DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by bunt_q

Considering the City is in the process of building a new 10,000 seat arena on the National Western Center campus, I doubt we’d want to build a new 18,000 seat arena right next door.

Which is exactly why the Kronk might just up and leave with TWO teams...thankfully Denver is a good sports market, so we have that going for us.

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

FYI, the Pepsi Center was privately financed and built - but not by Kroenke.

Plus, the fun link you provided demonstrates KSE is privately funding/building the new $5 billion Ram's Stadium so why would you think Kroenke would want to entangle himself with government funding and lots of messy stuff?

When the CPV site for the Pepsi Center was identified it was a fricken Superfund Site so an arrangement was worked out with Ascent Entertainment (now Liberty Media). https://renewdenver.org/projects/pepsi-center/

What deal was worked out between the parties?

Here's another interesting look-back. https://www.mortenson.com/sports/projects/pepsi-center

The CPV masterplan among other things shows 7th street as a primary connection between Auraria, Pepsi Center and Elitch's/River Mile. I don't doubt that at some point in time KSE will redevelop their land but I wouldn't hold my breath; it could easily be a decade or two.

It's true that Pepsi Center was built with private funds and it's certainly possible that any replacement would be built with private funds. But in pro sports, that's the exception and not the rule. If Kroenke would actually do that, then kudos to him (it was worth it in the lucrative LA market, not so sure the same logic applies to Denver).

The 30 year commitment was something I didn't' know about, good information. 30 years would be 2027 - so that might well be a potential timeline to be thinking about replacement (not that far off, given lead times).

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

It's true that Pepsi Center was built with private funds and it's certainly possible that any replacement would be built with private funds. But in pro sports, that's the exception and not the rule. If Kroenke would actually do that, then kudos to him (it was worth it in the lucrative LA market, not so sure the same logic applies to Denver).

The 30 year commitment was something I didn't' know about, good information. 30 years would be 2027 - so that might well be a potential timeline to be thinking about replacement (not that far off, given lead times).

Soon as a read your comment I had to do a quick search as that 30 years didn't sound right; I was thinking 25 years. I found a fun piece by the DBJ that detailed the sale from Ascent to Kroenke's in July of 2000. Fun read and here are a few highlights: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/s...24/story4.html

The documents are mostly full of guarantees the city extracted from the Kroenkes to keep the arrangement it hammered out over three grueling years with previous owner Ascent Entertainment Group Inc. of Denver. City officials especially want to make sure the Colorado Avalanche hockey team and the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association stay in Denver for at least 25 years. A mainstay of that commitment is that the city controls the 50 acres of land in the downtown Central Platte Valley where the teams' home, the Pepsi Center, is located.

That puts the ending date in 2022 - from the original Ascent commitment. KSE doesn't owned the ground; that's on a land lease.

Ascent bought that land ... then deeded the ground to the city for 25 years and became a rent-paying tenant. The rent helps make up for the city's loss of seat tax revenues from McNichols Sports Arena, which the city owned and was torn down after the teams moved to the Pepsi Center.

Here's a few more interesting details:

Liberty Media is simply keeping the 6.5 percent of the Pepsi Center it bought from Ascent in 1997, according to deal documents. That year, the Englewood-based media company became something of a white knight for Ascent. Liberty coughed up $15 million for the $180 million Pepsi Center's construction and a piece of the venue, as well as to keep Avalanche captain Joe Sakic from being wooed away by the New York Rangers.

To your points, it's entirely possible that KSE might want some infrastructure help plus I believe more intensive cleanup may be needed to accommodate any residential construction. So there's always a chance for a little back scratching.

I had previously read that in 2022 Kroenke has an option to buy the land for One American Dollar, probably for title purposes.

[Ich]

Didn’t they just sign a deal to stay in Denver until 2040? They as in the Avalanche and Nuggets?

Think they would be build a new stadium before then? Pepsi Center looks to be aging well.

[jimijam35]

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/0...valanche-2040/


yeah its 2040- nothing wrong inside pepsi center , maybe some work needs be done outside-

[DenvertoLA]

is there any update on Kenect Denver? I really thought that one had legs.

[jhwk]

Originally Posted by DenvertoLA

is there any update on Kenect Denver? I really thought that one had legs.

It looks like the site is being used for construction staging for the RMPBS building. Maybe the developer leased it to Mortensen for the duration of RMPBS construction?

[twister244]

Interesting to see if this occurs with any planned/UC developments in downtown.....

https://businessden.com/2019/10/22/d...o-disclosures/

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by jimijam35

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/05/0...valanche-2040/


yeah its 2040- nothing wrong inside pepsi center , maybe some work needs be done outside-

Oh nice! Had totally missed that. That would seem to answer the question: the city won't be paying for a new arena any time soon, and if it's on Kroenke's dime till at least 2040, then it's likely the Pepsi center will continue as the Nuggets' and Avalanche facility for the foreseeable future. As an aside, I never did like the exterior design, though I don't know that there's much that can (or will) be done there.

Meanwhile, the Broncos are apparently locked in through 2039 and the Rockies through 2047. So unless a local team wants to self-fund a new facility, it looks like we are set for the next 20 to 30 years.

[CherryCreek]

Originally Posted by twister244

Interesting to see if this occurs with any planned/UC developments in downtown.....

https://businessden.com/2019/10/22/d...o-disclosures/

The shoes are definitely starting to drop for WeWork. WeWork's future may be uncertain, but at least it's founder won't be left high and dry:

Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank is taking control of WeWork, and it’s giving WeWork founder Adam Neumann the equivalent of nearly $1.7 billion to sever most of his ties with the shared office space startup, according to The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. SoftBank will also spend up to $3 billion buying out shares owned by employees and early investors in the company, and it’s lining up some $5 billion in debt financing to help the startup move forward. This is all on top of the more than $10 billion SoftBank has already committed to WeWork as its largest investor.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/22/...akeover-payout

As others have argued, I think the co-working model is a great innovation, and will be viable in one form or another, whether WeWork manages to master that space or another entity does. It will be interesting if the Rockies' McGregor Square also walks away from WeWork - they were in discussions for WeWork to take the entire 210,000 square feet of office space there! With all the recent announcements of tech company expansion in Denver, I would think this prime location would have other options.

[RyanD]

Originally Posted by DenvertoLA

is there any update on Kenect Denver? I really thought that one had legs.

There's a construction permit out for it. I think they are using the lot for staging on the PBS project and then will probably proceed once that's done.

Commercial Construction Permit 2126 LAWRENCE STREET - KENECT DENVER - NEW 25-STORY MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING (FOUNDATION ONLY)

[CastleScott]

^ That’s great news-thanks Ryan!

[CherryCreek]

Ho hum. Another day, and another San Fran tech company choosing Denver as the location of a major expansion.


https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...on-hiring.html

A San Francisco-headquartered real estate technology company involved in more than 10% of U.S. residential mortgage transactions is opening a new home in Denver, choosing to expand to the Mile High City and hire as many as 635 workers here over the next eight years.

Snapdocs already has moved into its new office space in Denver and now is planning an “aggressive” ramp-up of hiring, according to a news release Tuesday from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The privately held startup company, which received a large private-equity investment in 2017 and is going for a large Series B funding round now, chose Denver over Salt Lake City because of several factors, founder and CEO Aaron King said.

I got to think the recent California power outages and the prospect of a continued future risk of those (tech companies LOVE electricity) just adds one more factor that may cause SF/Silicon Valley firms to further grow their employee base outside of California.

[BG918]

Originally Posted by CherryCreek

Ho hum. Another day, and another San Fran tech company choosing Denver as the location of a major expansion.


https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/n...on-hiring.html

A San Francisco-headquartered real estate technology company involved in more than 10% of U.S. residential mortgage transactions is opening a new home in Denver, choosing to expand to the Mile High City and hire as many as 635 workers here over the next eight years.

Snapdocs already has moved into its new office space in Denver and now is planning an “aggressive” ramp-up of hiring, according to a news release Tuesday from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The privately held startup company, which received a large private-equity investment in 2017 and is going for a large Series B funding round now, chose Denver over Salt Lake City because of several factors, founder and CEO Aaron King said.

I got to think the recent California power outages and the prospect of a continued future risk of those (tech companies LOVE electricity) just adds one more factor that may cause SF/Silicon Valley firms to further grow their employee base outside of California.

I still think the insane COL is the primary reason along with high taxes and an increasing number of incentives offered by Colorado. You can get a similarly educated workforce with many of the same outdoor/urban amenities for a much lower cost. At least for now, that gap gets smaller and smaller every year.

[DenvertoLA]

Originally Posted by RyanD

There's a construction permit out for it. I think they are using the lot for staging on the PBS project and then will probably proceed once that's done.

Commercial Construction Permit 2126 LAWRENCE STREET - KENECT DENVER - NEW 25-STORY MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING (FOUNDATION ONLY)

Nooice

[Darius C]

Lonely Planet recommends Denver as one of 10 top cities worldwide to visit in 2020:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-travel/cities

[rds70]

Originally Posted by RyanD

There's a construction permit out for it. I think they are using the lot for staging on the PBS project and then will probably proceed once that's done.

Commercial Construction Permit 2126 LAWRENCE STREET - KENECT DENVER - NEW 25-STORY MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING (FOUNDATION ONLY)

A permit has also been submitted for the X Denver 3 project as well - about a block away at 21st and Arapahoe. 22 stories, 250 feet, 401 units.

[rds70]

The Evolve Towers project at Champa and Park is also moving forward. Here is the massing study and image precedents:

[UrbanT]

Can’t post the pics from my mobile but here’s a link for some renderings ^
https://www.ubuntupartnersllc.com/current

[twister244]

Originally Posted by UrbanT

Can’t post the pics from my mobile but here’s a link for some renderings ^
https://www.ubuntupartnersllc.com/current

Take.My.Money.......

Seriously, that is a sexy looking project. Definitely a stand-out for Denver architecture. I fully endorse!