Denver's skyline is transforming with daring architecture, new neighborhoods in the works and unceasing energy around Coors Field, Union Station and the RiNo Art District.
All this new construction raises a question: Are the developers and architects creating this city's future actually from Denver or not?
We looked at ten of the highest-profile developments in town to see who's behind them and where they're from. Some of these projects are just breaking ground; others launched this year.
2950 Arkins Court
The Holland Partner Group, an international developer based out of Vancouver, Wa., with an increasing Denver presence, is building an eight-story building along the RiNo Promenade next to the Platte River.
The mixed-use brick project has been designed by Denver's own Engine 8 Architecture, which is the team behind Number Thirty Eight. The project is on track to be finished in spring 2022. When it opens, the building will offer 365 riverside apartments.
Denargo Market
Chicago developer Golub & Company and Denver developer Formativ are working together on the 13-acre Denargo Market -- a mixed use planned neighborhood in the RiNo Art District, with housing, retail, commercial and open-air space along the South Platte River.
Tryba Architects, from Denver, are leading the design of the space, along with the design firm Sasaki, which has offices in Watertown, Mass., Shanghai and Denver.
Flora
Flora, a mixed-use project with 92 apartments and a mix of office and retail space, is being built at Chestnut Place and 35th Street. The development team is 100% Denver with father-daughter duo Greg and Edee Anesi, Brock Fleming of Belay Development and Brad Arguello, and the architecture firm Studio Completiva is from Denver, too, reported BusinessDen. The building will include restaurant and office space.
FoundryLine
Denver's McWhinney is the developer behind FoundryLine, a 17-story building with 348 apartments, at 3750 Blake St. Five Points-based Craine Architecture designed the project, making this as homegrown as it gets.
The building includes a rooftop pool and 14,000 square feet of restaurants and shops, along with a first-rate art collection, a spa and sauna, co-working space and 30 units dedicated to attainable housing.
McGregor Square
McGregor Square, one of the city's flashiest new developments, opened this year at the corner of Wazee and 19th streets. The three-building complex, with a stunning central plaza for watching sports and hobnobbing, already houses thriving businesses, including a stunning Tattered Cover outpost. The structure also includes the Rally Hotel and 103 condos, starting at $499,000.
The project was built by Rockies owner and novice developer Dick Monfort on the stadium's West Lot. In this case, a lack of experience did not translate to a lack of quality. While Monfort led the charge and recruited investors, the buildings were developed by Greeley's Hensel Phelps and designed by the Edmonton, Canada-based architecture firm Stantec and its lead architect John Yonushewski. The land is owned by the taxpayer funded Denver Metropolitan Major League Baseball Stadium District.
One Platte
At 1701 Platte St., One Platte is bringing 240,000 square feet of office space to town. Billed as "the last opportunity on Platte Street," the building is in the process of finding tenants. The project is being developed by Denver's Nichols Partnership, which focuses on a mix of new builds and adaptive reuse projects, including Turntable Studios and the Rocky Mountain Bank Note.
The building was designed by the Beck Group, which is headquartered in Dallas, Tx., and has an international presence, including a Denver office.
One River North
One River North, which has broken ground at 3930 Blake Street, is the soon-to-rise building with the giant foliage-rich crack running down it that has everybody talking: Is this thing viable? And if so, will it work?
The lead developer, The Max Collaborative of Shaker Heights, Ohio, noted it will offer 187 apartments starting in 2023. The other developers behind the project include Uplands Real Estate Partners of Washington, D.C., and Denver's own Wynne Yasmer Real Estate and Zakhem Real Estate Group, according to the Denver Business Journal.
The building will be the third in the United States designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong of Mad Architecture. He's known for works that incorporate organic elements into urban buildings. Assuming this goes up as planned, it will look like nothing else in Denver -- and whether you view it as an eye sore or architecture at its finest, One River North will radically change the Denver skyscape.
Steele House
Boston developer Beacon Capital Partners and Denver's Elevation Development Group are bringing the 14-story office building Steele House to 3100 Brighton Blvd. The New York firm Morris Adjmi Architects is designing the project along with Open Studio Architecture from Denver.
While Adjimi's design will nod to the area's industrial past, the building will incorporate plenty of foliage and natural light from windows on all sides of the structure. In addition to offices, the building will also include 12,000 square feet for retail.
X Denver
Chicago's X Co. has launched a chain of hip buildings across the country that are part social club, part co-living apartment complex, and part workout center. The brand has made big moves in Denver, a city whose rising youthful population is the target demographic for this concept.
X Denver, designed by hometown firm Studio PBA, was the first of these. Like McGregor Square, X Denver, which has been in the works for the past three years at 3100 Inca Street, is not too far from Coors Field. The building boasts 251 units with 813 beds.
D2
The same Chicago-Denver team behind X Denver is coming together again for a sequel in Arapahoe Square, at 2100 Arapahoe St. Unlike the first building, this edition of the X Company concept is a 22-story vertical tower with 351 apartment spaces with 641 beds.
The building, which is currently under construction, will include 35,000 square feet of space for recreation and another 14,000 square feet devoted to co-working. There will be a pool deck, spa, fitness center, full-service bar, restaurant and more. The project is scheduled to launch in fall 2023.
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Property Markets Group was the parent company of X Co. and was developing X Denver. While PMG was behind X Co. and is a partner on the project, X Co. split off from PMG in 2019.
