CREJ

/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2017

Mastering a Plan with Central Park Station (Stapleton)

The Central Park Station plan is focused around an iconic

public space, one that provides opportunities for social and

community events in a space that complements the sur-

rounding infrastructure – at the heart of the transit district,

surrounded by a true mix of uses – from office and hotel to

apartments, condos, and shopping, dining and entertainment

options.

We are designing Central Park StationONE, a 190,000-square-

foot, six-story office building with nearly 16,000 sf of retail slat-

ed to deliver in 2019. The adjacent 300-unit apartment build-

ing, also designed by our firm, is slated to open on a similar

timeline and will provide highly amenitized rental housing.

Together, these two buildings are shaped to partially enclose

and define the central public space on three sides with active

ground-floor functions that open out onto the public plaza.

The other half of the plaza will be developed with phase

two of the development. The office and residential buildings

that make up Central Park Station will be bisected by Uinta

Street, which will be multimodal for cars and buses, offering

dedicated bike lanes, but narrowed at the plaza to slow traffic

for pedestrian safety. The plaza is lushly landscaped and, even-

tually, will be shaded by trees. Until the trees mature, shade

structures in the form of lenticular clouds over the plains, as

envisioned by Denver-based Dig Studios and fabricated by

Denver-based Demiurge, will bring an artful, yet functional,

aesthetic to the plaza. Office users on floors 2 through 6 can

engage with the plaza from above via private balconies and a

rooftop terrace programmed for the exclusive use of the top-

floor tenant.

Attracting the Next Generation

No matter what the location, nearly all Denver office ten-

ants are focused on how much outdoor space is available.

Central Park Station ONE features two balconies on each floor,

overlooking the plaza, in addition to a large rooftop terrace,

designed to offer an al fresco work experience. These spaces,

more commonly found in a residential building than an of-

fice development, are intended to be extensions of the tenant’s

interior offices. And, just as an amenity deck in an apartment

building acts as an extension of individual residences, an out-

door gathering space just outside an office building encourag-

es serendipitous encounters and creates connections with the

community.

A robust amenity package is required to attract

next-generation talent. Those amenities often blur the de-

marcation of functions within the ground-floor office lobby.

No longer is the austere commercial lobby de rigueur. Cafés

and restaurants spill into the common lobby space, replete

with a tech bar, lounge furniture, group and private meeting

spaces, informational displays and rideshare waiting areas.

Established urban areas can organically create authentic

community interaction in a way that many suburbs and new-

er urban areas lack. And the streetscape – especially in out-

lying neighborhoods – is where local professionals and area

residents come together for social and cultural experiences. If

streets are designed as public spaces, those spaces are inher-

ently connected to the fabric of the neighborhood, and the

buildings lining them must be planned accordingly. Struc-

tures that are designed and programmed as an extension of

the streetscape are the most likely to succeed in providing the

connectivity their occupants – whether full-time residents or

9-to-5 office workers – seek and, increasingly, expect.

/ Placemaking Between Downtown and Suburbia /

OPENING ART:

The plaza at the heart of Central Park Station,

the mixed-use office, retail and residential

complex under construction in Stapleton,

provides ample opportunity for residents and

workers to socialize and unwind.

TOP:

Park Station ONE features two balconies on

each floor, overlooking the street-level plaza,

in addition to a large rooftop terrace, designed

to offer an al fresco work experience.

BOTTOM:

The KTGY-designed Central Park Station

ONE is a 190,000-square-foot, six-story office

building with nearly 16,000 square feet of retail

slated to deliver in 2019. The adjacent 300-unit

apartment building, also designed by KTGY, is

slated to open on a similar timeline.