Personal goal/project for 2024, visiting every City of Denver park... with some exceptions. Follow along with this thread, or check periodically on Denver Urbanism for coverage and reactions to parks I've never been to before.
Some personal news, my partner and I just bought a lil home in City Park West. Neither of us make big money, but after saving for the entire length of our relationship, we made an offer and closed Thursday. Will be a bit quiet on posting for the next week.
🎉🙏🪅🏡🚲🚲🦮
Places in Denver I’d like to see this kind of small retail with homes above:
Florida and Monaco, Exposition and Franklin, 7th and Knox, 32nd and Wolff, 9th and Steele… where would you want to see new mixed-use corners in Denver?
16th Ave and Newton St (& 17th & Meade),
#Denver
80204 -
A 🧵 on 151 affordable apartments, a 16-story apartment tower, parking garage, multimodal path, and community-serving nonprofit space making its way through permitting. This complex will transform a sleepy corner by Sloans
In case there was any doubt,
@jlocantore
is a superhero. What a joyful read this morning! Closing the cloverleaf remains a huge priority for returning Denver’s westside to the PEOPLE.
#TOD
at 42nd and Fox St,
#Denver
80216
12-story apartment tower in an 8-story zone, using EHA to exceed height limits. 270 homes, all affordable. 304 bedrooms. Just 26 veh parking vs 217 bike parking. Within steps of 41st and Fox Station, exemplary! (A project I worried was dead)
Winona and Colfax,
#Denver
80204 - 5-story apartment building w/ 6.6k ground-floor retail. 88 units, 100 beds. 46 veh parking. Literally at a bus stop, the 16, comes every 10-15 minutes. Would replace two condemned buildings and a vacant lot.
I hate the intersection of Colfax, Franklin, and Park Avenue. People are always trying to take a right on red from eastbound Colfax to northbound Park Avenue. I’m not joking when I’m crossing with a pedestrian walk signal! Aggressive interventions are needed, people are at risk!
PROPOSED
17th St & Glenarm,
#Denver
80202
Adaptive re-use of 16-story office tower ➡️ 210 homes, all affordable. 0 car parking. Ground-floor retail. Mostly studios, some 1-to-3 beds. Looks like they plan to remove an elevator core, but no proposed change to exterior, really
Sheridan and 10th Ave,
#Lakewood
80214 - existing blighted strip mall would be redeveloped into mixed-use apartments. 6-stories, 364 apts, 5k sq ft of retail. Not sure on parking, but developed by a firm with a reputation for TOD work.
PROPOSED:
Champa & 26th St,
#Denver
80205 - 5 rowhomes to replace a vacant lot. Zone allows 2.5 stories; permit lists office as secondary use...? 5 veh parking proposed. I'd guess this'll looks like architect's work down the street, neo-Italianate 2500 Arapahoe St.
Colfax, Downing, and Corona,
#Denver
80218:
8-story mixed-use building replaces old Smiley's laundromat. 210 new homes w/ 229 beds, 6.6k sq ft retail along Colfax. 242 vehicle & 122 bike parking. Extravagant garage, with new private drive south of the building connecting to alley
Colorado's ADU bill is here!
HB1152 gives homeowners the right to build an ADU aka granny flat/backyard cottage/garage apartment on their property, increasing the supply of low-cost, efficient housing & adding gentle density near jobs & transit– a Win-Win for housing & climate🏘️
Just utterly giddy, cannot believe what a win this bill would be for the next generation of Coloradan homeowners, business owners, transit users/operators, and our air quality. 25% through reading the bill now and I cannot find a miss by
@coloradodems
Broadway and 4th Ave,
#Denver
80203
65 homes in a 5-story mixed-use building, replacing drive-thru Dunkin Donuts along high-comfort bikeway and frequent bus line. Parking: 65 veh | 16 bike. 5k sq ft ground-floor retail space. Removes a curb cut which interrupted pedestrian realm.
15 bags of trash removed from Dry Gulch. A tiny fraction of the trash in the park. Always looking for more helping hands, Tuesdays at 5:30 at 12th Ave and Wolff St
I personally am in favor of a new park in NE Park Hill, in favor of affordable housing, in favor of new bikeways and more people using the A line. I want new sidewalks on the E side of CO Blvd, and see the need for property tax relief for working folks. I’m voting “Yes,” on 2O.
Opinion: not a great look that near the end of
@CityCastDenver
interview with Sen. Hansen, when asked “How would you make Denver less car-centric?” He goes back to mentioning visible homelessness, encampments, and drugs w/ regard to the most-used bus in town
This is big news, if you didn’t already know. One of our at-large councilwomen is at work rezoning all homes in Denver to allow for ADUs, including suburban Denver
Just absolutely furious about today. The resulting burnt-up blight on Colfax & death of a great project belongs squarely at the feet of permitting delays in Denver. Devs have been slow-walked to final approval for TWO YEARS, now they go back to the drawing board? Nope, they walk
Just hit 2000 miles on this e-bike, about 1000 miles more than I would’ve biked without it, I’m sure. I see friends after work more often, go to further places on my day off, take longer, more enjoyable rides than I ever did before. Thanks
@DenverCASR
for this incredible program!
Triangle of Colfax, 14th St, and Court, Denver 80202 - a 297-room, 14-story hotel. Cafe and restaurant on the street. Replaces a child-care center and Denver Fire Dept office. Will totally transform a narrow slice of the view from DAM and GT
#BuildupDenver
Some thoughts. I leave deeply moved, shocked into remembering the shared humanity of people living through the worst circumstances possible by a leader who’s not looking away from the hard stuff, who’s staked his entire career on getting people out of those conditions
Headed to a community meeting with CM Chris Hinds and Mayor Mike Johnston, this one about the proposed micro-communities in the Golden Triangle. Lotta folks here at the Evans School! Will try to tweet out the highlights
PROPOSED:
8th Ave and Inca St,
#Denver
80204 - 5-story, 100% affordable, mixed-use apt building. 56 studios, 7 parking.
This comes after a previous 16-unit proposal, also five stories. Suspect EHA has leveled the playing field for an affordable development to pencil out.
16th Avenue and Pearl St,
#Denver
80203
5 stories along 16th, 8 stories along Pearl, 162 homes, 162 veh parking with 3 levels of underground parking. 87 bike parking spots, literally 6 blocks from downtown along a protected bike lane. Residential entries w/ stoops along Pearl St
Brighton Blvd & 41st Ave,
#Denver
80216
2, 12-story towers. 370 homes, 192-key hotel with gf retail and arts facilities. Private open space between the two towers that front Wynkoop and Brighton. One portion of the redevelopment. Parking: 110 veh | 90 bike
Find myself thinking tonight how important state-wide land use reform is to addressing the housing shortage. Denver is genuinely trying to build! City Council, city agencies, all are trying to move forward housing projects, w/ neighboring cities nearby saying "1% growth only!"
PROPOSED:
Lowell Blvd and Colfax,
#Denver
80204 - 3-story apartment building would replace a surface parking lot. 30 homes, 0 vehicle parking. 100% affordable. By my favorite architecture firm in town, Meridian 105. Owned by Lake Steam Baths across the street
Tennyson St and 41st Ave,
#Denver
80212 - Retail building by Cesar Chavez park is being reno'd and reused w/ addition of a rooftop retail space. Sweetgreen is one of the three GF tenants, more to come on the rest of the tenants. First comes reno, rooftop addition to be approved.
W Colfax and Vrain,
#Denver
80204 - Breaking ground soon, a 5-story apartment building replaces a parking lot within a ten-minute walk of the light rail and by the 16 bus line. Ground-floor retail. 66 homes, 20 veh parking. Screenshot the water plans, can't see other plans!
I’ll say specifically Lime is currently in breach of contract with the city! They agreed for charge no more than $1 for 30-min rides in opportunity areas around town, and now they’re raking it in while the city is distracted. Enforce the contract!
A younger colleague of mine told me that it’s often cheaper for him to take an Uber/Lyft car than a Lime/Lyft scooter/ebike. I checked this morning & it costs $8.30 to go 2 miles to downtown on a Lyft ebike. Same trip costs $7.80 to be picked up by a Lyft driver.
.
@DenverInfill
Spent last night on the roof of the Evans school in Golden Triangle. In just this one angle off the top, there are 5 projects in progress/proposed, and a 6th possible dev by Adelaide Real Estate who might try again
#BuildupDenver
PROPOSED:
9th and Navajo,
#Denver
80204 -
@Denver_Housing
delivers for Denver with 7-story affordable complex. 187 homes, 85 veh parking, at least half the homes for unhoused folks; the ground floor will feature a clinic run by Denver Indian Health and Family Services.
#TOD
Sheridan Blvd and 14th Ave,
#Denver
80204:
7-story, 100% affordable apts to exceed the 5-story zoning, providing more homes than neighboring apts. 120 homes (all studios and 1-beds). 39 vehicle and 30 bike parking. 0 vehicle parking required, 5 min walk from Sheridan LR
New private pickle-ball facility proposed in the middle of the Broadway and Alameda redevelopment. Would cannibalize some of the parking lot in order to provide half indoor/half outdoor courts.
Acoma St and 2nd Ave,
#Denver
80204 - 5 rowhomes replace a vacant parking lot within steps of S Broadway. 2.5 stories. Some conflicts here b/w the simple permit look and a draft SDP, but I believe them to be around 1400 sq ft each, w/ 1 garage parking space each.
Xavier and W Colfax,
#Denver
80204 - 5-story temporary shelter (up to 30 days) for homeless families to replace existing 2-story motel for same purpose. 60 new units, 27 veh parking underground. Phase one of VOA's redevelopment of the Aristocrat Motor Hotel on W Colfax
Disappointing in the extreme. Coloradans shouldn’t have to beg for action on the
#1
problem facing this state: the cost of housing, and a general shortage of housing in the places where people need to live
17th and Pennsylvania,
#Denver
80203
7 stories, with ground-floor retail. 123 homes, 31 veh, 68 bike parking spots. Replaces a surface parking lot in uptown. All studio/1-beds, max unit size of 549 sq ft. Attractive building, w/ new trees on Penn and outdoor dining at the corner
Totally surprised (and pleased) to see highway lids endorsed as something to study and potentially implement, especially along I-25 by Wash Park, the Highlands, and 6th Ave by Villa Park and Barnum
If we implemented minimum lot size reform statewide in CO, we'd see a lot more homes built in existing neighborhoods without demolishing the current home.
3. Legalize multifamily in commercial zones. Montana did this. Florida passed a good bill.
4. Rightsize minimum lot sizes to 1,200 sqft statewide. A half-dozen bills on this introduced this year.
5. Legalize duplexes/fourplexes in all neighborhoods. Look to Washington or Oregon.
PROPOSED:
#TOD
at Ulster St and Smith Rd,
#Denver
80207
4 towers (2 @ 14 stories, 2 @ 10 stories) could phase out ~6 acres of RTD-owned surface parking. >1000 affordable homes, along w/ new park space, aff'd childcare, & gf retail. >500 veh and bike parking. Unsolicited proposal
I’ve said it before: this is basically the best outcome the city could hope for. A new regional park, hundreds of new affordable and workforce housing, neighborhood amenities and they only had to pay 2 mil for the flooding easement to get a seat at the table for all this?
A really significant Denver City Council vote is taking place this upcoming Monday. It will determine whether Denver voters have ultimate say in April on what happens with the Park Hill Golf Course.
Yes, there are NIMBYs out there, trying to say no. But the mayor has staked his entire, and considerable, political capital on this. These 11 sites are just the beginning, he means it.
Wow. No new parking required for ANY new missing middle housing (townhomes, cottage clusters, du/triplexes) to be built in CO, in "Tier 1" municipalities or resort towns...
Welton St and 29th St,
#Denver
80205
#TOD
, 6-stories. 4k sq ft of ground-floor retail. Directly across the street from L line on Welton. 62 affordable condos. Parking: 26 veh | 60 bike. Exemplary project, replaces a surface parking lot within 1 mile of downtown
This is my interest in parts of Denver like Sun Valley, 41st and Fox, and the Evans Station area; met a woman last night who never used transit till she moved to Denver, lives right by the Yale Station and now uses LR all the time. Building new homes by transit has an effect!
Public transit is a critical strategy for reducing vehicle trips & air pollution, but unleashing its full climate potential requires Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
When it comes to TOD, building the “T” without the “D” leaves 80 % of the GHG savings on the table.
7/
The RTD May service changes would significantly cut rail service, particularly on weeknights. W, E, and R ending at 10PM, H and D ending at 11PM. As someone who depends on the W this would have a very negative affect on my ability to get around. I don’t like this!
A fabulous presentation this morning by Councilman Hinds about the many existing plans that shape the coming 5280 Trail. No stronger supporter of the Trail than
@DenverPerfect10
. Golden Triangle needs car-free Acoma Street, new neighborhood green space!
The status quo is scraping a modest home in Platt Park, Wash Park, or other desireable neighborhoods to build a luxury single-family home. But we could house more people for a (comparatively) lower price, if we changed the rules. Which would in turn slow the rate of scrapes!
Minneapolis and Portland saw rent level off nearly completely over the last six years.
How?
They built a ton of apartments with little parking.
Lessens from other density efforts elsewhere —>
Some friends asked me to talk buildings this Sat, starting by the Colfax and Elati bus stop. We’ll walk and talk about what’s been built, being built, & what’s proposed in the Golden Triangle (plus a sliver N of Colfax). There’s a lot to cover. If you’re interested, come along!
Here at the YIMBY Denver conversation on land use with CO State Reps Ruby Dickson and Steven Woodrow. Should be a lively conversation, sounds like Dems are eager to try more bills this next session so that homes can be more affordable and plentiful in CO. Will put out highlights
Tennyson St and 7th Ave, Denver 80204 - 4 unit row homes replacing one SU. This is the type of development the West Side sees constantly. Linked is the developer's website, though for a development 3 1/2 blocks up the street with more units
The Source Hotel and Market Hall is looking to reduce their surface parking footprint out front, per a new concept plan submittal. A reduction of 23 parking spots to add outdoor seating, new lawns, longer ramps up to the market hall, and new trees. Needs more bike racks, IMHO
@AndyKnny
Thank you,
@AndyKnny
for your effort to cover, explain, and contextualize this bill. CPR did (IMHO) a very good job emphasizing both the scale of the current problem w/ housing & the scale of the Governor's solution. Appreciate the work
Headed to a community meeting with CM Chris Hinds and Mayor Mike Johnston, this one about the proposed micro-communities in the Golden Triangle. Lotta folks here at the Evans School! Will try to tweet out the highlights
PROPOSED:
Pearl St and Bayaud Ave,
#Denver
80209 - 3-story apartments over a garden level parking structure. 44 apts, 48 veh parking. Walking distance to S Broadway, easy bike ride to downtown. Would replace around 7 units (1 duplex, small apartment building, SU home)
Disappointed that I'll be missing this tonight - really interested to see how they treat 17th from Meade to Federal, hugely important link. My hot take (is that PBLs should be everywhere, but) is that PBLs are needed more from Meade-Fed than Meade-Sheridan
Mtg tonight/Thu at 6pm to make this W 17th Ave Bike Lane protected to facilitate more sustainable transportation options in the West Colfax / Sloans Lake neighborhoods… and also so more people can experience the joy of passing cars at rush hour.
Thread on what
#Morehousingnow
does to Tier 1 cities, TOD areas, what a minimum density of 40 du/acre looks like, the timeline for change, and where will we see some of the biggest effects...
It's big. It's really, really BIG.
More now on TOD w/n the bill. A lot of standards probably to follow, but at the least, it requires zoning of at least 40 dwelling units per acre w/n 1/2 mile of a fixed rail stop, and eliminates parking req in TOD zones
@rightlegpegged
@MikeJohnstonCO
broadway between 20th and colfax is a disaster. It’s like a blender where cyclists and pedestrians just have to hold on and hope they make it through.
PROPOSED:
W 32nd Ave by Federal,
#Denver
80211 - a 4-story apartment building in a G-MU-3 zone. 34 homes, 23 veh parking. Pre-EHA, would have been req 1:1 parking to units, now 1:2. By providing at least 4 affordable homes, under EHA, the developers can build up!
fun fact:
@RideRTD
is one of the largest US transit agencies without a bus system map!
i've wanted to try designing a bus map for a while, so i took it upon myself to make one for RTD. this was a lot of work and i'm so excited to share it :)
more info at
#TOD
on Welton St b/w 30th & 29th Ave,
#Denver
80205 - 4-story apartment building replaces 3 SU homes. 36 permanent supportive homes. 5 veh and 31 bike parking. An exceptional development which has more bike parking than space for cars!
Minute walk from 30th/Downing Station.
Amending our building code to allow for single-stair construction unlocks affordable multifamily in small corner lots. City explicitly directs regulatory relief along Colfax in the East Central Area Plan + single-stair eases take-up of EHA incentives (3 -> 4 stories)
🔎 Cook St
Featuring views of the Space Needle and Lake Union, Seattle's Franklin Station features a mix of SEDU and 2-bed units on a small urban lot.
Due to outdated code restrictions, the four story building is illegal to build in almost every US city due to the use of a single stair.
S High St and Wesley Ave,
#Denver
80210 - a five-story apartment building replaces some one-story housing near DU and the Harvard Gulch trail. 12 homes becomes 235, w/ 246 veh and 144 bike parking. New sidewalk where there was none before.
An entire block in south Denver near DU of old bungalows is being scraped. Proposed replacement, under review, is a five-story, 235-unit apartment building w/ 2 levels of underground parking.
Tell me about a Denver spot (new or old) that you were surprised you liked.
I’ll go first, The Woods at The Source Hotel. The view and the vibes are right
PROPOSED:
E Colfax Ave b/w Adams and Cook St,
#Denver
80204 - a 6- and 3-story building would fill a vacant lot which used to have retail space. 80 units total, 58 veh parking. Looks like it would bring new gf retail space to the corridor, as well as 18 income-restricted homes
Marion St and Park Ave,
#Denver
80218:
18 townhomes would replace a single-story office building in central Denver. 2-bedrooms, 1 garage parking spot each. Directly adjacent to some of Park Avenue's many triangle parks, and up the street from a new protected bike lane.
For literally no reason at all tonight I am 80 pages deep into the city of Sheridan's Comprehensive Plan. They want mixed-use/more density everywhere. In the appendix, they listed people's comments and write-in answers to questions about life in Sheridan.
Estimated 40,000 people work out of DIA (including myself)
The A-line needs to run on a 10 headway, 24/7
We need dedicated bus routes and bus lanes.
There needs to be more discussion around more sustainable, affordable and reliable transportation for DIA workers and visitors.
12. Attractions matter: Downtowns "have been living off of their laurels and too many of the attractions downtown leaders have seen as strong and unique have in fact lost their luster and a significant amount of their magnetism,” writes David Milder.
According to Phil Goodstein’s book on Denver Civic Center, the laborers pushed all the snow they could into the nascent park. Piles 50 feet high! Snow didn’t completely melt for 7 MONTHS
110 years ago, Denver's biggest snowstorm on record had just started.
45.7" of mostly heavy, wet snow piled up over 5 days. The city needed nearly 4,000 temporary laborers to clear it all up!
#9wx
#COwx
13 miles today, from City Park to Central Park and back! Great weather, pretty houses. Stopped by some new parks on the way. Boy, E 17th b/w Monaco and Quebec deserves protected bike lanes and sidewalks like, yesterday. And Montview by Monaco as well, no sidewalks!
Colfax and Downing,
#Denver
80218 - 7-story mixed-use apartment building, 334 units, 405 beds. 342 parking spots.
#YimbyDenver
Replaced the Ramada. More to come to the surrounding blocks.
23rd Ave & Central Park Blvd,
#Denver
80238:
4-story apt building replaces industrial site in Central Park. 241 homes (343 beds) averaging 890 sf per unit. 337 veh, but only 59 bike parking. Lots of new green space for the neighborhood, generous courtyards, mid-block ped access
There is no actual Plan B for what becomes of the Park Hill Golf Course. None of what the "opponents" of the current plan can make any other land use happen on this private land. If voters say "No," in April, none of PHGC becomes public property and nobody gets a park
The equivalent of 5% of the city’s total population has arrived in Denver looking for help over the last year. My huge thanks to the city workers who have done everything in their power to help over the last year
Grant St and 7th Ave,
#Denver
80203
9-story apt replaces old garage. 96 homes, 128 beds. (Couple 3-beds!) Parking: 75 veh | 53 bike. Luma Apartments, construction permit in progress right now. For more on this section of Cap Hill follow
@DenverInfill
What gives,
@limebike
? You are supposed to provide a discounted rate ($1 for 30 min rides) to use a bike in opportunity areas around Denver, but it’s been full price across the whole city for months now? Openly flouting your contract with the city? How is this equitable?
Irving, Hooker, Colfax, and Conejos,
#Denver
80204 - a proposed development of up to 8 stories tall on Colfax, stepping down to 3 stories on Conejos, almost approved, but no construction yet ~196 apts, ~153 parking spots
#YimbyDenver
It would also help cities identify and fund necessary upgrades to water/sewer infrastructure so that they can build denser, and begin to protect agricultural land and prime open space w/ a goal of limiting sprawl. This bill has it all!
New land use bill would prevent the state's largest cities from limiting construction of housing like duplexes and lets more housing be built near transportation.
Earnest question to RTD Board defenders. Is the elected board delivering for the thousands of residents who live or work near rail stations? For airport workers? For downtown rail users? For E, H, and R Line reliability? What is the board doing?
The RTD May service changes would significantly cut rail service, particularly on weeknights. W, E, and R ending at 10PM, H and D ending at 11PM. As someone who depends on the W this would have a very negative affect on my ability to get around. I don’t like this!
The West Den speed dating Mayor’s forum was done so well. Congrats to the organizers, and my props to the candidates who sat at a small table with strangers who had the opportunity to push back. Great beers from Raices too. A couple thoughts on who/what I heard 🧵
Shout out to the driver of
@RideRTD
15L bus
#9319
for giving me a warm ride home from the West Denver "speed dating" style mayoral forum when it's 2° and snowy out. ❄️🚍☺️
Pearl St and 17th Ave,
#Denver
80203
5-story mixed-use building on small corner in Uptown. 38 homes, 58 bedrooms. Parking: 36 veh | 21 bike. Small lot, ample balconies, rooftop terrace. Ground-floor restaurant, below ground garage. Townhome-style homes north of 17th on Pearl
Grant St b/w 17th and 18th Aves,
#Denver
80203:
7-story apartment building to replace single-story bank and small plaza in Denver's CBD. 260 homes (301 beds) with 213 vehicle and 130 bike parking. Currently in permitting, with the renderings courtesy of urban design submissions