The office tower at 475 17th St. in downtown Denver. (BusinessDen file)
Since the pandemic, BusinessDen has reported on nine major proposals for office-to-residential conversions within Denver city limits, most of them downtown.
As 2025 kicks off, all but one appear to be active. None have started construction.
“We’re waiting on the real meat and potatoes of the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) getting worked out,” said Revesco Properties Development Manager Nick Allen, who is working on the conversion of 475 17th St.
Downtown Denver voters in November approved a measure that would unlock $570 million in funding for various projects in the city’s urban core. The DDA will disburse these funds, some of which are expected to go towards financing conversions.
“Development in general right now is challenging. These projects have the added uncertainty of the renovation process, and that uncertainty makes traditional capital sources hesitant, to say the least,” Allen said. “There’s also a market component to this, where Upper Downtown Denver is not a high-rent submarket like a Union Station and Cherry Creek might be.”
While many projects are still in wait-and-see mode, the first could begin construction this spring.
“Everyone talks about that, but we’re the first to do it,” said Peter Culshaw, an executive with Shea Properties.
Shea is turning a vacant four-story office building at 4340 S. Monaco St. in the Denver Tech Center into 143 income-restricted apartments. The firm was awarded $4 million in tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, or CHFA, in November.
But much of the focus for these projects has been downtown, where the total office vacancy rate sits above 34 percent, an all-time high, per CBRE data from the third quarter of 2024. Older and more tired office buildings, the typical target for conversions, have a vacancy rate of nearly 40 percent.
At Denver City Hall, Jennifer Ramsey runs the Adaptive Reuse program with the Community Planning and Development department, and aims to help where she can to usher projects along.
“My job is to identify and help to solve the regulatory: which is code, procedural … and financial, which is trying to connect these projects to funding sources to bridge that gap … These projects can encounter significant challenges primarily because most of the code is written for new construction,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey oversees two pilot programs, one for East Colfax and another for downtown. Three conversion proposals have been accepted into the downtown program, with room for two more. Ramsey provides more one-on-one assistance to projects in the pilots.
“This really hasn’t happened to this building type before, both in Denver and nationally,” Ramsey said.
Here’s a list of the conversion projects and their status in Denver:
475 17th St.
Proposed: February 2024
Year built: 1973
Units: 150-200
Developer: Revesco Properties
This is the largest structure downtown for which the city has received plans for a possible residential conversion since the pandemic. LoopNet marketing materials list the building at about 150,000 square feet, although the conversion plans show it as approximately 170,000 square feet.
Allen and colleague Evan Kurtis with Revesco said that the firm is exploring putting a day care on the ground floor. Revesco is working with German investment fund LIC Asset Management, which owns the building.
Ramsey said the firm did a study with the city’s Climate Action Sustainability and Resiliency Office on how to get the building electrified and off Denver’s nearly 145-year-old steam loop.
“Getting off of gas and utilizing the city’s chilled water loop could allow us to … pioneer on the electrification side,” Kurtis added.
4340 S. Monaco St.
The existing office building at 4340 S. Monaco St. (Google Maps)
Proposed: February 2024
Year built: 2001
Units: 143
Developer: Shea Properties
The project is one of 10 income-restricted housing projects within the state that was awarded tax credits by the CHFA last November.
The four-story, 124,000-square-foot structure will be hollowed out and transformed into income-restricted apartments. The units range from studios to four-bedrooms, and will serve those making between 30 percent and 70 percent of the area median income.
“Over the last 20 to 30 years, we’ve actually made a conscious effort to introduce more residential housing into the DTC,” Culshaw said to BusinessDen in March.
110 16th St.: The Petroleum Building
The Petroleum building at 110 16th St. in 2021. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: December 2021
Year built: 1957
Units: 177
Developer: Tim Borst
The first office-to-residential conversion proposed in Denver this decade was for the 14-story Petroleum Building. Ramsey said its site development plan was approved last year and that the developer is in the process of getting the necessary permits to begin construction. She added that Borst is pursuing historic tax credits to help finance the project.
Borst and his architects did not respond to a request for comment.
820 16th St.: The George/Symes Building
The Symes building at 820 16th St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1906
Units: 116
Developer: Harbor Associates
The building’s U-shaped structure makes the building a natural candidate for conversion, Harbor Associates principal Joon Choi told BusinessDen. Other office buildings have larger, more rectangular floor plates that are too deep to house apartments.
“The 16th Street Mall is kind of the regional artery of the city … I think long term this is going to be a great location for shops, restaurants, residences and workers as well,” he said.
Unlike some other projects on this list, The George would be 100 percent market rate. Choi is looking to get his project entitled and approved by April. He’s spent the past few years working on financing the conversion.
“The main thing is how do we get the capital stack to make this project viable – it just doesn’t pencil without credits and incentives,” he said.
910 16th St.: University Building
The University building at 910 16th St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: May 2024
Year built: 1910
Units: 120 in different documents, per a CHFA application
Developer: The Robert L. Naiman Company and Mile High Development
The original proposal, drawn up by Shopworks Architecture, called for between eight and 11 units per floor starting on the 110,000-square-foot building’s second level. They would be restricted to those making between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income.
Robert Naiman declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. He applied for $37 million in bond funding and over $4.5 million in state and federal tax credits through CHFA, public records show, but was not awarded those in the most recent award allocation.
1390 Logan St.
The building at 1390 Logan St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: October 2024
Year built: 1962
Units: 51
Developer: Re-viv
The building was previously the headquarters of Credit Union of Colorado, which moved to Central Park.
Re-viv, a San Francisco developer, said on its website that it expected to purchase the property on Nov. 20. But no transaction appears to have taken place yet. A Re-viv representative did not respond to a BusinessDen request for comment.
The remodeled four-story, 55,000-square-foot building would have a mix of studios, and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, per Re-viv’s website.
Ramsey said that she returned Re-viv’s initial concept plan a month ago with comments, but has not yet heard back.
1245 E. Colfax Ave.
The building at 1245 E. Colfax Ave. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: September 2024
Year built: 1966
Units: 146
Greenwood Village-based Lead Funding took ownership of the four-story, 46,000-square-foot office building in City Park West through a foreclosure auction with an $8.5 million credit bid last August.
“We’re doing all the entitlements, all the design and it’s our hope to sell it to a developer once the entitlements are done in 16 to 18 months,” Leading Funding founder and CEO Victor Mitchell said in September.
Ramsey said she approved the concept plan for the project last month. The plans include constructing a new apartment building onsite in addition to the conversion. The transformed office building would hold 51 units, while the new building would have 95 units, public records show. All of the units would be studios.
225 16th Ave.: Capitol Center
The Capitol Center building at 225 E. 16th Ave. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1958
Units: 122
Developer: Unclear
This project was first proposed by Harbor Associates — the owner of 820 16th St. — but that company no longer owns Capitol Center, Choi said, adding “there was a note sale involved.” Records show the building transferred in October to Lotw Capitol Center LLC. Ramsey said that the property has recently been placed under receivership and that they’re “investigating” a conversion onsite.
1600 Champa St.
The building at 1600 Champa St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1937
Units: 40
Developer: Kresher Capital
The plans called for the top two floors of the building, currently office space, to be fashioned into apartments, ranging in size from 470 to 1,135 square feet.
No one from Kresher Capital returned a BusinessDen request for comment. The project’s architect, Paul Bryant of Bryant Flink Architecture & Design, said in an email that the project was “dead.”
“I wish we had built it,” he said.
The office tower at 475 17th St. in downtown Denver. (BusinessDen file)
Since the pandemic, BusinessDen has reported on nine major proposals for office-to-residential conversions within Denver city limits, most of them downtown.
As 2025 kicks off, all but one appear to be active. None have started construction.
“We’re waiting on the real meat and potatoes of the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) getting worked out,” said Revesco Properties Development Manager Nick Allen, who is working on the conversion of 475 17th St.
Downtown Denver voters in November approved a measure that would unlock $570 million in funding for various projects in the city’s urban core. The DDA will disburse these funds, some of which are expected to go towards financing conversions.
“Development in general right now is challenging. These projects have the added uncertainty of the renovation process, and that uncertainty makes traditional capital sources hesitant, to say the least,” Allen said. “There’s also a market component to this, where Upper Downtown Denver is not a high-rent submarket like a Union Station and Cherry Creek might be.”
While many projects are still in wait-and-see mode, the first could begin construction this spring.
“Everyone talks about that, but we’re the first to do it,” said Peter Culshaw, an executive with Shea Properties.
Shea is turning a vacant four-story office building at 4340 S. Monaco St. in the Denver Tech Center into 143 income-restricted apartments. The firm was awarded $4 million in tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, or CHFA, in November.
But much of the focus for these projects has been downtown, where the total office vacancy rate sits above 34 percent, an all-time high, per CBRE data from the third quarter of 2024. Older and more tired office buildings, the typical target for conversions, have a vacancy rate of nearly 40 percent.
At Denver City Hall, Jennifer Ramsey runs the Adaptive Reuse program with the Community Planning and Development department, and aims to help where she can to usher projects along.
“My job is to identify and help to solve the regulatory: which is code, procedural … and financial, which is trying to connect these projects to funding sources to bridge that gap … These projects can encounter significant challenges primarily because most of the code is written for new construction,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey oversees two pilot programs, one for East Colfax and another for downtown. Three conversion proposals have been accepted into the downtown program, with room for two more. Ramsey provides more one-on-one assistance to projects in the pilots.
“This really hasn’t happened to this building type before, both in Denver and nationally,” Ramsey said.
Here’s a list of the conversion projects and their status in Denver:
475 17th St.
Proposed: February 2024
Year built: 1973
Units: 150-200
Developer: Revesco Properties
This is the largest structure downtown for which the city has received plans for a possible residential conversion since the pandemic. LoopNet marketing materials list the building at about 150,000 square feet, although the conversion plans show it as approximately 170,000 square feet.
Allen and colleague Evan Kurtis with Revesco said that the firm is exploring putting a day care on the ground floor. Revesco is working with German investment fund LIC Asset Management, which owns the building.
Ramsey said the firm did a study with the city’s Climate Action Sustainability and Resiliency Office on how to get the building electrified and off Denver’s nearly 145-year-old steam loop.
“Getting off of gas and utilizing the city’s chilled water loop could allow us to … pioneer on the electrification side,” Kurtis added.
4340 S. Monaco St.
The existing office building at 4340 S. Monaco St. (Google Maps)
Proposed: February 2024
Year built: 2001
Units: 143
Developer: Shea Properties
The project is one of 10 income-restricted housing projects within the state that was awarded tax credits by the CHFA last November.
The four-story, 124,000-square-foot structure will be hollowed out and transformed into income-restricted apartments. The units range from studios to four-bedrooms, and will serve those making between 30 percent and 70 percent of the area median income.
“Over the last 20 to 30 years, we’ve actually made a conscious effort to introduce more residential housing into the DTC,” Culshaw said to BusinessDen in March.
110 16th St.: The Petroleum Building
The Petroleum building at 110 16th St. in 2021. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: December 2021
Year built: 1957
Units: 177
Developer: Tim Borst
The first office-to-residential conversion proposed in Denver this decade was for the 14-story Petroleum Building. Ramsey said its site development plan was approved last year and that the developer is in the process of getting the necessary permits to begin construction. She added that Borst is pursuing historic tax credits to help finance the project.
Borst and his architects did not respond to a request for comment.
820 16th St.: The George/Symes Building
The Symes building at 820 16th St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1906
Units: 116
Developer: Harbor Associates
The building’s U-shaped structure makes the building a natural candidate for conversion, Harbor Associates principal Joon Choi told BusinessDen. Other office buildings have larger, more rectangular floor plates that are too deep to house apartments.
“The 16th Street Mall is kind of the regional artery of the city … I think long term this is going to be a great location for shops, restaurants, residences and workers as well,” he said.
Unlike some other projects on this list, The George would be 100 percent market rate. Choi is looking to get his project entitled and approved by April. He’s spent the past few years working on financing the conversion.
“The main thing is how do we get the capital stack to make this project viable – it just doesn’t pencil without credits and incentives,” he said.
910 16th St.: University Building
The University building at 910 16th St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: May 2024
Year built: 1910
Units: 120 in different documents, per a CHFA application
Developer: The Robert L. Naiman Company and Mile High Development
The original proposal, drawn up by Shopworks Architecture, called for between eight and 11 units per floor starting on the 110,000-square-foot building’s second level. They would be restricted to those making between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income.
Robert Naiman declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. He applied for $37 million in bond funding and over $4.5 million in state and federal tax credits through CHFA, public records show, but was not awarded those in the most recent award allocation.
1390 Logan St.
The building at 1390 Logan St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: October 2024
Year built: 1962
Units: 51
Developer: Re-viv
The building was previously the headquarters of Credit Union of Colorado, which moved to Central Park.
Re-viv, a San Francisco developer, said on its website that it expected to purchase the property on Nov. 20. But no transaction appears to have taken place yet. A Re-viv representative did not respond to a BusinessDen request for comment.
The remodeled four-story, 55,000-square-foot building would have a mix of studios, and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, per Re-viv’s website.
Ramsey said that she returned Re-viv’s initial concept plan a month ago with comments, but has not yet heard back.
1245 E. Colfax Ave.
The building at 1245 E. Colfax Ave. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: September 2024
Year built: 1966
Units: 146
Greenwood Village-based Lead Funding took ownership of the four-story, 46,000-square-foot office building in City Park West through a foreclosure auction with an $8.5 million credit bid last August.
“We’re doing all the entitlements, all the design and it’s our hope to sell it to a developer once the entitlements are done in 16 to 18 months,” Leading Funding founder and CEO Victor Mitchell said in September.
Ramsey said she approved the concept plan for the project last month. The plans include constructing a new apartment building onsite in addition to the conversion. The transformed office building would hold 51 units, while the new building would have 95 units, public records show. All of the units would be studios.
225 16th Ave.: Capitol Center
The Capitol Center building at 225 E. 16th Ave. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1958
Units: 122
Developer: Unclear
This project was first proposed by Harbor Associates — the owner of 820 16th St. — but that company no longer owns Capitol Center, Choi said, adding “there was a note sale involved.” Records show the building transferred in October to Lotw Capitol Center LLC. Ramsey said that the property has recently been placed under receivership and that they’re “investigating” a conversion onsite.
1600 Champa St.
The building at 1600 Champa St. (BusinessDen file)
Proposed: June 2022
Year built: 1937
Units: 40
Developer: Kresher Capital
The plans called for the top two floors of the building, currently office space, to be fashioned into apartments, ranging in size from 470 to 1,135 square feet.
No one from Kresher Capital returned a BusinessDen request for comment. The project’s architect, Paul Bryant of Bryant Flink Architecture & Design, said in an email that the project was “dead.”
“I wish we had built it,” he said.
