There will be stunning views from Shea Properties’ 28-story apartment building in the middle of downtown Denver, but the most interesting view may be from the street.
Passers-by of the high-end apartments on Curtis Street will look up to see people swimming behind a 40-by-9-foot wall of glass at the end of the pool. “This is going to be iconic,” said Peter Culshaw, Shea Properties executive vice president.
The Quincy, a 359-unit building with a huge amenity deck placed atop a six-level parking garage, just topped out along Curtis between 17th and 18th streets. While finishing the apartments for delivery by year-end, Shea Properties is looking to complete the approximately $200 million mixed-use project with a striking nine-story office building that will adjoin the parking garage and front 17th Street.
There also will be 16,892 square feet of retail space lining Curtis Street.
The office building, 999 17th Street, will feature an iconic “folded” glass façade.
The 93,215-sf office building, 999 17th Street, will be the first new office building to be built on 17th Street in decades. A “folded” glass façade will set it apart.
“We’re doing what could only be considered iconic architecture here,” Culshaw said. “People are going to look at this building and say, ‘Wow, we haven’t seen anything like that in Denver.’
“It’s for boutique, small tenants that want a really high-class experience on 17th Street.”
Although much of the new construction in downtown Denver has occurred around Union Station, Culshaw said with The Quincy and 999 17th Street, “You’re in the center of everything, which is why we’re doing what we’re doing.
“We think the advantage of this is it’s close to LoDo, to the restaurants and bars and recreational amenities, but it’s right in the heart of where people are going to work.”
Maps of public transportation, restaurants, bars, hotels and “points of interest” like the federal courthouse and Denver Center for the Performing Arts demonstrate the site’s accessibility. Within a five- to 10-minute walk, there are eight hotels, including the Hotel Monaco and Renaissance Denver across the street; more than 40 cafes and coffee shops; and dozens of bars and restaurants. King Soopers, Whole Foods and Cook’s Fresh Market are within an average 15 minutes’ walk or quick trip on the 16th Street Mall shuttle. Light-rail and the Free MetroRide also are close at hand.
Apartment dwellers will have a choice of standard, upgraded or penthouse units. “’This will be as high-end as anything Denver’s seen,” said Culshaw. “We’ve chosen really high-end finishes.”
As for rents, “Our thought is to compete with our direct competitors, but produce a better product,” he said.
There will be studio units starting at just over 500 sf; one- and two-bedroom apartments, the largest of which will be about 1,200 sf; and seven penthouses from approximately 2,000 to 3,000 sf.
Although residents won’t have to have cars, they will have direct access to the parking garage. The 535-space garage also will provide parking for the office building, and there will be public parking to service the retail.
While Culshaw said there probably are a “few too many” apartments being built downtown right now, he doesn’t believe the market is wildly out of scale, and he thinks there are many millennials who will continue to rent vs. buy.
Also, there has been “quite a lot of good interest” in the office building, which will have 11,000-sf floor plates and is likely to break ground within the next several months. “We’ve been struck at the eclectic nature of people interested in this,” said Culshaw, adding companies in a variety of industries have taken note.
Tim Harrington and Tom Lee of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank are marketing the space, which will take approximately 15 months to complete.
The mixed-use development was designed by Davis Partnership and is being built by GE Johnson.
