JE Dunn Construction Co. and the Nichols Partnership have announced that the Spire skyscraper, a condo project in downtown Denver totaling 496 units, has been completed a month before forecast and delivered under budget at $175 million. Construction of the project ran into problems in 2007 due to financing issues with Hypo Capital Real Estate Corp. of New York which were settled earlier this year. Totaling 42 stories at 14th and Champa, a designation for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is currently being sought for the property.

Randy Nichols says, "We have 115 units under contract as of the end of the year.  We sold 15 units in December!  When we get the green light from our lender to close homes and move people in, we think there will be a big surge in new contracts.  We have achieved the threshold to close FNMA loans (50% of the first marketing phase).  We need about 35 more sales to be able to close FHA which we will get soon after we begin closing.  Hope to move in the first residents within the next 30 days."

 

Cheesman Park is currently receiving improvements that were approved as a part of the Better Denver bond issue by voters in 2007. The improvements focus on improving the trails, road entries, repairing the roof of the pavilion and the neighboring fountain, replacing the irrigation system, adding a concrete walking trail in the large meadow and a concrete sidewalk on 8th, and creating a 2-lane parallel walkway lined with mature Linden trees and benches along the west side.

Denver City Council Member Peggy Lehman reports that the owner of the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel at I-25/Hampden told her that the building will be demolished in early 2010.  The hotel closed at year end and no plans for redevelopment of the 11 acre site have been reported.

The Colfax Streetcar Feasibility Study had its first workshop in December at National Jewish Health.  The Study Taskforce includes Denver City Council Members, Denver Community Planning and Development and Public Works personnel, RTD representatives and a wide variety of community stakeholders.  At the meeting, stakeholders identified preferred destinations, redevelopment opportunities and even a proposed maintenance facility location.  The consulting team consists of Fehr and Peers, URS Corporation, Leland Consulting Group and PUMA.  Another workshop will be held in the spring. More at:

http://www.denvergov.org/ColfaxStreetcarFeasibilityStudy/tabid/435130/Default.aspx

Vince Carroll, columnist at the Denver Post started a conversation in the media by criticizing the Living Streets Initiative of Denver Community Development and Planning.  Responses include some diverse viewpoints.  More at:

http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_13903341

http://denverinfill.com/blog/2009/11/denver-living-streets.html

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13784118?IADID

http://www.denverlivingstreets.org/

Mark your calendar for the morning of  January 29^th for The Road Ahead , Transportation Solutions' ongoing series to bring to dialogue cutting-edge and practical topics and research in transportation options that balance economic, environmental and health considerations to meet today's and future needs. The Road Ahead attracts elected officials and policy makers as well as private developers and transportation industry leaders.  This time Clayton Lane (no relation to the street) who co-founded PhillyCarShare will speak about car sharing and a panel will talk about other enhanced transit strategies at the JW Marriott Hotel in Cherry Creek North.  More at:

http://www.transolutions.org/

After success at the Democratic National Convention and with support from Mayor Hickenlooper, bike sharing is coming to Denver this spring.  Denver Bike Sharing will launch the Denver B-cycle system, which will include 600 standard bicycles provided by B-cycle and 40-50 B-cycle stations in the Central Business District, Capitol Hill the Cherry Creek Shopping District and at the University of Denver. After joining Denver Bike Sharing for an annual fee of $60, members will use an electronic key and a credit card to unlock a bike at a station and use it for free for the first half hour and nominal charges after that before returning it at any station.

The Downtown Denver Partnership is investing $50,000 including matching funds to assist property owners in the CBD to accommodate bike stations.  And students at the University of Denver have raised $50,000 to kick-start the program enabling free use of it by DU students. Through the creation of an integrated bike transit system, Denver Bike Sharing hopes to help the City reach its goal of increasing the bicycle commuting population to 10 percent of all commuters to downtown Denver by 2018. Depending on the success of the first year, Denver Bike Sharing plans to launch an additional 400 bikes with accompanying stations in 2011.  More at:

http://denverbikesharing.org/

http://bcycle.com/b_knowledge/

The construction fence is down and the Hilton Garden Inn in Glendale at Colorado Boulevard/Cherry Creek Drive is open.  Stonebridge Companies bought the former Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in 2007 and has massively renovated it, and converted the front portion to retail space dominated by restaurants.  The 210 room hotel includes 3 meeting rooms and the Great American Grille.

 Larry Harte, Mayor of Glendale says, "Entering the lobby, you'll notice a very colorful and creative layout - restaurant and bar to the left, check-in and lounge area to the right.  The guest rooms and meeting spaces are very tastefully decorated with updated designs and furniture.  One of the highlights for many of us who live nearby is the bar, called Zink, sure to become a local favorite.  The hotel is emphasizing Zink by showcasing it's location in the lobby and by offering a spacious outdoor patio, adjacent to the lobby. Be sure to check it all out when you get a moment."  Additional restaurants fronting Colorado Boulevard will include Café Rio, new to Colorado, Panera Bread, adding to the location in Cherry Creek North, and Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. Customers of a new Verizon store also in the mix will have plenty opportunities for food and beverage.

Stonebridge Cos. also plans to redevelop the former Colorado National Bank building at 17th and Champa Street downtown into a new hotel. Purchased by the company for $4.5 million recently, the company envisions capping the 6-story building with several more floors for the project.  As-yet no a budget has not been established nor a flag selected. Opening of the hotel is anticipated at least 2 years out.

A site near Denver Botanic Gardens on the south side of East 11^th Avenue between Vine and Gaylord is getting closer to redevelopment.  While the current R-3 zoning permits the project, MGI Partners is working with neighbors to design a 17-story senior apartment building with 110 units, a restaurant serving residents and underground parking. The developer reportedly has not yet obtained construction financing.  The project will replace small apartment buildings and a house currently on the site.

The Cherry Creek area is seeing a remarkable number of new restaurants considering the economy.  In addition to the Glendale additions, Earl's opened recently in the former Ocean and Mao space at 2^nd/Columbine adding to Earl's locations at Park Meadows and downtown.  And Brio has opened in the former Macaroni Grille space at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

Toast replaced the Village Inn at 2^nd/Columbine for breakfast and lunch with hardly a change to the building. At its Littleton location Toast has won Westword's Best Pancake Award a couple of times.  Western Development, owned by Phil Anschutz owns this real estate, but likely won't redevelop it soon according to David Steel. Compare Toast with Snooze at 7^th/Colorado Boulevard which always seems to have line outside.

Very recently Ondo's Spanish Tapas Bar opened at 250 Steele Street and Juicy Lucy's Steakhouse closed in a space the never seems to keep a restaurant for long at 250 Josephine Street. And a few months ago Houston's opened at 3^rd/Josephine.  Houston's is run by the Hillstone Restaurant Group which also operates the Cherry Creek Grille fka Bandera's at 2^nd/Steele.

Once in a while it's worthwhile to venture out of the area and Bistro One 1294 South Broadway might be worth a look.  Bistro One opened a couple of years ago nearby the Gates Redevelopment which has come to a halt after building some apartments and a parking structure, and occupying some renovated offices.  In spite of the Gates slowdown, the restaurant seems to be doing well.  This real estate analyst is no restaurant critic, but the eclectic menu is tasty and the service is wonderfully friendly.  More at: