One reader pointed out that my longer list of neighborhoods would be the statistical list of neighborhoods for Denver. Other readers had pointed out that the general list of Denver didn’t include enough of the specifics that are in the statistical list. I am open to ideas folks, the shorter list I use is the one I like so I am republishing the Overall Best Neighborhood in Denver poll using my General list (because it makes more sense to me).

For those of you who have ideas of what the list should be, and there are quite a few of you, please visit the forum and make your suggestions. Your opinions do matter. The way to be helpful is to share what you think the list SHOULD be, not what it shouldn’t be. Then folks can comment back and forth and maybe we will improve the list a bit. In the meantime, here is the poll revised. Happy voting!

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I was recently walking into lodo for a little dinner when I passed by the above pictured memorial on Market street. The memorial was for the man killed and possibly the 7 wounded from the shooting at 2 am on the morning of Sunday November 4th.

It was emotional to see the memorial, perhaps it made it more real in comparison to reading it in the newspaper or watching TV.

It is just so senseless, so sad, and a rare and tragic event for Denver. What are our solutions to fighting crime and violence in this wonderful city? In my opinion the growth in the number of urban dwellers downtown will certainly help contribute to this. More eyes on the street is one helpful item, but more than that the increased density of folks living downtown will promote the number of people working to protect the peace whether by ideas or tax dollars for our police force. I’m no criminologist and this isn’t my forte so I hope others out there have some good ideas. The key is to make sure discussions are happening to get those ideas presented and find solutions.

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The single most photographed bridge in denver is getting a much needed facelift over the next few months.

Originally designed to look beautiful, which it did, the bridge also collected water on the stairs causing a rust. Over the past couple years it has been repainted, and repainted, and repainted.

Well now it is getting a full overhaul with some beautiful granite stairs. It will be looking beautiful!

Here is that schedule for those of you who live or use the bridge regularly. The good news is that only one side gets the face lift at a time so you don’t have to worry about going around. Schedule from Riverfront Park.

DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Weeks beginning:

* 8/6 – Close Bridge Stairs and open temporary stairs for pedestrian access
* 8/6 – Remove center railing on Bridge Stairs
* 8/6 – Set up supports for bike ramp
* 8/6 – Begin removal of treads

* 8/13 – Continue removal of treads/landings/decking

* 8/20 – Continue removal of treads/landings/decking

* 8/27 – Remove outside railings/decking/structural support angles
* 8/27 – Start installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/4 – Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/10 - Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel

* 9/17 – Continue installation of new steel angles and tube steel
* 9/17 – Start installation of granite treads

* 9/24 – Sand blast existing white/rust colored structural steel
* 9/24 – Painting of existing steel
* 9/24 – Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/1 - Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/8 - Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/15 - Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/22 - Continue installation of granite treads/landings

* 10/29 – Completion activities/demobilize/punchlist

Which means it will be open just in time for Halloween. Lets all have a spooky celebration there.

And for those who don’t know the exact details of this famous Denver bridge here is the quick scoop…

Denver Millennium Bridge Opens

Date: 26/04/2002

The Denver Millennium Footbridge was officially opened by the Denver Mayor, Wellington Webb, on Monday 22 April at a ceremony attended by city and state dignitaries as well as engineers, architects, and local residents.

Arup provided civil and structural design services from the beginning of 2000, and were present on site throughout the construction phase. The design team overcame the significant challenges presented by the complex geometry of the cable-stayed structure’s 200ft (61m) tall steel mast and unusually wide deck (80ft / 24m) to produce this spectacular structure.

and…

Millennium Bridge in Denver
One of the greatest hurdles architectural engineers faced in creating this beautiful bridge in LoDo was developing a clear span across 125 feet of railroad track while keeping the vertical elevation gain at less than 30 feet. They decided to develop a unique “cable stayed” solution using a tall mast to hang the deck. The mast was placed on the city side of the bridge visible from downtown. The cables to both the bridge deck and grade were arrayed from there. To make the structure as thin as possible a steel frame that derives its stiffness from tension applied to the thin structure of the deck was conceived. This “post-tensioning” was achieved by installing beams with engineered sag, then using the mast as a lever to pull up the deck with the cables into a shallow bow while the opposite end of the bridge is held down by two steel rods. Concrete was then applied pushing down the deck and applying tension to the cables. The combination of tension in the cables and the rods form a thin, stiff and stable deck assembly. The Denver Millennium Bridge was the first cable stayed bridge in the world to use this post-tensioned structural concept.

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But I don’t wanna leave downtown… and I have no plans to. We love living downtown, we love the people, the food, the lifestyle, the events, the activity, the energy, and on and on and on…

But the conversation I hear with many of our friends is centered around an upcoming departure from downtown to raise children. Let’s face it, the lodo and CPV scene is not rich with family life (but that is quickly changing). We always hear about our dear friends who moved to the burbs to have better schools, to raise their children, and to have the white picket fence. But what is also going on is those of us who are starting families want to stay downtown. That can make all the difference in our future.

Well I am tired of this scenario. I don’t want my friends to move away. I don’t want to visit them in the burbs. What I would like is to change this problem. [Read more →]

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Structure to tower over LoDo
Developers of 1800 Larimer tout energy-efficient design of 22-story office high-rise

November 17, 2006
Westfield Development Co. plans a $150 million, 22-story, 500,000-square-foot office tower at the edge of lower downtown.

The 1800 Larimer building, the first new high-rise office building downtown since 1999 Broadway opened in the mid-1980s, will be the most energy-efficient high-rise in downtown Denver, said Rich McClintock, president of Denver-based Westfield.

The building is expected to receive a silver LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The council today is ending its three-day Greenbuild 2006 conference at the Colorado Convention Center, which attracted more than 12,000 people.

“If it is not a sustainable building, it is outdated,” McClintock said.

Increasingly, companies are demanding that their office space be in a LEED-rated building, which not only lowers utility bills for them but increases worker productivity, he said.

The building will include numerous energy saving features, including a subfloor air distribution system; 9-foot, 6-inch floor-to-ceiling windows; a state-of-the-art health club for tenants; and almost a half-acre parklike environment on a terrace 20 feet off the ground.

“It just made sense to us to only ‘condition’ the air around people, rather than the entire volume of space, especially as tenants demand higher ceilings,” said Don Slack, executive vice president of Westfield. “Basically, we’re cooling two-thirds of the space we would with a conventional system. And an added benefit of the system is that the tenants can manually control the temperature immediately around them.”

The architect is Denver-based RNL Design. In addition to the blue and grey glass facade, a design feature will be a 30-foot high “wall of water” inside the lobby. The lobby will have trees inside and immediately outside a large glass wall.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said he is courting a Fortune 500 company, which is considering moving its headquarters to either Denver or two East Coast cities.

“If they choose Denver, they want a building in the LoDo area,” Clark said. “And it is important for them to be in an energy-efficient building.”

McClintock said that the overall office vacancy rate in LoDo is about 5 percent but in Class A buildings it is 2 percent.

There are about a half-dozen office buildings planned for LoDo, but McClintock isn’t worried about competition.

He notes the site is a block from the Ritz- Carlton hotel under construction, two blocks from the Tabor Center and Coors Field, and four blocks from Denver Union Station.

It also is on the route of a future circular bus system that will serve downtown and Denver Union Station.

Construction will start in the spring with an opening in 2009. He already is close to inking deals with some tenants that will take at least 20 percent of the building. They’re speaking with law firms, energy companies, financial institutions and others.

Keep posted on this building by watching it at…
Urban Brain Wiki Entry for 1800 Larimer

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