Saunders Development has partnered with owners Byron, Andy and Brett Weiss to develop the Denver Rock Drill project, a 700,000-square-foot, $250 million project comprised of office, retail, residential and hotel in the historic Cole neighborhood near the 38th and Blake commuter-rail station. Denver Rock Drill is currently preleasing office and retail space and plans to break ground on construction of Phase 1 in the first quarter of 2018.
Located on 39th Avenue between Franklin and High Streets, the property’s history goes back to 1910, when it was the home of Denver Rock Drill Manufacturing Co., whose line of pneumatic rock drills known as “Waugh” drills were used around the world. By the 1920s, the facilities occupied more than a city block and housed a community of 600 employees. Acquired by Denver native and longtime Cole neighborhood resident Byron Weiss in 1992 as one of the last big sales made during the savings and loan crisis of the 1990s, the site is currently home to his company, Porta Power, a material handling and warehouse supply company. Seeing tremendous opportunity with changes happening in the nearby RiNo neighborhood and the expansion of RTD’s light rail, Weiss, in partnership with his sons, Andy and Brett Weiss, decided in 2016 to seek a partner to develop the property into a mixed-use development, ultimately choosing Saunders Development.
Denver Rock Drill will include 150,000 sf of adaptive reuse of historic buildings as well as 550,000 sf of new buildings, which will be comprised of 150,000 sf of office space, 65,000 sf of retail, 180 planned residential units and a 175-key hotel by Sage Hospitality. Built as machine shops, the preserved historic buildings on site will provide large, flexible floor plates as well as 28-foot ceilings, allowing significant flexibility for office use, infill mezzanines and more.
“There is a trend in some of the up-and-coming neighborhoods to build new but try to make it look historic,” said Trae Rigby, vice president of development for Saunders Construction. “Denver Rock Drill actually is historic, having fostered a Western spirit of openness and entrepreneurial innovation for more than 100 years. This will be a singularly unique project in the Denver landscape.”
Located two blocks from the 38th and Blake Transit Station and one stop from Union Station, as well as only 30 minutes from Denver International Airport, Denver Rock Drill will serve as a bridge between the RiNo Arts District and Cole Neighborhood Historic District. Designed by Tryba Architects, the project will feature a unique character of lanes, courtyards and rail spurs intended to create opportunities for exploration and discovery. The retail environment will reflect a culture of craft, production and innovation, blending local, national and international brands.
“There is no other place in Denver with such untouched industrial history and the ability to completely customize and repurpose three full city blocks,” said Dorit Fischer, broker for Shames Makovsky who is handling the retail leasing for Denver Rock Drill. “We think there are numerous food and beverage operators and cutting-edge companies that will want to be part of this unique site.”
Cushman & Wakefield is handling the office leasing.
“Denver Rock Drill is the finest example of adaptive re-use potential in the western United States,” said Todd Wheeler, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield. “Contemporary office occupiers are looking for ways to create inspirational, compelling workplaces that offer transportation flexibility, work-style flexibility and amenity mixes. Denver Rock Drill is the very essence of adaptive re-use real estate value, providing a visually interesting platform in which to design efficient, collaborative workplaces coupled with a genuine history that is a silent but constant reminder to everyone working there about how far the human race has come and how incredible the future is going to be.”
