Secret Garden Bar & Café on the edge of Cheesman Park
A dozen Denver projects have received a Mayor’s Design Award from Mayor Mike Johnston.
Another 12 projects received honorable mentions, a designation not given in recent years. In total, according to the city, there were 27 nominees.
One winner — Populus, the new downtown hotel developed by Denver-based Urban Villages — received the first-ever People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the public.
The awards, first issued in 2005, highlight excellence in architecture and design. They are presented annually, although no awards were given in 2023 when Johnston took office and shifted the award presentation from the fall to the spring.
Below are the firms behind the projects that were named winners this year, as well as photos. Projects that received honorable mentions are also named.
Photos and project information were compiled by the city of Denver.
York Street Yards
York Street Yards, 3821-3893 Steele St.
Owner: ScanlanKemperBard and Harbert
Architect: Tryba Architects
Category: Adaptive reuse
Mosaic Community Campus
Mosaic Community Campus, 7150 Montview Blvd.
Owner: Archway Communities
Architect: Shopworks Architecture
Category: Affordability – Existing Buildings
Pancratia Hall
Pancratia Hall Lofts, 3144 W. Frances Walsh Place
Owner: Pancratia Hall Partners LLC, a partnership between Hartman Ely Investments, Proximity Green, PNC Bank and Denver Housing Authority
Architect: William Brummett Architects
Category: Affordability – Existing Buildings
Nest56 @Denargo Market
Nest56 @Denargo Market, 2700 Wewatta Way
Owner: Rivet Development Partners and Pennrose
Architect: SAR+ Architects
Category: Affordability – New Construction
City Heights Residence Hall
City Heights Residence Hall, 1191 Larimer St.
Owner: University of Colorado Denver
Architect: Stantec Architecture
Category: Community and Culture
Tears-McFarlane House
Tears-McFarlane House and Secret Garden Bar & Café, 1290 N. Williams St.
Owner: Joe Vostrejs, Pat McHenry and Rod Wagner, City Street Investors
Architect: Semple Brown Design
Category: Community and Culture
The Ayden
The Ayden, 4228 Kalamath St.
Owner: Palisade Partners and Stapleton Equity Partners
Architect: OZ Architecture
Category: Economic Development – Large
Bruce Randolph Avenue Residences
Bruce Randolph Avenue Residences, 3631 Bruce Randolph Ave.
Owner: Doorkeeper Property Management
Architect: Semple Brown Design
Category: Economic Development – Small
Populus
Populus, 240 14th St.
Owner: Urban Villages
Architect: Studio Gang
Category: Innovation
9+CO
9+CO, 9th Avenue and Colorado Blvd.
Owner: Continuum & Nine Co Blvd 2 Owner
Architect: SAR+ Architects, Gensler, 4240 Architecture, Dig Studio
Category: Open Space, Street Activation and Placemaking
Brighton Boulevard, left, and The Sudler
Brighton Boulevard Redevelopment, Brighton Boulevard from 29th Avenue to 44th Avenue
Civil Engineer (Lead Firm): Jacobs
Landscape Architect: Stantec
Planting Design: Wenk Associates
Category: Open Space, Street Activation and Placemaking
The Sudler, 1576 N. Sherman St.
Owner: Mainspring
Architect: Gensler
Category: Preservation
Honorable Mentions:
• Centennial House at Ninth Street Historic Park, 1050 9th St. (Preservation)
• Parkway Cow, 4700 E. 6th Ave. Pkwy. (Open Space, Street Activation and Placemaking)
• Lakehouse, 4200 W. 17th Ave. (Innovation)
• Tejon Micros, 3282 N. Tejon St. (Economic Development – Small)
• Paradigm River North, 3400 Walnut St. (Economic Development – Large)
• “A House of Prayer for All People” Project at Montview Church, 1980 Dahlia St. (Community and Culture)
• Buell Public Media Center, 2101 Arapahoe St. (Community and Culture)
• Urban Peak Mothership, 1630 S. Acoma St. (Community and Culture)
• Thrive, 2660 W. Holden Place (Affordability – New Construction)
• The Amp, 1580 Logan St. (Adaptive Reuse)
• BurnDown, 476 S. Broadway (Adaptive Reuse)
• 200 Clayton Office/Mixed-use, 200 Clayton St. (Innovation)
Correction: This story has been updated to note that 200 Clayton also received an honorable mention.
