New Chapter For Cherry Creek As Construction Commences Colossal Year

by Valley Gadfly | Jan 19, 2024 | Main Articles

Ten New Projects To Convert Cherry Creek’s 16-Blocks Into Colorado’s Top ­Urban Community By The End Of Decade

by Glen Richardson

Changing Cherry Creek: Here’s what architects- ­developers are ­proposing for the ­former Sears store site at 2nd Ave. & ­Adams. Demolition is set to ­begin April 1. ­Completion is ­anticipated as soon as the third quarter of 2025.

The push to build new office, retail, and apartment projects in Cherry Creek North as 2024 gets underway is unlike anything the district has ever seen. Construction is set to experience its best year on record, with developers launching 10 projects as the new year begins.

The latest construction boom, moreover, mostly ignores the $1 billion Cherry Creek West mall project, though it is inching closer to reality along University Blvd. Construc­tion at that site isn’t scheduled to start until at least the third quarter of 2024, with the first building not ready for occupancy until 2027. A gargantuan development, nonetheless, authorities say the project will create 50% of new Cherry Creek Valley jobs and 30% of new households through the year 2040.

This year’s construction ricochet will like­ly push the district into becoming the new epicenter of the Mile High City, as downtown continues to struggle. For several years now, companies have established offices or headquarters in Cherry Creek, increasingly solidifying the district as the Mile High City’s hub.

Mixed Use Move

As businesses add more space along the district’s 16 blocks, this much is clear: Once simply a shopper’s haven, developers are converting the neighborhood into a live, work, and play destination. Moreover, due to crime and homelessness issues downtown, more travelers are choosing to stay in Cherry Creek-Glendale hotels.

While more of a mixed-use district, the area nevertheless has developers once again adding retail space to the latest Cherry Creek projects.

The district’s thriving office market, as ex­­pected, remains one of the nation’s best. The latest construction trend suggests an in­­crease rather than slackening in office demand.

Schnitzer Eight-Story

Swift Schnitzer Start: Expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2025, Schnitzer West, LLC, broke ground at 201 Fillmore on this eight-story building on Nov. 4, 2023.

Schnitzer West, LLC, broke ground back on Nov. 4, 2023, at 201 Fillmore on an eight-story building it expects to complete by the third quarter of next year (2025).

The building’s 130,000-sq.-ft. of office space on seven floors will house one of Colorado’s largest independent oil and gas firms. Antero Resources is currently headquartered near Union Station on Wynkoop St. The 8,600-sq.-ft. of ground floor retail space will feature a restaurant, plus another eatery is tentatively taking the rooftop terrace.

The development will have five levels of below-grade parking, with 250 spaces for office and retail use. There will be secure loading docks for tenant’s use.

Scraping Sears Site

One of the largest and definitely Cherry Creek’s longest anticipated, demolition of the Sears Building at 2nd Ave. & Adams is set to begin April 1. The site will be replaced with a blend of office and retail spaces in a five-story package. Like the 201 Fillmore project, completion is probable by the third quarter of 2025 albeit more likely by year’s end. The 90,000-sq.-ft. site will feature a mix of masonry, steel, and glass.

With the Crate & Barrel building, size of the parcel totals 9.4 acres. According to plans, the Crate & Barrel building will be demolished down to grade level, though the parking garage will remain. It will be re­placed with a new five-story mixed-use res­idential-apartment building. BMC Investments CEO Matt Joblon is working with Crate & Barrel on relocation to a new temporary or permanent space, possibly within the site.

Broe Building Bulge

Broe Buildup: In addition to launching an eight-story office project on Clayton this month, Broe wants to demolish its 10-story 50 S. Steele St. office site and build this 12-story, 378-unit apartment building with ground floor retail.

Broe Real Estate Group — the multi-billion-dollar developer headquarters on Clayton St. in Cherry Creek — is beginning the second phase of its office redevelopment project by launching an eight-story, 175,000-sq.-ft. mixed use office project at 250 Clayton. Completion is anticipated in early 2026. Tenants will have access to floorplates as large as 27,000-sq.-ft. The site will also include retail space. Broe plans to later demolish the parking garage and building at 252 Clayton St., and build another seven-story office building there.

Broe has also asked to demolish the site of its 10-story office building at 50 S. Steele St. They seek to build a 12-story, 478-unit apartment complex with ground floor retail across from the eastern end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

As 2023 closed, Broe purchased the 587-unit Seasons of Cherry Creek apartment complex on E. Ellsworth Ave. One of the largest real estate transactions in Cherry Creek history, Broe paid $225 million. The 480-unit complex is spread across three buildings on 5.2 acres.

Betwixt & Between

Plotting to build on every plot, Alpine Investments will erect a mixed-use office- retail building on a 0.57-acre site at 2645 E. 2nd Ave. between the Cherry Cricket and the Clayton Hotel & Members Club.

Development of the site will require the demolition of the one-story rear portion of the Cherry Cricket, where restrooms are located. The front of the restaurant building along E. 2nd Ave. will remain. The office building will include three levels of below-grade parking plus ground-floor retail space.

The two-story portion that currently houses Cherry Creek Tailoring & Alterations and cocktail bar Forget Me Not, however, will be bulldozed.

More From BMC

Major Housings: BMC Investments is building an eight-story major league apart­ment complex at Milwaukee and 3rd Ave. The structure will feature 30,000-sq.-ft. of ground floor retail.

In addition to the Sears building site, MBC Investments is breaking ground on two projects along Milwaukee Street as 2024 begins. One of Cherry Creek’s most active-successful developers, BMC is adding a seven-story mixed-use project at 242 Milwaukee St. It will feature 84,000-sq.-ft. of office space and 10,000-sq.-ft. of retail plus 202 parking spaces.

On the corner of 3rd Ave. and Milwaukee, an eight-story apartment structure is being erected. It will have 156 luxury units plus 30,000-sq.-ft. of ground floor retail. Being designed for those seeking a moderate-sized floorplan, units will average 885-sq.-ft. The site will include studios, junior one-bedrooms, and two-bedroom plus den units.

A rooftop pool, outdoor grilling area, fire pit, and dining area are planned. More: Sauna, co-working areas, meeting rooms, and bike repair shop are included. A resident lounge and parking garage will also be built.

A Pair On 2nd Ave.

Cricket Or Not: Alpine Investments is erecting this office-retail building on an 0.57-acre site between the Cherry Cricket and the Clayton Hotel & Members Club at 2647 E. 2nd Ave.

Residents have come to expect Cherry Creek to be in constant change. However, that hasn’t been the case for a trio of projects a block apart on the south side of 2nd Ave. For at least two — at 2nd and Steele and 2nd and St. Paul — construction is set to break ground. A lot directly east of the Cherry Creek Grill at 2nd and Adams has sat empty for two years. Owned by Bow River Capital’s Blair Richardson, it was first proposed as offices and later a five-story condo site. Construction remains unlikely.

Directly across Steele Street from the Grill, where Patxi’s Pizza closed a year ago and Bloom by Anuschka does business, a five-story, 37 condo development will be built. The $50-million project will have 3,532-sq.-ft. of ground-floor retail and 4,360-sq. ft. of restaurant space. There will also be a 75-space underground garage.

A block further west at 190 St. Paul St. —where Italian restaurant Piatti has sat empty since Christmas of 2021 — a five-story, 272,000-sq.-ft. condo project will be built by luxury brand Waldorf Astoria. The site will have a 5,360-sq.-ft. restaurant and 3,532-sq.-ft. of retail plus a 70-space underground parking garage.

Space On Cook

Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential is breaking ground on a six-story, 110 Apartment complex on the southwest corner of 2nd Ave. and Cook Street (155 & 165 Cook St.). The structure is replacing a pair of three-and-four-story office buildings. Completion is expected in early 2025.

Rough Road Ahead

The impressive growth proposed and promoted with Cherry Creek’s latest developments is certain to create transportation, traffic congestion, and parking problems. Residents living in the neighborhood care about the district’s future, and want to maintain the quality of life and success they now enjoy.

The attraction of businesses and their office space needs has accelerated the desire of certain businesses to move to Cherry Creek from other areas of the city. Actual develop­ment has already exceeded the 10-year forecasts.

Next month the Chronicle will look at Cherry Creek’s first major analysis of BID’s growth and development. The report offers tough recommendations that need to be made before it is too late to make a difference.

Multi-Million Dollar Improvements To The High Line Canal Trail

by Jessica Hughes | Jan 19, 2024 | Main Articles

by Jessica Hughes

The High Line Canal Trail crosses five different major counties in the Denver Metro Area.

The High Line Canal is a man-made waterway begun in 1881 for the purpose of irrigating land in Denver and eastward. Beginning at a diversion dam off the South Platte 1.8 miles above the mouth of Watterton Canyon it runs a meandering 71 miles through Douglas, Arapahoe, Denver, and Adams Counties and ending near Green Valley Ranch. It is based on the “high line principal” of following the contours of the land to allow the water to flow by gravity with a minimal drop in elevation per mile.  As a result, the Canal has many twists and turns.

The Canal was never a very efficient vehicle for providing water for irrigation and it no longer does so. But over the years it has become a major source of recreation. A maintenance road ran aside the High Line Canal to assist in making repairs to the Canal and is now called the High Line Canal Trail. It is now open to all non-motorized traffic. Parts of the trail are dirt while others are concreted.

The High Line Canal I-70 construction project, which began one year ago, is slated to be finished in early 2024. The City of Aurora in collaboration with American Civil Constructors, will close the longest gap (three miles) of the 71-mile High Line Canal Trail from Colfax Ave. to the trail north of I-70 when the project is complete.

This new section of the trail will connect Northeast Denver to the rest of the Canal with a continuous eight-foot-wide concrete trail, two pedestrian bridges, including the I-70 overpass, another to cross the Canal at Smith Rd., upgraded railroad crossing for pedestrians and cyclist safety, and more.

The new three-mile section of the High Line Canal Trail bridges the gap between Colfax Ave. to the north of I-70 with an eight-foot-wide concrete trail.

“When complete this project will provide close-to-home, accessible recreation opportunities to the diverse population that use this section,” says Harriett Crittenden LaMair, the High Line Conservancy Executive Director.

The High Line Canal Conservancy was founded in 2014 to permanently protect the 71-mile High Line Canal and unify all partners to implement The Plan for the High Line Canal. Partners include Denver Water, along with support of 11 jurisdictions where the Canal is located, including the City of Aurora — the lead partner for the I-70 project.

The High Line Canal Trail twists and turns through the most populated areas of Colorado, crossing multiple and varied communities in the Metro area. With over 350,000 residents living within one mile of the Canal and approximately one million people using the trail annually, efforts to improve the trail system are more important than ever.

Since the 1920s, the Canal has been own­ed by Denver Water as a part of Denver’s water delivery system since the 1880s. Over the last 100+ years, the Canal’s evolution has gone from utilitarian efforts of conveying water, to a community-wide recreational and environmental hub for locals and visitors alike.

There will also be a major focus on improvements to the northern 28 miles of the Canal due to historic underinvestment. “This area is also some of the most diverse communities in the state,” says Crittenden LaMair. “With some of these improvements we strive to bring more equity to outdoor ac­cess.”

To ensure adjacent communities were align­ed, the conservancy led with a commu­nity-first mindset, working with anyone who wanted to be involved in the planning and development of future projects. “We worked with over 10,000 people who wanted to get involved with the design improvements of the Canal’s northern sections,” says Crittenden LaMair.

The new I-70 overpass of the High Line Canal Trail is expected to be complete in early 2024.          

She also explains an important part of the project is to create trail improvements through a community-centered design process. “There are 28 schools within a ­quarter of a mile from the High Line Canal,” says Crittenden LaMair. “The Canal is an important community resource for ­moving and we want to encourage kids to use it for walking to and from the elementary schools.” But for the Conservancy, it isn’t only about walkability scores, it’s also about creating community activation zones where the community can come together.

“For example, there are proposed improvements for an outdoor classroom along the Canal by Green Valley Ranch’s Marrama Elementary school,” says Crittenden LaMair. “Another example includes Aurora’s Laredo Highline neighborhood, the Grandy Ditch Open Space, where there are proposed plans to include bike racks, a shade structure, and natural elements for neighbors to enjoy.”

Federal funds were granted to the City of Aurora for the I-70 project through the Denver Regional Council of Governments, with the city using capital improvement funding as a match. Additional funding came from the Conservation Trust Fund, Adams County Open Space Grant, and Adams County Open Space Tax Shareback with a total of $9.4 million invested in the project.

Overall, funding for the conservancy includes both public and private outlets — including all the conservancy’s jurisdictional partners, regional and national foundations, corporate partners, and over 2,500 annual private donors.

New trail signage anchors the newest section of the High Line Canal Trail.

“We raise over 60% of our annual operat­ing budget in November and December, in particular on Colorado Gives Day,” says Crittenden LaMair. “These are critical funds that keep our organization afloat and help to support all of the work that we do.” There are several ways in which individuals can help support the conservancy through bench and tree adoptions as gifts to ­commemorate someone special, monthly donations, corporate sponsorships, and volunteering opportunities.

Beyond the I-70 project, what does the future hold for the High Line Canal Trail? Crittenden LaMair says there are plans for enhancements to make the trail safer and more enjoyable for everyone, plus, ongoing ecological restoration and maintenance for recreational uses across all 71 miles.

“This year we will have more exciting up­dates about next steps in protecting the Canal for future generations,” says Critten­den LaMair. “It’s important to continue im­provement along the Canal because it’s a recreation hub with easy access to the out­doors in the middle of the city, a place where youth can connect with nature, free outdoor recreation for local communities, build biodiversity and ecological health in urban areas, and more. It really is a staple for those living in the metro area.”

Learn more about the High Line Canal Conservancy at highlinecanal.org.

Photos by Jessica Hughes