News
Ninth Avenue and Colorado project update
Have you driven past Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard lately? This 26-acre site is well on its way to becoming a new hub for the neighborhood as a large, mixed-use space comprised of affordable housing, residential apartments, retail spaces, restaurants, offices and a hotel. The urban center will also incorporate a parking structure for new and existing residents and 4 acres of green space for a vibrant community center.
Using neighborhood feedback, the project aims to provide a place to live, dine, shop and gather. These goals are reflected in the first retail tenants for the space, which were announced in May 2018. The lineup includes a 10-screen AMC movie theater, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Zoe’s Kitchen, Postino Wine Café, Chase Bank, and Bellco Credit Union.
While the opening of the retail shops is still a few years away, the current site already stands in stark contrast to the aging buildings of the former University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. The plot has been nearly flattened as developers work to prepare the site for redevelopment from the ground up, with the exception of a few historical buildings that will be repurposed into new businesses and residences as part of the project.
A rendering of the future center and open space sits on a banner above the site as cranes and workers make progress on the quickly changing location. The site was acquired by 9th Avenue (Denver) Land LLC, an affiliate of Continuum Partners, and CIM Group in 2015 after local community members pushed for an inviting community development rather than a big-box store.
Before: Now:
Future Rendering A and B:
In late 2014, the City of Denver approved a $47.9 million tax-increment financing (TIF) subsidy for the project through the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). The site had been vacant since 2008 when the University of Colorado medical center moved to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
For more information about this project, click here.