CREJ - Building Dialogue - March 2015
Why on earth would anyone want to build a senior-living community downtown?”heard that question a Michael Schonbrunlot when he began putting together a plan for a new retirement community in downtown Denver. But Schonbrun, the CEO and founder of Balfour Senior Living, knew what he was doing. His company operates a comprehensive senior-living community near Boulder, and he wanted to offer something different. “I picked the site because it provided close proximity to the greatest amenities of the city – the Center for Performing Arts, the Denver Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art – and it’s adjacent to a beautiful city park that’s actively used by people of all ages,” says Schonbrun. He says today’s seniors don’t want to have to choose between natural beauty and city skylines. He wanted to give them both. Balfour at Riverfront Park is the result of his own search for a retirement home for his mother. A native New Yorker with discriminating tastes, Madeline Schonbrun wanted it all: a luxurious home in an urban setting, fabulously appointed, within walking distance of myriad cultural activities and culinary options. Surprisingly, her son found few that would measure up to her standards. So he set out to create a new model of senior living for a new generation of seniors. The result is the community that now graces the corner of 15th Street and Little Raven Avenue in downtown Denver. Beginning the project just prior to the Great Recession, it suffered a few starts and stops. Due to budget constraints and concerns of neighbors, the building had to be pushed back and re-envisioned to fit a slightly smaller footprint. The design for the facility, originally put forth by a New York firm, had to be revised. Its evolution was taken over by Denver architect Brian Klipp. Klipp, whose company has since become part of Irvine, California-based gkkworks, started off on the project as architect of record and managing architect working with the New York firm. After reconstituting the project in 2010, Klipp became the lead architect. Challenges of an Urban Setting The Balfour project provided a number of interesting challenges to the team. First, it was a large building on a relatively small urban site, with limited street access. Second, it included the renovation of a historic structure, Moffat Depot; and third, it required the restoration of a brownfield site, an abandoned rail yard. Another test was the programming for the building. The finished project would provide a “continuum of care” for residents, most of whom are 70 and older. It was designed with two distinct but connected wings – one that houses 112 independent-living apartments, the other with 65 assisted-living and 28 Alzheimer’s/memory care units. “It was really challenging to take all of those different types of buildings and create a cohesive design,” Klipp says, noting the differing structural requirements in each area. Balfour at Riverfront Park also required the cleanup of a brownfield site. The 300,000-square-foot community was erected on what was once an abandoned rail yard behind Union Station. More than 32,480 tons of coal ash had to be removed from the 2.58-acre site before construction could begin. The top five to 10 feet of the site had coal-based fill mixed with debris, requiring construction company JE Dunn to have a full-time environmental consultant on-site to oversee the process of removing the contaminated fill. And it wasn’t easy to ship off the site. Bordered by the BNSF railroad on the east, 15th Street on the south, and the Park Promenade and Park Tower condominiums on the north, the only access to the site was off of Little Raven. “Nearly all the material deliveries, concrete trucks and dump trucks had to enter and exit through the same access point,” says Joel Pen nick, senior project manager at JE Dunn, who oversaw construction of the project. He adds that working in the established Riverfront Park neighborhood also required additional considerations in regards to construction hours and activities in order to be respectful of the existing residents. Bringing Moffat Depot to Life One of the last vestiges of the former rail yard is the Moffat Depot, a historical landmark that had fallen into disrepair. Named for David Moffat, a wealthy Denver businessman in the late-1800s, the depot was to be the starting point for a rail that would cut through the Rockies, linking Denver to Salt Lake City and ultimately the West Coast. Moffat built the depot in 1906, after being blocked from using Union Station by the more established railroads of the time, which were not too keen about his audacious plan. In the end, Moffat was unable to secure financing and the new rail line terminated just outside of Steamboat Springs. But his depot, designed by Edwin Moorman, remains. Balfour at Riverfront Park returned the Georgian revival-style building to a pristine state. Klipp and Pennick’s teams were charged with recreating the building as faithfully as possible, with only black and white photographs to guide them. The renovation included restoring the brick and mortar, about 75 percent of which was crumbling and had no structural capacity, and restoring the roof, including the spherical pommels on top of the building. The Depot is now the architectural centerpiece of the project and serves as the Great Room for the community. A Four-Star Retirement Residence Walking into the lobby of Balfour is like walking into a Four Seasons Hotel. Surrounded by grand vaulted ceilings, arched windows, wood molding, marble floors, gigantic fresh flower arrangements and interesting artwork, the place offers a sanctuary from the craziness of the city just outside its doors. The hushed atmosphere is punctuated every few moments by quiet laughter or the clinking of china and crystal. Pennick enjoyed the opportunity to work on the variety of interior spaces. “Each common area has a theme,” Pennick explains. “The project entailed over 40 different colors of paint, different wall coverings and carpets, crafted woodwork, trim and molding, and beautiful tile and finishes.” The architectural details were drawn from early 20th-century luxury apartment homes in New York City. But instead of Audobon prints, this residence shows off a collection of Hermes scarves; and instead of Central Park, the homes look out upon Commons Park, the Platte River and the Rocky Mountains. It Takes an Urban Village When Harry Frampton and his company East West Partners owned the 25-acre site directly behind Union Station, their vision was to create a vibrant urban village, with bustling retail, dining, and a variety of condominiums and apartments, not just for young professionals, but for families and seniors. Balfour at Riverfront Park brings a crucial element: affluent, active seniors. This generation of retirees, unlike those of the so-called Greatest Generation, wants to spend their hard-earned money and enjoy the latest chapter of their lives doing the things they have always enjoyed, according to Schonbrun. This demographic influx brings an economic charge to the area, and it’s part of the vision of the Downtown Denver Partnership, in which Klipp has long been active. “Part of the vision has been to create a diverse live/work environment in the downtown core,” Klipp explains, noting the effort is just reaching a critical mass. He points to the expansion of the Auraria campus and the establishment of a Denver Public School in the area, as well as entertainment and sporting venues Coors Field and Pepsi Center. There’s even a grocery store coming soon. “Balfour at Riverfront fills a void by providing a vibrant lifestyle for people in their later years, enabling the mixing of people of different generations, with different social and economic backgrounds,” Klipp says. “It’s nice to know there is an alternative to growing old in suburbia.”