What's Missing from Downtown's Resurgence?
Downtown Denver's hot, but there's always room for improvement. We asked the speakers at Bisnow's Denver Downtown Renaissance, which begins at 7:30am on Sept. 30 at the Warwick Hotel Denver, to tell us what else needs to be improved to make it a better live/work/play neighborhood.
As the Center City continues to evolve, it's essential to create a strong retail environment that meets the needs of residents, visitors and employees, Downtown Denver Partnership CEO Tami Door, who will give the opening remarks, tells us. "We must continue to enhance the residential amenities, including parks, schools and housing options to build upon our vision for Downtown neighborhoods," she adds. "Finally, we must continue to address safety and security as the core platform upon which this, and any, great city is built.”
Larimer Associates CEO Jeff Hermanson (snapped with Walter Isenberg), whose company has overseen the rebirth of Larimer Square, says that even as the renaissance continues, "we must ask ourselves, what did we miss?" Where can the neighborhood add more activation? Are more buildings for adaptive reuse?"
“Denver has done a great job of addressing the changing demands of city dwellers," AMLI Residential SVP Andrew Mutz us. "While some larger issues remain to be addressed, the old adage that the devil is in the details rings true. Small things like adding additional on-street recycling and trash locations, attention to keeping the new bike lanes in usable condition, and making sure public social spaces are clean and enjoyable will go a long ways towards making Denver a truly livable downtown.”
Downtown Denver is already incredibly vibrant, Denver Office of Economic Development executive director Paul Washington tells us. "What's needed to take the central business district to the next level would be more density of for-sale housing, a meaningful portion of which should be affordable with upgraded retail," he says.
Portman Holdings VP Charles Pinkham tells us that Denver is fortunate to have beautiful riverfront parks and other devoted green spaces for its communities. "However, they could be improved even further through increasing integration of green space within the urban hardscape," he says. "That would create small plazas and squares on the street lines of new developments and weave the public realm into the urban context." Come hear more at Bisnow's Denver Downtown Renaissance at 7:30am on Sept. 30 at the Warwick Hotel Denver. Sign up here.
