[SnyderBock]

One Lincoln Park looks even better than the rendering depicted it would look (IMO). The downtown buildup occurring is massive... With Union Station redevelopment about to kickoff, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Now the long awaited, 20-story Embassy Suits Hotel is filing for building permits. 20-story is nothing special, but it's location is. It lies on 14th Street, between the 41-story Spire (now under-construction) and the 45-story Four Seasons (also under-construction). Across the street from the Four Seasons (also on 14th Street), the 51-story 1401 Lawrence building is now well into pre-sales and should kickoff construction by December 2008. That will be one impressive wall of skyscrapers going up simultaneously. 41-story, 20-story, 45-story, 51-story.

Then 3-blocks over from the Four Seasons, on 17th Street, the 43-story Two Tabor center should be going up by years end. They are supposedly ordering the steel for this project in March. The demand for this office space is there and it's location is probably the best available in downtown. All indications is this project has a green light. The main question is, are we going to get the 38-story version, or the 43-story version of this proposal? Either one will be great, but the 43-story version will stand tall among the sea of 20-35 story buildings on this LoDo side of the CBD.

For the streetscape and urban core of downtown, the Union Station redevelopment will have more impact than anything. The downtown terminus of 5-new rail lines (in addition to the 2-existing rail lines), a BRT line and a multi-model transportation hub along with public-private partnership to develop the surrounding site with massive office, residential and retail. Union Station will emerge as the new heart of downtown. It will stimulate even more private investment into downtown Denver and make the city more livable, walkable and enjoyable to residents and tourists.

The Denver Metro area looks to add 100,000 new residents in 2008 and 500,000-700,000 new residents over the next decade. A large percentage of this growth is going to be absorbed by infill developments both downtown, as well as around transit oriented developments at the dozens of new rail stations being built along new rail lines. The departure from excessive urban sprawl and the embrace of smart growth and green technology is propelling Denver into the forefront of the green movement. So... Can Denver sustain this kind of growth? Answer... Probably better than most western cities, yes.