4 major Denver developments that could transform the South Platte River
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
12/10/2020
4 major Denver developments that
could transform the South Platte
River
Dec 3, 2020, 8:12am MST Updated: Dec 3, 2020, 1:52pm MST
See Correction/Clarification at end of article
Up and down the stretch of the South
Platte River that flows through Denver,
developers are setting the stage for
several major projects that could
transform the underutilized and once
heavily polluted tributary.
“I visit a lot of cities in America and KATHLEEN LAVINE,DENVER BUSINESS
internationally and see what different JOURNAL
jurisdictions have been able to The South Platte River trail with
Elitch Gardens in the distance. I-25
accomplish with their waterfronts, be is overhead. This is the south end of
it ocean, be it lakefront, be it the River Mile development.
riverfront,” said Rhys Duggan,
president, CEO and managing partner of Revesco Properties, the
firm that’s partnering with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 1/1012/10/2020 undefined
develop the River Mile project on the Elitch Gardens site. “And I
think Denver has been lagging behind that, quite frankly, especially
downtown Denver.”
That’s not to say that efforts to reclaim the river over the past half-
century haven’t resulted in major strides toward a cleaner and
more accessible river. The Greenway Foundation, a Denver-based
nonprofit that was founded in 1974, estimates that it’s helped
create more than $100 million of improvements to the river and its
tributaries, leading to at least $10 billion in residential and
commercial development near its banks.
Today, projects like River Mile, the National Western Center,
Denargo Market and the Sun Valley Redevelopment promise
millions of square feet of development alongside significant
investments in the South Platte, the combination of which could
bring unprecedented numbers of Denverites to the river.
Denver Business Journal checked in with the developers behind
each of these projects to learn more about what’s next.
River Mile
The River Mile is arguably the most ambitious development being
planned along the South Platte right now, encompassing a mile of
riverbank that could eventually be home to a new neighborhood
capable of housing up to 16,450 residents.
At 62 acres, the project will be the largest in downtown Denver,
with a construction timeline that’s expected to stretch 25 years.
The first building to deliver as part of River Mile will be occupied by
Meow Wolf, the New Mexico-based art collective known for its
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 2/1012/10/2020 undefined
immersive installations. Currently, crews are building out the
interior of the structure, which occupies a prominent spot at the
interchange between Interstate 25 and Colfax Avenue.
But most of the work on River Mile over the next year will take place
behind the scenes, according to Duggan. In the next four months,
Duggan said the team aims to finish an infrastructure master plan,
which will guide components like roadways and sewer lines.
The development team is also finalizing its plans for what it calls
the “renovation of the river,” an $80 million project that will focus
on the river alone.
Eventually, the project’s planning stage will require strategic
choices.
One option, referred to as the “initial offering,” would keep Elitch
Gardens in its current location for the time being while
rehabilitating the river and building 2.5 million square feet of
commercial space on 17 acres of surface parking lots. A centralized
parking garage would also be built to accommodate park visitors.
This route would result in 1,500 residences and 100,000 square
feet of retail, with the remaining acreage to be developed once the
park moves at a later date.
The other option would move Elitch Gardens to another part of the
city before any other work begins, opening up the entire 62 acres
for development. Work could then begin in phases of up to 15
million square feet of commercial and residential space, including
approximately 7,600 residences, 934 of which would be
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 3/1012/10/2020 undefined
designated as affordable in accordance with an agreement
between developers and the city.
“I think time will tell which path we take when we think we’re ready
for both of those eventualities,” Duggan said.
The coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult to predict an exact
timeline for the project, Duggan said.
“Covid has made everyone’s vision a little blurry,” Duggan said. “We
just need clarity, we need some indications that Denver will
continue to grow, if not at the rate that it has been, then at least
something decent, so we have the velocity that will encourage us
to break ground. Really that’s it.”
Because of the towers that have been proposed on the rezoned
River Mile site, Duggan said people often associate the project with
density. Duggan prefers to think of the open space, the acres of
parks and adjoining river. How people engage with those elements
will ultimately serve as the measuring stick for the success of the
development, he said.
“We may have some tall buildings downtown,” Duggan said. “But
Denver is and will continue to be about open space and light and
air and outdoor recreation. And I think the River Mile, despite its tall
buildings, really embraces and embodies those things that are
popular right now across the country.”
National Western Center
The location of the National Western Center, near the South Platte
River in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood, is no accident.
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 4/1012/10/2020 undefined
Rails that run along the river began delivering cattle to the stock
yards there more than a century ago, providing the initial spark in
1906 for the long-running National Western Stock Show, which has
come to be known as the “Super Bowl of livestock shows.”
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the cancellation of the
event in 2021, but construction continues on a 250-acre project
that will create a revamped National Western Center campus, with
2.2 million square feet of indoor and outdoor space designed to
attract events and visitors year-round.
The redevelopment is located along the eastern bank of the Platte,
between Interstate 70 and Brighton Boulevard. The project is a
partnership between the City of Denver, the Western Stock Show
Association and Colorado State University; the partners created
the National Western Center Authority to operate the campus.
The first two phases are closest to the Platte, and will include a mix
of arenas, multiuse facilities and outdoor gathering spaces.
“I think you can find the components of the National Western
Center elsewhere,” said Brad Buchanan, CEO of the National
Western Center Authority. “You can find research parks that are
mashups of educational institutions and private-sector R&D. You
can find entertainment complexes, you can find agricultural
complexes. We haven’t found anywhere that takes all these
components and puts them together in one place. And that’s the
magic.”
CSU is currently building out its Spur Campus, a collection of three
buildings on the site that will focus on research and education
related to food, water and health. The water building, known as
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 5/1012/10/2020 undefined
Hydro, will include a large-scale research lab, but will be primarily
focused on educating visitors using the nearby Platte.
“Part of the inspiration for the Hydro building overall was the
proximity to the South Platte,” said Jocelyn Hittle, assistant vice
chancellor for the Spur campus and special projects at CSU. “We
wanted to have a facility that could host programs to really help
make connections with the river.”
Another area, known as the Triangle, is located to the southeast of
the initial work and will encompass phases 3 through 8. As a result
of the coronavirus, the city has paused the procurement process
for the public-private partnership that will build out that additional
area.
Other existing buildings will get new life, including the historic
Livestock Exchange Building, which was recently sold to a group of
developers and will feature a mix of office and meeting spaces
once it’s been rehabbed.
"We at the Authority are certainly optimistic that as we hopefully
begin in early 2021 to see the light at the end of the pandemic
tunnel, that we'll be able to pick that up again," Buchanan said.
The CSU Spur portion will open in 2022, while the broader National
Western Center Campus will open in 2024.
Denargo Market
In February, a development team made up of Denver-based
Formativ and Chicago-based Golub & Co. unveiled preliminary
plans to turn 13 acres in Denver’s River North Art District into a
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 6/1012/10/2020 undefined
walkable neighborhood with office and residential buildings and
ample ground-floor retail space.
The goal of developers is to create a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use
development that incorporates parks, public art and centers along
the South Platte River.
The site is located at 2809 Delgany St., part of the 32-acre Denargo
Market development. Much of the site is currently zoned R-MU-30,
which allows for buildings up to 140 feet in height. Another portion
is zoned as a Planned Unit Development District.
Originally, the 13-acre site was intended to be the focal point of
Denargo Market and include the tallest buildings, according to city
plans for the area. But as development has occurred around this
site, its current zoning would put it roughly in line with the heights
of the surrounding buildings.
The development team said they will pursue a rezoning of the site
to allow for mixed-use buildings ranging from eight stories to 20
stories, which at the upper end would extend higher than existing
development at Denargo Market.
Laura Newman, director of acquisitions and finance at Golub, said
the project remains in its early stages, but is planning to make
“major improvements along the river, including the extension and
continuation of the RiNo promenade,” a planned outdoor space
along the river that would stretch from 29th Street to 38th Street.
“Our goal is to embrace and revitalize our stretch of the riverfront
in collaboration with all stakeholders along the river to the north
and south of us to ultimately create a unique and enjoyable
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 7/1012/10/2020 undefined
experience no matter where you are along the South Platte,”
Newman said. “It is an irreplaceable asset and one of the many
reasons we were so attracted to this area of north Denver.”
Sun Valley
Farther south down the Platte, The Housing Authority of the City
and County of Denver, along with the City, has begun work on a
major redevelopment of the Sun Valley neighborhood, which
includes Empower Field at Mile High and is one of the lowest-
income neighborhoods in Colorado. Other entities, like the Sun
Valley EcoDistrict, are also supporting redevelopment efforts.
The majority of Sun Valley residents live in DHA’s 333 public
housing units there, which will be demolished and replaced with
more than 800 mixed-income units over four phases of
construction. Ryan Tobin, chief real estate investment officer for
DHA, estimated that more than 85% of the units will be affordable.
Current residents are being relocated until the new units are
completed.
“With the mixed-income approach, we feel we’re rebuilding a more
stable neighborhood from its foundation up, and then also
attracting new development into the area for Denver’s growth over
the years as well,” Tobin said.
The first phase is comprised of two buildings, Gateway North and
South, at 10th Avenue and Decatur Street. The 187 units from those
two buildings should be finished in the coming months, Tobin said.
The following phases, which extend into 2025, will include five
more multifamily buildings, infrastructure improvements, and a
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 8/1012/10/2020 undefined
Riverfront Park. Additional DHA land will also be made available for
future projects.
North of DHA’s projects, Stadium Investment Corp., a nonprofit
entity created by the Denver Broncos and the Metropolitan Football
Stadium District, is laying plans to redevelop 55 acres of surface
parkings lots directly south of Empower Field at Mile High.
Correction/Clarification
An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the role of the National Western Center
Authority. The organization is charged with operating, maintaining, programming and
promoting the new National Western Center campus.
James Rodriguez
Reporter
Denver Business Journal
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/12/03/denver-south-platte-river-developments.html?s=print 9/10You can also read
