A recession may be on the horizon, but that would be hard to tell looking out on the skyline of the River North Art District, where several buildings are going up simultaneously and several more are in the works.
From atop the roof of Flora, a mixed-use project under construction at 3500 Chestnut Place, 10 construction cranes were visible on a late October afternoon. Most were operating in the surrounding RiNo neighborhood, which is experiencing an unrivaled boom of new projects, both underway and proposed.
Flora was initially intended as a condo development in a city where the chance to own something in a multi-family tower remains rare. But the pandemic delayed construction and the project’s backers shifted to apartments which they plan to hold as a long-term investment.
“During the pandemic, we had to pause, to reevaluate things,” said Edee Anesi, a developer with Cavaliere Enterprises. “Condos are very hard to build, very challenging.”
The development team includes Anesi, her father Greg, Brock Fleming of Belay Development, and Brad Arguello, who was behind Avanti Food & Beverage and Broadway Marketplace, two food halls.
Flora occupies a nearly half-acre lot that once housed Mile High Mutts, a doggie day care, on land that sold for $3.8 million back in 2018. The development consists of a 12-story building with 92 apartments, 7,500 square feet of office space and 7,900 square feet of commercial space for retail and restaurants.
Rents on the market-rate apartments will run about $4 a square foot, with eight units set aside as affordable, Anesi said. Units will range from studios at 500 square feet up to penthouses at 2,300 square feet. The building will include a heavier concentration of two and three-bedroom units than typically seen in central Denver.
A sixth-floor pool with an overhang will look out toward downtown. There will be retail on the ground level and a separate elevator will ferry guests up to retail, restaurant and office space on higher floors and about102 parking spaces.
Although the pandemic disrupted the project’s start, Anesi said the possibility of a recession, triggered by higher interest rates and tighter monetary policy, won’t deter its completion. One reason for building apartments rather than condos was that the development team believes in the long-term potential of the neighborhood.
“If it were 500 units, I would be worried,” Anesi said. But given Flora’s location near a light rail station, its unobstructed waterfront and mountain views, and its proximity to two recently completed parks, she expects it to be a prime location for anyone wanting a RiNo address.
A new branch of the Denver Public Library is located across the street and so is the newly completed RiNo ArtPark. The Arkins Promenade, which runs adjacent to the South Platte Trail, is another amenity. Eventually, a pedestrian bridge is expected to cross the Platte, connecting the area to the Taxi campus on the other side.
Other projects under construction in the area, according to Denver Infill, include The Current, a 12-story office building with 238,000 square feet of office space next door to Flora; Wynkoop Street, formerly known as Vert Lofts, a 16-story building with 175 apartments; 3901 Wynkoop, a 7-story building with 408 apartments and 13,000 square feet of retail; Chestnut Lofts, a thin 8-story building with 49 affordable homes next to Flora; and a 153-room hotel called Cambria Hotel RiNo.
Another 15 projects are in the works or in the planning stage, according to Denver Infill. And if that weren’t enough the former Pepsi plant will provide 25 acres for further redevelopment, Flemming said.
RiNo’s blossoming
Although River North takes its name from the nearby Platte River, the waterway has been more of a passerby off to the side, rather than a central draw. But several of the new projects are going up alongside the river, and Flora will market itself as a “waterfront” property.
Although Brighton Boulevard or the bright side of RiNo has received much of the redevelopment focus, the park or riverside is coming into its own.
Given that the new developments are going up in an art district, an emphasis is being placed on the design of the buildings going up, and how they fit in with the surrounding streetscape, said John Deffenbaugh, director of strategy with the River Arts North District.
“They are all very different, but there is a common language,” said Deffenbaugh. “The buildings are in conversation with each other. We are ensuring the spaces allow that conversation to take place.”
Deffenbaugh said the key to maintaining RiNo’s vibrancy is making sure that the projects are high quality and contribute to a sustainable community.
“We are working hard to make sure they are of high architectural quality,” he said.
Tom Kiler, managing director with EDENS, a retail real estate company that owns The Denver Central Market and several buildings along Larimer Street in RiNo, said as denser development takes place, an emphasis is being placed on creating green spaces, maintaining diversity, and preserving room for artists.
“With those new buildings, it creates an opportunity for local artist’s to be involved, to create moments where artists can pop up in that space,” he said.
Allowing the community to be self-sustaining and maintaining a diversity of residents — across ages, income ranges, race and ethnicity — will be critical for RiNo’s future, he said.
“The most diverse neighborhoods are the most interesting ones and the best ones to hang out in,” he said.
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