Denver’s Downtown Development Authority is throwing its financial weight behind two long-planned office-to-residential conversions on the 16th Street pedestrian strip, giving the projects a shot at breaking ground as soon as 2026.
The agency approved multimillion-dollar loans for the adaptive reuse of the Symes Building at 820 16th St. and the University Building at 910 16th St. as part of its $100M first round of revitalization funding. The DDA expects about $570M will be available for downtown recovery efforts, the Denver Business Journal reports.
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The planned conversions come amid a national surge in office-to-apartment projects and a growing pipeline in Denver. The Mile High City is set to deliver 1,398 apartment units from converted office space this year, a 55% jump from 2024.
Built in 1906, the eight-story Symes Building would be converted from 261 offices into 116 market-rate apartments renting for $1,400 to $1,600. The $53M project, led by Southern California-based Harbor Associates, is slated to start construction in spring 2026, with completion by fall 2027.
The University Building is a 12-story structure built in 1911 that was once owned by the University of Denver. It is targeted for 120 mixed-income units under a $73M redevelopment by Mile High Development’s George Thorn and BMC Investments. The plan calls for studio, one- and two-bedroom units for households earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income.
The University Building project hinges on securing federal and state housing tax credits, which the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority is expected to award in November, the DBJ reported.
“It would be much more difficult, if not impossible,” to proceed without them, Thorn said.
Mayor Mike Johnston has pitched such conversions as key to transforming downtown “from a central business district to a central neighborhood district,” activating buildings “24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Ground-floor retail, including tenants already in place like Sportsfan and Modern Market, is expected to remain part of both buildings after the conversion.
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