Denver spent decades trying to undo its cowtown aura.
But former Mayor Michael Hancock pushed to keep the National Western Center inside the city with a billion-dollar project.
Now, private development is coming to Denver's Livestock Exchange.
Developer Andrew Feinstein, of the EXDO Development Group, is turning the historic building at 4701 Marion St. into The Exchange, rebooting it as a Western agriculture industry hub.
Feinstein's family has roots in the area. They lived in the Curtis Park neighborhood since the late 1800s and have helped turn the industrial Five Points neighborhood into the River North Art District.
For him, The Exchange is a way of honoring Colorado history and his family’s connection to it.
“My great grand uncle, who ran the grocer's union and who went on to become a state senator in Colorado in the early 1900s, used to office in that building,” Feinstein said. “It’s not that far from RiNo where a lot of our interests are. We definitely think it’s the next wave of growth for the City of Denver, as Denver continues to expand northeast.”
Looking back, Feinstein, a staunch Hancock supporter, also views this project as a hallmark of the former mayor’s legacy.
The developer purchased the building several years back. He's proud to be the sole private landowner on the National Western Campus. Though he intended to launch the remodel sooner, the pandemic slowed things down.
Now, construction is underway, and he’s looking forward to the next chapter in the building’s history.
Justin Croft of the mixed-use developer Natural Object is heading up the revamp of Denver's Livestock Exchange.
Croft led the team building Zeppelin Development's The Source. In his first collaboration with Feinstein, he plans to maintain the Livestock Exchange's history.
“Our vision is to restore that building to its original prominence and grandeur,” Croft said. “It has been overlooked for a long time. It's one of the more unique opportunities in the state to take a building of that importance and bring it back to life.”
That means celebrating the story of the building and making sure it’s accessible to the public.
The building's first floor will be a Grand Lobby where people can experience the building’s architecture and history. On the top floors, businesses working on agricultural innovation will operate.
The building will maintain its fluted ionic columns, high ceilings, terrazzo floors, and many of the vaults where investors stored cash to buy cattle. Croft will restore the masonry on the exterior along with the double-hung wood sash windows.
In bringing the building back to life, Croft’s priority is to get out of the way of the historic elements.
“It's easy to lose what made a building special and timeless by trying to introduce new architectural elements,” he said. “And so there is this effort that takes a lot of intention to say, what about this building speaks to its time, its culture, its place, the market at the time, the people who use the building.”
Businesses tied to that heritage will share space in the latest iteration of Denver's Livestock Exchange.
"The Exchange is the cornerstone of the state's development,” said Robert Farnum, president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, in a statement. “The cattle industry was a pivotal, if not the most significant, driving force behind the state's growth. Today, agriculture is the number two industry in Colorado, with the cattle sector being its largest component."
Currently, the building owners are negotiating with prospective tenants.
“We think it's going to be a very special place for companies and stakeholders that are interested in agriculture, the future of agriculture, the history of agriculture, and kind of the history of the West and pioneering values,” Feinstein said.
And as Croft sees it, the building joins a new development trend in Denver: Quit aspiring to be like other cities and really own the city's unique identity.
“Denver used to be sort of outward-looking, feeling like it was kind of a small town trying to play with the big boys and attract people here,” Croft said. “What's transpired is that the unique quality of life in Colorado became the attraction, and so it allows Denver to become more introspective about what makes it special. It's not losing itself in the attempt to try to attract people here any longer.”
