unusual timber building set for construction in denver

A six-story building that will replicate an architecturally-praised structure in Minneapolis will soon be going up in the River North District of Denver.
The Houston-based real estate investment firm Hines, in a joint venture project with McCaffery Interests, Inc., of Chicago, a development land company, has announced plans to build a new T3.
As explained by its developers, T3 stands for timber, transit, and technology, with a building made of timber, situated near transit options and high-tech companies.
The original T3 in Minneapolis is thought to be the largest mass timber structure in the U.S., made up of 8 by 20 foot panels of wood, stacked across beams of laminated and glued timber.
That seven-story, 221,000 square foot building, framed in steel, has won the praises of such publications as Architect Magazine.
The Denver T3 version will go up on a 50,000-acre site at 3500 Blake Street that for the last three decades has been the home to the glass sink manufacturer Vitraform.
The 15,000 square foot garage and warehouse structure on the site, built in 1952, will be demolished to make way for the new T3 building.
This newest multi-story project in River North, otherwise known as RiNo, is being seen as the latest evidence of a continued building trend in the former factory and warehouse district that is today mostly known for its galleries, coffee shops and brewpubs.

By Garry Boulard

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