Highlights:
Steam on the Platte is a 3.2-acre site along the Platte River in Denver.
Urban Ventures/White Construction Group formed a partnership for Steam on the Platte.
1st phase of Steam on the Platte is a renovation of a 65,000-square-foot warehouse.
Steam on the Platte is a hidden, gritty industrial stretch along the Platte River that Susan Powers plans to transform.
Veteran Denver developer Susan Powers on Tuesday unveiled plans for a $50 million, mixed-use development on a 3.2-acre site on an all but forgotten gritty stretch along the Platte River near Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
The development, anchored by a 65,000-square-foot warehouse built in 1928, is called Steam on the Platte.
“Steam on the Platte is the perfect blend of environment and industry, inspired by the spirit and energy of Denver,” said Powers, president and founder of Urban Ventures. “We discovered a local gem that just needs some polishing,” Power said about the site near the Interstate 25 viaduct at West 14th Avenue, Zuni Street and the Platte River.
“It’s a little hidden industrial property that has not been on anybody’s radar screen,” Powers said about the property north of the Xcel steam plant.
Urban Ventures and Castle Rock-based White Construction Group formed a partnership and bought the site in 2014.
Urban Venture’s description of the site is almost poetic: “Steam on the Platte’s namesake honors the juxtaposition of industry and nature, connecting the character and bold energy of the area’s industrial steam plants and smokestacks with the Platte River’s beauty, movement and sustainability. Its convenient downtown location, light rail stop, bike path, sports arena access and riverside setting make it desirable for businesses and residents who crave an authentic blend of Denver’s historical and edgy culture.”
This 65,000-square-foot warehouse built in 1928 will be an anchor for Steam on the Platte
The City of Denver is thrilled to see the site developed, which it believes can be a catalyst for a long neglected area, despite its proximity to light rail and downtown.
“The idea of new life in this industrial corridor is transformational, both culturally and economically,” said Paul Washington, executive director of the Denver Office of Economic Development, and champion of the redevelopment.
“Steam on the Platte is a catalyst for both the redevelopment of Sun Valley and the Platte River, which are high priorities of Mayor Hancock,” Washington added.
The site is walking distance to Sports Authority Field and the Auraria campus and is minutes from downtown. RTD’s FasTracks West Corridor is along the southern edge of the property. It is two miles from the Interstate 70 interchange.
Construction will begin in fourth quarter of 2015, and the $14 million first phase, the redevelopment of the warehouse, will be completed in the third quarter of 2016. The architect for the warehouse redevelopment —the largest remaining undeveloped exposed brick-and-timber warehouse in the city — is tres birds workshop, known for its historic preservation and adaptive re-use projects and for recycling former industrial properties.
The warehouse, once home to the Johnson and Bremer Soap factory, a rag baling facility, a ceremonial bathhouse and a button manufacturer, has been neglected and abandoned for decades.
“Some parts of it were rented over the years,” Powers said. “There was a little t-shirt shop in it when we bought it. But as far as it being totally operational, that has been a very, very long time.”
Urban Ventures and White Construction will transform the 65,000 square foot warehouse into creative new office space.
NIMBL, a fast-growing SAP technology-consulting firm in Denver, will be the anchor tenant for the renovated warehouse, initially taking 20,000 square feet.
“This redevelopment is aligned with our core values for revitalization, discovery and leadership,” said Yosh Eisbart, CEO and co-founder of NIMBL.
“We embrace the project’s old-and-new impact and are excited about being part of a major activation within this historic neighborhood,” Eisbart said.
Hayden Hirschfeld and Dorit Fischer of NAI Shames Makovsky, are marketing and leasing on the warehouse.
Powers said she thinks the warehouse will be attractive to other high-tech companies that want to be close to NIMBL.
In addition to the warehouse, an existing building that features a bowstring roof next to the river will be home to a restaurant. The restaurant is expected to open in late 2016 or in early 2017.7.
Future phases of development include more offices and possibly a residential component. Steam on the Platte is in the La Alma/Lincoln Park neighborhood and is close to the trendy Jefferson Park neighborhood.
“It’s a little early to say what the future development on the property will include,” on the land that is zoned U-MX-5, Powers said.
She suspects that three of the five buildings on the site might be razed.
“It could have a residential component or it could all be offices,” Powers said.
“If I had to guess, we might be able to put another 100,000 square feet on the property, but it’s hard to know until we decide what would be the best use for the balance of the property,” Powers said.
“Right now, our first step is to focus on the tech-office space in the warehouse and the restaurant.”
There is even a story behind the acquisition of the property by Urban Ventures and the White Construction Group.
They bought the parcel from the estate of the late Englewood- based real estate agent Arvin Weiss, who in 2008 had been sentenced to seven years in federal prison after being convicted of fraud and witness tampering in a sophisticated scheme to cheat mortgage companies that funded federally insured home loans.
“We had looked at it several years ago,” when Weiss was in prison and a judge wouldn’t let him sell it, Powers said.
Then, Weiss was diagnosed with cancer and released from prison in 2013. After he died, Urban Ventures and White Construction bought it from his estate.
“I never met him myself and he had two grown daughters who lived in New York City that wanted nothing to do with it,” Powers said.
Interested in buying a home in Jefferson Park? Please visit COhomefinder.com.
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