parkway. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2015, depending on additional funds from the State of Colorado and private donors.

 

A 26-unit townhouse project is planned for the Five Points neighborhood northeast of downtown Denver. A partnership of Clear Creek Homes, Palisade Partners and Civil Technology will build King Stroud Court at 2400 Washington Street. The three-story brownstones will sell in a range of the upper $300,000s to the high 400,000s and be completed by the end of 2015.

 

The owner of the historic Rossonian Building in Five Points is finalizing plans to redevelop the property. The current concept calls for a 120 room hotel, 35 to 40 condominium units, two restaurants and retail space. Sage Hospitality may join the project to operate the hotel. The building was constructed in 1912 and was once home to a famous jazz club. The property is now owned by Civil Technology.

 

Stonebridge Companies bought the Rollnick Building, a 27,620 square foot office property at 222 Milwaukee Street in Cherry Creek North. NJG Investments LLLP sold the 50-year old building for $8.1 million, or about $293 per square foot. Newmark Grubb Knight Frank brokers Dan Grooters and Riki Hashimoto were agents for the seller.

 

In Confluence Denver, Margaret Jackson reports that, "Cherry Creek is is undergoing yet another transformation with the development of new apartments, condos, office space, retail projects and a new hotel. The tony shopping district is experiencing the biggest construction boom it's seen in decades, fueled by developers wanting to create an environment where people can  live, work and play."  Lots of details at:

 

http://www.confluence-denver.com/features/cherry_creek_111214.aspx?utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Coming+Soon%3a+The+Cherry+Creek+of+the+Future&utm_content=%7bEmail_Address%7d&utm_campaign=Cherry+Creek+Blows+Up%2c+Laws+and+Leopold+Open+%26+Arts+Panel+Recap+

 

Several principals and brokers associated with Unique Properties LLC-TCN Worldwide bought the former Girl Scouts headquarters at 400 South Broadway. The 17,695 square foot building was acquired for $3.7 million, or about $209 per square foot. After extensive renovation Unique Properties will move to the building by mid-2015. The seller was represented in the transaction by JLL agents Ryan Arnold and Tyler Reed.

 

The Denver City Council approved a neighborhood plan for the Globeville section of north Denver. The area is generally bounded by the South Platte River, I-25 and the border with Adams County. It is also divided by Washington Street and I-70. The neighborhood was originally developed in the late 19th century as housing for workers at several ore smelters and mills in the area, especially the large Globe Smelter from which the neighborhood obtained its name. The plan is intended to add in the preservation and development of the 77-acre area, including work on connections, health and economics. Part of the former Asarco smelter site on Washington Street was recently designated as Crossroads Commerce Center, an industrial park to be developed by Trammell Crow Company. 

 

Construction was completed on the $625 million St. Joseph Hospital in the uptown neighborhood. The project at 1375 East 19th Avenue replaces the older hospital and will provide 400 beds and various medical specialty services. St. Joseph is owned by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenwiorth Health System, a Catholic charity that is moving its headquarters to Broomfield from Kansas. The Denver hospital was started by the religious order in 1873 at a location on Arapahoe Street.

 

The Denver City Council tentatively approved tax-increment financing incentives for the redevelopment of the former University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in east Denver. After several previous developers of the 26 acre site at East 9th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard failed to perform UC Regents chose Continuum Partners to redevelop the site into a mixed-use residential, office, retail and hotel complex. Demolition of most of the buildings on the site is scheduled to begin in early 2015.

 

Los Angeles investment firm IMT Capital LLC bought Alameda Station, a 338-unit apartment community at West Alameda Avenue and South Cherokee Street in south central Denver. The transit-oriented project near RTD's Alameda light rail station was developed by Wood Partners. The sale price was not revealed.

 

Advanced Cannabis Solutions bought a 15,734 square foot office building at 6565 East Evans Avenue in southeast Denver. The Colorado Springs-based company paid $1,050,000, or about $66 for the building which may include a marijuana business incubator and possibly a cooperative bank. The property was acquired from Barerose Evans LLC.

 

The Lowry Redevelopment Authority selected a partnership of Koelbel Urban Homes and East West Partners/Build Mark to construct townhouses in the Boulevard One section of Lowry. The 36 units will be located on both sides of Lowry Boulevard, which is being extended from South Quebec Street to South Monaco Parkway. Sales prices were not announced. Boulevard One will occupy the 70-acre former site of the US Air Force Finance Center and will contain a mix of residential and commercial uses.

 

Mill Creek Residential Trust bought Heritage Creek, a 325-unit apartment property at 690 South Dahlia Street in Glendale. The community was acquired from CBRE Global Investors of Boston for $71 million, or approximately $219,136 per unit. CBRE brokers Matt Barnett, David Potarf and Dan Woodward listed the 19-year old property for sale.