A Flood Of New Construction Is Underway In The District Amid A Flock Of New, Renewed Projects Paused In The Pipeline
by Glen Richardson
Cranes O’er Cherry Creek: Cranes are again in the air over Cherry Creek as district building is booming again. This eight-story project is on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. as Broe Real Estate Group restarts the makeover of the east side of Clayton St.
Onset of the pandemic gave rise to a welcome respite from non-stop redevelopment of Cherry Creek North that began in 2013. Countless major projects were stuck in the pipeline during the long shutdown. As reopenings picked up the pace in 2022, the neighborhood is again undergoing a construction boom with hordes of new and renewed projects started or proceeding at an unprecedented pace.
As construction cranes again fill the neighborhood, citizens express concern that the once serene shopping district of boutiques and eclectic eateries will become a landscape of glass, brick, and steel. Others fear rapid growth will escalate the districts’ surging crime rate. A check by the Chronicle showed — 2022 vs. 2021 —violent crime in Cherry Creek is up 12.5%; property crime is up 23.2%; car thefts are up 51.1%, and robberies are up 200.0%.
Here’s a look at the flood of new construction, big and small, good and not-so-good, currently underway in the district:
200 Clayton
Substantial headway has been made on the corner office building at 2nd Ave. and Clayton St. Both the cores and steel structure have topped out with fireproofing and facade work underway. It will be an eight-story, 76,000-sq.-ft. high-rise on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. Built by Broe Real Estate Group, it will feature both retail and commercial space.
The firm owns the bulk of the east side of Clayton St. and the corner site is restarting the transformation of this north-south street.
When 200 Clayton is completed, Broe will demolish the two-story parking garage it owns to the north and build yet another seven-story structure. It is projected to have 3,000-sq.-ft. of ground-floor retail space and 31,890-sq.ft. of office space.
255 Fillmore
In 2016 the Cherry Creek Plaza building was demolished to make way for a seven-story office building. However, the project never broke ground and the site stood as a surface parking lot. Now a new rendition of the project has broken ground with excavation underway. Yet another Matt Joblon project, it is a 100,000-sq.-ft. seven-story building that is 95% leased, with Vietnamese-French eatery Le Colonial taking one of the street-level spots.
300 Fillmore
Just a half-block from 255 Fillmore, another new office project has broken ground. Throughout the boom, Cherry Creek North has seen little development on the north side of East 3rd Ave. due to it being zoned for buildings no higher than four stories. Nonetheless, demolition of a two-story structure is underway, with a four-story, 70,814-sq.-ft. building planned that will include 117 surface parking spaces. The 0.43-acre parcel is where Grind Kitchen, Tazu Sushi, women’s boutique Harriet’s, and jewelry store Element79 were located.
300 University
Along Cherry Creek’s western edge, on the north side of East 3rd Ave., a four-story building with 50,000-sq.-ft. of office space and 10,000-sq.-ft of ground floor retail will be built. The project is on a half-acre site where floral-home furnishing store Bloom by Anuschka was located, and includes a parking lot leased to Hillstone Restaurant. The project is a family business of Brent Farber of Elevation Development and his uncle, Rick Sapkin, of Edgemark Development. Sapkin has owned the property for more than 30 years.
180 Madison St.
Modera Cherry Creek is making great progress on an apartment project in Cherry Creek East. The five-story structure is on the southeast corner of 2nd Ave. & Madison St. It has topped out, a brick-focused facade making its way up the building. First move-ins are expected this fall in the complex, which will feature a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units as large as 2,044-sq.-ft.
Slew Set To Be Built 155 & 165 N. Cook
Mill Creek is planning a second project similar to their Modera Cherry Creek a block away. Plans as recent as May have been filed with the city. However, some individual plans require resubmittal. The site is on the southwest corner of 2nd Ave. and Cook St. The project is replacing a pair of three- and four-story office buildings.
299 Milwaukee
The southwest corner of 3rd Ave. and Milwaukee St. may see a new eight-story residential building. Currently, the parcel is occupied by a plaza and two-story parking structure.
242 Milwaukee
Hip High End Offices: With low inventory and high demand, new office buildings are adding to the district’s building boom. This proposed seven-story project is mid-block on Milwaukee St.
There is a lot of interest in office development in Cherry Creek North. This proposed project is between East 2nd and 3rd Ave., mid-block along Milwaukee St. Plans call for a seven-story office building that would replace a two-story retail structure.
201 Fillmore
An eight-story office building is being planned at the northwest corner of East 2nd Ave. and Fillmore St. The building would replace the single-story retail space that currently houses a Men’s Warehouse plus an adjacent parking lot.
329 Detroit
A small condo project has been proposed for a parcel mid-block on Detroit St. between East 3rd and 4th Ave. The five-story project would replace a single-story building that was the Witold-K Art Studio & Gallery for 40 years. The Denver artist’s work is in museums and galleries worldwide. He participated in the New York Graphic Masters exhibition with Picasso, Chagall, and Miro, and was the first American to have works displayed at Sotheby’s in Amsterdam.
Mall’s West End
As the Chronicle reported in March, East West Partners is planning to build seven structures up to 12 stories tall at the west end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Plans call for the first four buildings to have 780,000-sq.-ft. of office-retail space, plus three condo-apartment homes with 600 units.