new plans for 30-story denver office building seen as response to covid-19 concerns

A project that will see the construction of around 700,000 square feet of rentable space in downtown Denver is also placing an emphasis on built-in health features.

Announced earlier this year, the 30-story building, to be developed by the Chicago-based Riverside Investment & Development, will go up on a 1.2-acre site between Arapahoe and Lawrence Streets.

Other developers in recent years have considered building on the site, which is currently a parking lot. But the Riverside project is the first to have a concept plan approved for the property by the City of Denver.

As envisioned, the project will feature 9,500 square feet of retail space; 5,200 square feet of lounge space; and a conference center measuring 2,700 square feet.

To be designed by Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects of Denver and the Chicago-based Goettsch Partners, the building will also include fourteen private terraces and enough above- and below-ground parking for more than six hundred vehicles.

In response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the project will also incorporate a secondary air purification system, along with touch-free elevators.

Regarding the structure’s health features, Drew Nieman, Riverside executive vice-president, said in a statement: “In collaborating with third party subject matter experts over the past several months, we are confident we are taking aggressive steps to establish an elevated standard for indoor environmental conditions.”
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Work on what is being called 1900 Lawrence is expected to begin later this year, with a general spring 2023 completion date.

By Garry Boulard

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