Adolfson & Peterson breaks ground on Platte Fifteen site
Adolfson & Peterson Construction recently began demolition of the now-vacant building on the northeast corner of Platte and 15th streets in downtown Denver. The property was formerly home to Natural Grocers and Confluence Kayaks; it represents the future site of Platte Fifteen, a five-story, 151,736-square-foot mixed-use development.
Developed by Fort Worth, Texas-based Crescent Real Estate and designed by OZ Architecture, Platte Fifteen will include approximately 16,000 sf of ground-level retail/restaurant space and four floors of office space totaling approximately 136,000 sf above two levels of underground parking. A 7,000-sf rooftop deck is also part of the design.
A first of its kind for Denver, Platte Fifteen’s use of highly engineered cross-laminated timber panels will combine the unique characteristics found in historic brick and timber buildings with the added strength of a traditional steel or concrete structure, while reducing environmental waste and improving energy efficiency through use of a more sustainable renewable material.
“We saw an opportunity to craft a contextual, forward-thinking building that would serve both the tenants and the many pedestrians that walk by this popular section of the Lower Highlands,” said Kelly Davis, principal at OZ Architecture and one of the lead designers of the project. “Platte Fifteen is located on such a gateway corner of the city; it was critical for the design to be a progressive example of the changing nature of the neighborhood.”
OZ and Crescent worked together on another CLT project, The Loading Dock in Boulder, which was delivered in early 2017.
“Crescent has a culture of energy-efficient development and operations, from its Class A office building portfolio achieving LEED certifications to its development of innovative and creative office space that blends with the environment and lifestyle, as exemplified by Flatiron Park in Boulder,” said Conrad Suszynski, co-chief executive officer of Crescent.
“Our interest in CLT comes from our push to innovate beyond LEED’s limited focus on energy efficiency in order to place even greater emphasis on sustainable and WELL Building design complemented by the creation of space that is compelling to our customer’s most important constituency – the talented workforce they need to recruit and retain,” Suszynski said.
“AP is excited to be building the first CLT building in Denver,” said Doug Johnson, vice president of Adolfson & Peterson. “The modern, natural look, combined with the sustainability aspects of the material, will be a great fit for our downtown area and I expect to see more of this product used as Denver continues its tremendous growth.”
As for building a mixed-use project in this location, Crescent is actively developing office, hospitality and multifamily properties in select markets nationally.
“We evaluated all those possibilities for Platte 15 and think that any of them could have been very successful,” Conrad said. “Ultimately, first-floor retail was a must to build on the strength of that location – walkable amenities in an active neighborhood and we concluded that the location gave us a unique opportunity to build a boutique office building pulling together the best attributes of heavy timber and modern, efficient and environmentally sensitive construction.”
Platte Fifteen is part one of a three-part development for Crescent Real Estate near the Platte and 15th Street intersection. This first phase is scheduled to open in fall 2019.
Platte Fifteen is the first in a three-part series of new builds in the vicinity of the 15th and Platte intersection. Next will be the 81,570-sf Riverpoint Two across the street, next to the historic My Brother’s Bar. The final phase will be the 108,739-sf redevelopment of Crescent’s original Riverpoint building at 2300 15th St., which includes a view over Confluence Park and a bridge linking it to Riverpoint Two.
