In October, the Lowry Redevelopment Authority successfully refinanced its Tax Increment Financing (TIF) bonds, securing available funds to complete several public projects in the Lowry community. The funds will allow for completion of the Lowry Dog Park, Linear Park, Yosemite Open Space and connection and additional enhancements to the Great Lawn. In total, the LRA was able to secure the $8.8 million needed to finish these important community projects.   More at http://www.lowry.org/news/news.htm#5

 

Emich Volkswagen at 1260 South Colorado Boulevard has completed its 14,000 SF showroom on the former Mountain States Volkswagen site.
 
Callahan Capital Partners LLC recently revealed plans for the Two Tabor Center office-building project. To be located next to the existing One Tabor Center building at 1200 17th Street, the new building will boast 43 stories, total 830,000 square feet, and meet "green" construction requirements necessary to receive the Silver certification as mandated by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Completion of the building is anticipated for 2010.
 
Developer Buzz Geller has withdrawn his plans for a 34-story condo tower at the intersection of Speer Boulevard and Market Street in downtown Denver upon receiving negative feedback from the Lower Downtown Design Review Board. To have served as a gateway to the downtown area, the building would have been the most expensive condo building ever planned for Denver at $300 million.  But the board considered the proposal to be too massive for the site. Geller will now propose the site for a shorter 8-story vision of his original plan, but featuring office space in the development as well as condos.
 
Two neighborhoods in Central Denver have been proposed for rezoning in order to protect their character. Proposed by City Council members Carla Madison and Chris Nevitt for a 21.5-acre area of South Park Hill and a 36-block area of West Washington Park, the rezoning would prevent multi-unit developments in those areas and also limit the ability to combine smaller lots for multi-unit development in the West Washington Park neighborhood.
 
Construction of a new hotel on Colorado Boulevard is currently underway by the Stonebridge Companies. To be a renovation of the former Sheraton Four Points at the SEC of South Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Creek Drive South, the hotel will boast 210 rooms and provide retail space totaling more than 10,000 square feet.  Completion is scheduled for late 2009 and Phase II will add another 210 rooms at the rear of the site.
 
Bush Development and Corporex have both made presentations to local neighborhood organizations regarding most of the block bounded by Ellsworth/1st Avenue/ Steele/Adams.  Both developers would like to assemble the entire block, but Bush already owns about a quarter of it - the office buildings in the northeast quadrant of the block.   Both propose to rezone to RMU-30, one of Denver's new transit oriented zones and propose a high-end hotel combined with retail, office and residential uses with underground parking.  Total building heights are not clear yet, but may be as high as 10 -12 stories near the north end of the site.  Bush proposes LEED Gold certification of at least a portion of the development. 
 
1st Bank and its developer, Bill Pauls, of the Pauls Corp. have also presented their proposal for most of the block bounded by 1st Avenue/2nd Avenue/Steele/St. Paul to multiple neighborhood organizations.  The bank owns the Burger King and former Hops brew pub sites and their own building at 1st/St. Paul.  The Wachovia Bank building at 1st/Steele is excluded.  Bill Pauls emphasizes that the proposal includes no hotel.  Phase I would be a 10-story office building to replace the 1stBank building at 1st/St. Paul with the bank and other retail space on the first 2 levels and 4 levels of underground parking.  Phase II would be 7-stories along Steele Street replacing the Hops building with 1 or 2 levels of retail there as well.  1st Bank would move into the Hops building during Phase I and return to its present location when Phase I is complete.  The buildings will have "very high" LEED certification.  As an alternative, office space could be in the upper levels of Phase II, but the owner and developer prefer residential use there.
 
Bob Matucci of Sturm Realty Group has reported to the Cherry Creek Steering Committee that the proposed PUD amendment for the Fillmore Place redevelopment has been approved allowing residential use above the parking structure on the south side of East 2nd Avenue between Fillmore/Milwaukee Streets and allowing extension of the storefronts along the Fillmore Mall out to the building wall above them.