Every month, LIFE will provide answers to the community’s burning questions about new and ongoing developments. If there is a pile of dirt you’re curious about, or if you want to know how much longer your street parking will be sacrificed during construction, email Kailyn Lamb at elamb@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

Reader questions – Update on Park 17

A reader reached out to me regarding Park 17, the project on 17th and Park Avenue. I contacted Valerian LLC, the landscape architects and urban designers working on this project. Answers were supplied by Cassie Kaslon, managing principal of Valerian LLC.

Q: What is the plan for helping this huge structure blend into the surrounding neighborhood, a portion of which is a designated historic district?

A: Designing a building is a complex endeavor and making it "fit" into a diverse and historical neighborhood was our primary goal. In experiencing the neighborhood, it has a decidedly neutral tone in the materials in the brick, stucco and metal panel of the surrounding buildings. Our project aimed to complement the existing neighborhood and provide an intermediate scale between the residential blocks and the large redevelopment of the hospital.

Each design move was carefully considered with the vibrant community and the surrounding neighborhood in mind. The metal panels were chosen with a vertical scoring pattern as a reference to the other scaled materials in the neighborhood, such as brick and patterned stucco. The dark bronze of the majority of the mass of the building with white accents was meant to reference the mix of natural tones and bright, clean lines throughout the neighborhood.

As for the parks along Park Avenue, we discussed several ideas for incorporating those into the development, but city staff required there be no access to those parks directly from the building, as they are considered "passive parks" and are not intended to be used actively.

Q: Are there plans for landscaping?

A: Yes, the building will definitely have landscaping, which not only meets the City of Denver's requirements for the neighborhood and particularly the street frontage along 17th, Lafayette, Marion and Park, but also strives to maintain as many of the existing landmark trees as possible. Some were deemed dead or dying by the city arborist and had to be removed. We donated them to the city and they were used as a playscape at Pasquinel’s Landing Park, and the two largest street trees were protected and maintained near the corner of 17th and Lafayette. Ornamental grasses, perennials and low shrubs, along with crushed granite walkways and bands of turfgrass, will provide additional (permeable areas) which are beneficial to tree survival as well as creating and maintaining a pedestrian-friendly streetscape. Street tree species selected from the City of Denver approved tree list are being added to the tree lawns to replace the trees that were removed and fill in gaps between existing trees to provide consistent street tree spacing.

The building will feature an arcade along Marion and 17th Avenue allowing for restaurants to have covered, outdoor seating similar to other restaurants along 17th Avenue. This was achieved with the help of the city review team working closely with the architectural design team in providing previous examples of these patios and how the project could incorporate this transition zone to welcome in the community.

76 S. Broadway and 1 E. Bayaud Ave.

A little south of Capitol Hill in the equally popular neighborhood of Baker, White Palace LLC sold two properties in late March/early April 2018.

Bayaud Investors LLC purchased 76 S. Broadway and 1 E. Bayaud Ave. for $2.8 million.

The LLC, formed by Derek Vanderryst, works for Denver-based Westside Investment Partners.

The two, two-story buildings have a total of five commercial spaces. Gildar Gallery, Badger’s Pub and Famous Pizza are the only businesses that occupy the available retail space.

Famous Pizza, which has been at its Broadway location for more than 40 years, is currently still in operation. Its lease is month-to-month, and according to a Famous Pizza employee, it will be there for “quite a bit more time.”

950 North Broadway – formerly Tony’s Market

A new food hall is in the works for the former Tony’s Market building on Broadway.

The now-named Broadway Market should open sometime in summer 2018.

Broadway Market is a collaboration between Mark Shaker, who founded Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, and other heavy-hitters in the food hall business. According to Eater.com, the 15,000-square-foot space will fit up to 10 food and drink vendors, and will include the usual central bar, pizza and coffee shop.

The space is being designed by Shears Adkins Rockmore, who is also working on the highly anticipated Meow Wolf.

A sparse website (Broadwaymarketdenver.com) is up for the project for those interested in receiving emails regarding the project, or for business owners interested in getting involved.