Denver's Petroleum Building Slated For Conversion Gets $14M Loan
The Denver Downtown Development Authority approved a $14M loan for an office-to-residential conversion of a historic 16th Street office building.
Plans for the Petroleum Building, at 110 16th St., include turning 12 floors of office space into 178 residential units and adding amenities like a fitness center, gardening spaces and a rooftop dog park, according to a DDDA press release.
The building’s co-owners, Borst & Co. and DellaCava Holdings, are leading the conversion with the help of architects at Gensler and PCL Construction.
The total cost of the conversion will be around $45M, the Denver Business Journal reported. The Petroleum Building’s loan aims to cover about 20% of the cost and has a 10-year repayment term.
The project is the third office conversion to receive a loan from the development authority, according to the DDDA release. Other conversions that received funding are the University Building and the Symes Building, both also on 16th Street.
Office conversions are trending up in Denver, accounting for half of the planned adaptive reuse projects being delivered this year. In total, the development authority has given out $45.5M in loans for office reuse projects.
“Converting underutilized office buildings in upper downtown is a critical component of revitalizing the heart of Denver,” Tim Borst, president of Borst & Co., said in the DDDA release.
Last year, voters authorized the development authority to invest $570M in downtown revitalization efforts. Since then, the authority has allocated around $160M to 13 projects, including the Petroleum Building.
In addition to supporting housing development downtown, the development authority purchased the Denver Pavilions shopping center with plans to renovate the parking lot and attract new tenants.
An October report from the development authority found that the multifamily inventory downtown is 88% occupied, and the average recovery rate is outpacing last year.
