A small section of Denver is poised for some huge changes. The 38th and Blake commuter rail station area in RiNo Denver’s neighborhood is positioned for intense redevelopment in the very near future. With price per square foot going as high as $275 in a recent land deal (i.e. the World Trade Center land parcel sale), we put together a list of the biggest proposed and upcoming projects.
In early 2018, the Denver City Council passed an incentive driven, height-overlay zoning code that allows for taller buildings to be built in the area surrounding the 38th and Blake rail station. The buildings must meet “certain standards regarding income-restricted housing,” (Business Den). For example, a proposed apartment complex at 37th and Blake has plans to go 17 stories high, with the understanding with the city that the complex includes at least 19 affordable units.
This, coupled with other city driven projects like the National Western Complex and the Central I-70 redevelopment, will transform the RiNo area that we traverse today. In another year or two, it will look very different as development, investment and change comes to the area. Take a closer look at these developments below.
- Train: 16-Story Mixed Use Project
- World Train Center Denver
- Cole Market
- 17 Story Apartment Building by McWHINNEY
- Westfield’s North Wynkoop
- 10 Story Apartment Building by Cresset and Hines
- National Western Center
- Novel RiNo Apartments
- 3800 and 3900 North Brighton Blvd – Multifamily Project
- Central 70 Project
- Denver Rock Drill
- 13 Story Apartment Building by Zocolo
- 39th Avenue Greenway
Train: 16-Story Mixed Use Project
According to Business Den, this project is made up of a “triangular block formed by Walnut, 40th and Franklin Streets, as well as the bulk of the similarly shaped block formed by Walnut, 40th and Blake Streets.” Still in its early stages, this mixed-use development project calls for an entertainment venue, restaurants, retail space, parking structure, an office tower, two hotel towers and a residential tower (ranging between 8-16 stories each). The land alone cost $20 million.
World Train Center Denver
One of the most exciting projects coming to Denver, with plans in the works to break ground later in 2019 and to be completed in 2021, this development is projected to include 350,000 square feet of office space and a 240,000 square foot hotel. According to the website, the “campus will include state-of-the art conference center and training facilities, a flagship business hotel and globally-themed restaurants and retail stores. It will be both the headquarters for established global companies and an incubator for aspiring global entrepreneurs. An exciting and vibrant international hub in the heart of Denver.”
Cole Market
Plans are in the works for the Cole Neighborhood in Denver to get a new supermarket and 200 homes, walking distance from the 38th and Blake station. According to Denverite, the store will “provide an oasis in one of Denver’s many food deserts. A doll shop, a used car lot and an auto repair shop currently inhabit the block.”
McWHINNEY’s 17 Story Apartment Building
According to Business Den, McWHINNEY is planning a 17-story multifamily project at 3750 Blake Street. The project will include 30 income-restricted apartments, ground floor retail and a rooftop pool. It is expected to be completed during the first half of 2022.
Westfield’s North Wynkoop
North Wynkoop is a 14-acre project at the north end of Brighton Boulevard. Home to Denver’s brand new Mission Ballroom concert venue, as well as a three-story building with office and retail space just south of it coming in a second phase. According to Oz Architecture, the project planning began in 2014, entailing a “master plan design, the re-zoning effort, and the project envisioning of the six-block, 13-acre mixed-use project in the heart of RiNo that is now transforming into an active entertainment district and an anchor to the north end of Brighton Blvd and just south of the National Western Complex site.”
Image: Westfield’s North Wynkoop
Denver’s Newest Venue: The Mission Ballroom10-Story Apartment Building (by Cresset and Hines)
Originally part of the Wynkoop North parcel, Westfield just sold this 2.5 acre property to Cresset and Hines in June 2019. In place of the industrial building that currently sits on the site, the developers plan on building a 10-story apartment building, “with 392 units and approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space. [The Cresset founder] said work is expected to begin later this year or next, and that construction likely would take 30 months,” wrote Business Den.
The National Western Center
According to their website, the National Western Center will be “a reimagined master-planned campus nearly doubling the grounds which have housed the National Western Stock Show for more than 110 years.” The 250-acre campus will be developed under the auspices of the founding partners that include the City & County of Denver, Colorado State University, Western Stock Show Association, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and History Colorado. Voters approved the project in November of 2015 and construction is expected to be complete in 2024.
Novel RiNo – 475 Apartments
Novel RiNo is a proposed apartment building by Crescent Communities that includes 475 units and is located at 1300 40th Street.
3800 and 3900 North Brighton Blvd – Multifamily Project
Purchased by Carmel Partners, a multifamily investment firm based in San Francisco with over a dozen assets in Denver, it is still unclear what the developer is planning to do their recent purchase. Pepsi sold the 3.77 acres, currently parking lots, to Carmel in June 2019. Carmel Partners also recently purchased the 3300 Block of Brighton Boulevard for $30 million and hasn’t revealed their plans for the site either.
3500 Blake Street – Office Space
Development firm Hines plans to build a six-story office building at this site.
Central 70 Project
According to CDOT, “The Central 70 Project will reconstruct a 10-mile stretch of I-70 between Brighton Boulevard and Chambers Road, add one new Express Lane in each direction, remove the aging 55-year-old viaduct, lower the interstate between Brighton and Colorado Boulevards, and place a four-acre park over a portion of the lowered interstate.” The project aims to be complete by 2022.
When you’re your pondering the $1.3 billion Central 70 Project, and more questions come to you than answers, 5280 Magazine did a great job of analyzing what’s going on and what to expect in the coming months and years.
Denver Rock Drill – The $300 Million Plan
Right where the Cole Neighborhood and RiNo meet at 39th and Franklin, you will find the Denver Rock Drill project – a 5 minute walk to the 38th and Blake rail station. The project includes 422,000 square feet of office space, 65,000 square feet of retail space and 175 hotel rooms. New structures will take up 516,000 square feet and 155 square feet will be restoration of existing buildings.
Construction started this year and includes a $300 million plan to renovate the old brick buildings and add structures. When finished, the development will feature a hotel, restaurants, retail and office space (KDVR).
Zocolo’s 381 Apartments at 34th and Walnut
A 13-story, 381 unit apartment building is planned for the site at 3433 and 3463 Walnut Street. There will be at least 18 units designated income-restricted and the building will focus on studio apartments with a commercial ground floor.
39th Avenue Greenway
A 12-acre park and greenway will be replacing pavement in the Cole Neighborhood, from Franklin to Steele Streets, providing recreational space and improvements that will filter the stormwater which enters the South Platte River. According to the City, construction began in the summer 2018 and the project will be operational in 2020.
Money Talks
- $36.2 million – The amount Pepsi sold two parking lots at 3800 and 3900 N. Brighton Boulevard for to Carmel Partners in June of 2019
- $30 million – The amount Carmel Partners purchased the 3300 Block of Brighton Boulevard for in February of 2018
- $21 million – What Developer Hines and Cresset Capital Management recently paid for a ~2.5-acre site situated next to the newly opened Mission Ballroom concert venue. They plan to build a 392-unit apartment complex on the space
- $13.5 million – The price of parcels at 3860 Blake St. and 3823 Walnut St, the location the World Trade Center
- $11.25 million – What 3500 Blake Street was purchased for by Hines
- $6.5 million – The amount McWHINNEY paid for a 0.94-acre parcel at 3750 Blake St. in June 2019, according to Business Den
