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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— June 1-June 14, 2016
Construction, Design & Engineering News
by Kris Oppermann Stern
Saunders Construction recently
topped out the Dairy Block proj-
ect, a mixed-use development in
Lower Downtown that will fea-
ture office, retail and a luxury bou-
tique hotel, The Maven.
“For Saunders, this is a really
exciting project that is going to be
a tremendous addition to Lower
Downtown,” said Tom Alford,
vice president of operations for
Saunders Construction. “The proj-
ect is coming together fantasti-
cally well … even with a wet
spring and the various challenges
of working in LoDo next to Coors
Field, we are on schedule, the
quality of work is great, and we
are showcasing Saunders’ hall-
mark of speed to market.”
Due to open next spring, the
Dairy Block is situated along
Wazee Street, between 18th and
19th streets, on the historicDenver
Windsor Dairy Block.
Dairy Block was designed by
Johnson Nathan Strohe, which
designed the hotel, in tandem
with Shears Adkins Rockmore
Architects, which designed the
office piece.
The building will reflect the his-
toric LoDo warehouse district’s
brick masonry and simple struc-
tural expressions, according to
Jim Johnson of Johnson Nathan
Strohe.
“Appropriately, the material
palette for The Maven is mason-
ry and steel with large expanses
of glass, particularly relating to
Coors Field,” Johnson said. “The
upper suite levels of the hotel are
clad in zinc and adorned with
simple glass balconies. Careful
detailing of all materials reflects
the heritage of this former lumber
crafting site.”
Dairy Block will be a reflection
of its LoDo setting.
“The Maven Hotel and Dairy
Block project are designed to
create a unique experience for
urban enjoyment similar to The
Crawford Hotel within a different
design vocabulary,” Johnson said.
“It’s an exquisite reflection of the
LoDo neighborhood in contextual
architectural design, using mass-
ing, scale and materials to con-
nect with the pedestrian vibe and
cadence of its existing neighbors.”
In addition, activation of the
private alley between 18th and
19th streets will provide authentic
food, beverage and music oppor-
tunities seamlessly integrated
with the hotel lobby, according to
Johnson.
Developer McWhinney broke
groundon theproject inMay2015.
The project will feature 260,000
square feet of office space, a hotel
and a mix of restaurant, retail and
lobby spaces on the ground floor.
The variety of uses did present
some interesting design oppor-
tunities.
“The multiple uses are syner-
gistic to the ultimate experience,”
Johnson said. “With a continu-
ous high-ceiling lobby spanning
the street front along Wazee, the
new building will be a gift to the
street.”
Coordination of building sys-
tems, including HVAC, steel and
concrete, was shared between
Shears Adkins Rockmore (office)
and Johnson Nathan Strohe (hotel
and lobbies) with the help of a
common structural engineer.
“Upon opening within the next
year, Dairy Block will transform
this area of LoDo with a next
generation addition to one of the
most successful historic districts
inAmerica,” Johnson concluded.
Located midblock along Blake
Street and just one block from
Denver Union Station, this new
development is located at the epi-
center of the Denver transporta-
tion corridor. It has immediate
access to mass transit, including
the downtown Denver circulator
external link, is in close proximity
to major highways, and is within
walkingdistance of sports venues,
restaurants and entertainment.
Designed and built with a com-
mitment to sustainability, the proj-
ect is anticipated to become LEED
Gold certified by the U.S. Green
Building Council.
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Renderings courtesy Johnson Nathan Strohe
The rendering is an exterior view of The Maven hotel.
Light streams in from above the lobby of The Maven.
Adolfson & Peterson Construc-
tion recently broke ground on
Boulder Valley School District’s
newest 21st century learning
environment, Douglass Elemen-
tary. The new, highly sustainable
school will be located adjacent
to the current, 64-year-old facility,
built in 1952. It is expected to cost
approximately $16 million and
will be complete in summer 2017.
A&P will be carefully conserv-
ing the large field next to the site
that is presently used for stu-
dent physical curriculum so the
school can continue its normal
daily activities. During construc-
tion, AP will provide a learning
experience to students through
site tours, question boards and
fence observation windows.
Final design comes from RTA
Architects of Colorado Springs.
RTAArchitects andA&Phave col-
laborated on numerous projects,
including the award-winning
Mapleton Early Childhood Edu-
cation Center in Boulder, which
modernized a 124-year-old his-
torical school into a contemporary
learning facility for BVSD.
In line with BVSD’s strong
commitment to sustainability, the
school will follow the district’s
Sustainability Management Sys-
tem and the Sustainable Energy
Plan. These requirements include
new schools and buildings to be
designed to meet 2009 LEED for
Schools. In addition to this, new
buildings will be designed as
zero net energy or zero net ener-
gy capable, targeting 25 British
thermal units per sf. Projects will
be designed to maximize LEED
points for Indoor Environmental
Quality.
“AP is grateful and excited
for an opportunity to continue
working with the Boulder Valley
School District as they continue
to deliver on their promise of sus-
tainability excellence and equity
to the community and students
they support,” said Tom Stone,
AP project executive.
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Foothills
Commercial
Builders completed construc-
tion of the second location
for Biju’s Little Curry Shop
in the Berkeley neighbor-
hood. Located at 4279 Tenny-
son St. in Denver, Biju's was
constructed within a newly
renovated 1941 building by
Kentro Group. The architect
is Liv Studio.
The first floor of the restau-
rant features a kitchen and
dining area, while the base-
ment is the hub of the entire
kitchen, food prep and stor-
age activity. There is also an
outdoor patio. The kitchen
in the basement will accom-
modate prep and supply for
other restaurant locations
Biju’s currently owns, includ-
ing two new stands in Whole
Foods. The dining area fea-
tures custom booths and a
food service line constructed
from pallet racks, custom
wood floors, several murals,
galvanized metal counters,
refurbished masonry and
exposed bow trusses.
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Biju’s Little Curry Shop is located in the Berkeley neighborhood.
