Downtown Denver Residential Conversions and New Builds: Reinventing the Urban Core

The office tower at 475 17th Street in downtown Denver – one of several high-vacancy office buildings that developers plan to convert into apartments as part of a trend of downtown Denver residential conversions.

From Offices to Apartments: A New Trend in Downtown Denver

Downtown Denver, like many city centers, is adapting to post-pandemic realities by embracing office-to-residential conversions. With office vacancy rates soaring (downtown Denver offices were about 11% vacant pre-pandemic, jumping to ~27% by 2024denver7.com), large portions of the central business district sat underused. In response, the city and developers see an opportunity to inject new life – and residents – into these empty towers. The idea is simple: convert under-occupied office buildings into much-needed housing, helping to alleviate Denver’s housing shortage while also revitalizing downtown streets with a 24/7 population.

This trend gained momentum after 2020 when remote work emptied out many office floors. By early 2024, Denver’s leadership was “all in” on encouraging conversionscoloradosun.com. Mayor and Council initiatives, alongside state-level proposals (like a $5 million state fund to assist conversionscoloradosun.com), set the stage. Importantly, in November 2023, Denver voters approved the creation of a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) with the power to funnel financing into downtown revitalizationbusinessden.com. Roughly $570 million in funding could be unlocked, with conversions expected to be prime candidates for supportbusinessden.com. The rationale is that converting offices to housing addresses two issues at once: high commercial vacancy and housing demand.

Local developers and investors also sensed a market opportunity. As one developer, Asher Luzzatto, put it: the dislocation in the office market is the “biggest opportunity” to create housing that Denver has seen in yearsdenver7.comdenver7.com. His firm isn’t alone – since 2021, at least nine major office buildings in Denver have been proposed for residential conversion, most of them downtownbusinessden.com. While as of early 2025 none have finished construction, several are deep in planning and permitting, heralding a likely wave of projects commencing in the near termbusinessden.combusinessden.com.

The push for conversions is also fueled by downtown businesses who want more foot traffic. Restaurant owners in central Denver have described the emptier streets as “night and day” compared to pre-2020denver7.com. More downtown residents would mean customers for shops, eateries, and cultural venues even on evenings and weekends. City officials like Adam Lyons from Denver’s Department of Housing Stability note that a stronger residential base is key for downtown’s economic health – “we need the foot traffic” for arts, businesses, and overall vibrancydenver7.comdenver7.com. In essence, the conversion trend is as much an urban revitalization strategy as it is a real estate play, aligning with the broader movement of reimagining downtowns across the U.S. in a post-pandemic world.

Notable Office-to-Residential Conversion Projects

Several high-profile projects exemplify Downtown Denver’s office-to-residential conversions in progress:

• 621 17th St. and 633 17th St. (California Tower Complex): Perhaps the most ambitious, this involves two adjoining downtown skyscrapers acquired by The Luzzatto Company and partners in 2024 for the shockingly low price of $3.2 milliondenver7.com (they had a combined value of $120 million in 2008!). The plan is to convert these empty office towers near 17th & California into affordable apartments – approximately 700 to 750 units in totaldenver7.com. The development would include mixed-use retail at street level to keep downtown activedenver7.com. City housing officials are excited because it would be the first conversion of this scale in Denverdenver7.com. The goal is to start construction by late 2025, following design and permitting in 2024denver7.comdenver7.com. If realized, these towers would provide a huge influx of affordable housing in the core, a “game changer” as one downtown business owner envisioned – bringing new families, kids, and daily life to currently quiet blocksdenver7.com.

• 475 17th St.: A 17-story office tower (built 1973) slated for conversion by Revesco Properties. Proposed in Feb 2024, it would create about 150–200 apartments out of ~170,000 sq. ft. of office spacebusinessden.combusinessden.com. Uniquely, they are exploring sustainable retrofitting, like electrification (tapping into downtown’s chilled water loops) to modernize HVAC for residential usebusinessden.com. The development team is even considering amenities like a daycare on the ground floor, indicating a focus on attracting residents with varied needsbusinessden.com. This project is active but awaiting final financing – likely looking to the new DDA for assistance due to costly mechanical and plumbing overhauls required.

• The Petroleum Building – 110 16th St.: A 14-story mid-century office (built 1957) that was the first conversion proposed (in late 2021)businessden.com. Developer Tim Borst obtained site plan approval and is now arranging permits and historic tax credits to help fund it (the building is eligible due to age)businessden.com. The plan will yield 177 apartments in this structurebusinessden.com. It retains retail on the 16th Street Mall frontage (the building had ground-floor shops which will remain to preserve mall activity). As an early mover, this project paved the way and identified challenges like outdated infrastructure; it’s expected to begin construction soon, pending financing.

• The Symes Building (“The George”) – 820 16th St.: A historic U-shaped building (built 1906) on the Mall proposed by Harbor Associates in June 2022businessden.com. Its shape, with windows on three sides, is ideal for apartments (many older offices have deep floorplates ill-suited for residential). Planned as 116 market-rate apartments with no on-site parkingbusinessden.combusinessden.com, it embraces an urban lifestyle where residents rely on walking, bikes, and transit. Harbor has been working through bureaucratic hurdles (even quirky ones like adjusting historic door openings for code compliancedenverinfill.com) and was seeking financing as of 2024. They’ve said long-term the location on the rejuvenated 16th Street Mall will be excellent for mixed retail/residential usebusinessden.com.

• University Building – 910 16th St.: Another historic building (1910) at 16th & Champa, concept submitted May 2024businessden.com. Plans suggest around 106 apartments (potentially income-restricted) in its 12-story framedenverinfill.comdenverinfill.com. This one faces technical complexity: adding a new 12-story internal stair tower for fire egress, among other retrofitsdenverinfill.comdenverinfill.com. Developers (Naiman Co. and Mile High Dev.) applied for $37M in bonds and tax credits to support the affordable housing aspectbusinessden.com. Though initial funding bids fell short, the concept is still active, showcasing the push to include affordable units in these conversions.

• 1390 Logan St.: Just on the edge of downtown (in Cap Hill), a 4-story 1960s office (former Credit Union HQ) proposed Oct 2024 to become 51 apartmentsbusinessden.com. Developer Re-viv even considered building an additional apartment structure on the site, for a total of 146 units (51 in the old building, 95 in a new building) all as studiosbusinessden.com. This creative combo of conversion + new build on one site illustrates how some downtown-adjacent properties can add density. As of late 2024, concept plans were submitted and under reviewbusinessden.combusinessden.com.

• 1245 E. Colfax Ave.: A 4-story office in the City Park West area (not CBD proper, but part of downtown’s extended fabric) taken through foreclosure and now planned for conversion plus an expansionbusinessden.combusinessden.com. It’s notable that even distressed properties are being seen as opportunities to create housing.

• 225 16th Ave. (Capitol Center Building): A 12-story 1950s office proposed in 2022 by Harbor Associates for ~122 unitsbusinessden.com. That project hit a snag as the building went into receivership in 2023, but the receiver is reportedly still “investigating” a residential conversionbusinessden.com. This suggests even ownership changes are not derailing the general trajectory – the highest and best use might indeed be housing, regardless of who holds the asset.

• 1600 Champa St.: A smaller project where only the top two floors of an occupied office building (a 1937 building) would be turned into 40 apartmentsbusinessden.combusinessden.com. This partial conversion strategy could become more common for buildings that still have commercial tenants on lower floors but excess space above.

All these projects are in various stages, but collectively, if all completed, they would deliver on the order of 600–800 new housing units downtown, absorbing roughly 450,000 sq. ft. of old office spacedenverinfill.com. That is a substantial addition to downtown’s housing stock – DenverInfill calculated about 664 units from known conversions as of mid-2024denverinfill.com. For downtown, which historically had a much smaller residential population compared to its daytime working population, this marks a major shift. Not every project will proceed (financing and construction challenges exist), but the city’s concerted efforts and the DDA funding make it likely that several will get underway.

New Residential Construction in the Urban Core

In addition to conversions of existing structures, downtown Denver is seeing new residential construction projects that will further boost housing options. These new builds range from high-rise condominium towers to mid-rise apartment complexes, some on parking lots or vacant parcels that are being infilled.

One of the most significant is The Upton at 18th and Glenarm, a 400-foot tall condo tower under construction by Canadian developer Amacondenverite.comdenverite.com. The Upton will feature 461 for-sale condominiums, making it Denver’s largest new condo development since 2009denverite.com. Units are priced starting in the low $400,000s, which is relatively accessible for downtown homeownership. The building, scheduled to open in late 2026, is notable for bringing owner-occupied units to a market that in the past decade saw mostly rental apartments being built. Its height will also alter the downtown skyline (400 feet is nearly on par with some of Denver’s iconic skyscrapers). The fact that Amacon chose Denver for such a project underscores renewed confidence in downtown’s residential appeal.

Encouraged by The Upton’s progress, Amacon has also submitted plans for an adjacent development on the site of a former 7-Eleven store: a 39-story two-tower complex that would include a 618-room hotel and additional condos or apartments (possibly some affordable units)denverite.comdenverite.com. While details are still in flux, this indicates a pipeline of future residential capacity even beyond what’s currently under construction. If this second project moves forward, it could add hundreds more units and further diversify downtown’s offerings (mixing hospitality and residential).

Other notable new builds or recently completed projects in and around downtown include:

• One River North: A striking 16-story apartment building in RiNo (just north of downtown) known for its “split canyon” green facade. Opened in early 2024 with 187 luxury rental unitsarchpaper.combdcnetwork.com, it’s an example of how downtown-adjacent areas are contributing to housing stock with eye-catching architecture that draws residents seeking an urban lifestyle.

• EVIVA and X Denver Towers: A couple of high-rise apartment buildings (circa 2017–2020) in Arapahoe Square and Union Station neighborhoods that set a precedent for new residential high-rises. While a bit earlier than our timeframe, they helped prove market demand. Now, newer proposals like a potential residential high-rise on the parking lot at 1900 Lawrence or other Arapahoe Square sites are being revisited as the city considers zoning tweaks for housing incentives.

• Golden Triangle & Capitol Hill Projects: Just south of downtown, there’s been a boom of residential mid-rises (e.g., Parq on Speer, a 16-story luxury apartment completed in 2019). These contribute to the broader “downtown housing” ecosystem by drawing people near the core. Though not inside the CBD, they relieve pressure and indicate interest in central city living.

• DTC Conversion (4340 S. Monaco): Outside downtown, but worth noting as a bellwether: Shea Properties is converting a four-story office in the Tech Center to 143 income-restricted apartments, marking the first office-to-residential conversion to actually start construction (with help from $4M in state tax credits)businessden.com. This project, while in the suburbs, gave Denver developers a template for how to financially structure conversions – a model now being applied downtown.

These new builds and conversions are supported by updated policies and zoning. Denver has adjusted downtown zoning to allow more residential uses in former purely commercial zones. In some cases, parking requirements have been relaxed or eliminated for downtown residential projects, acknowledging the presence of transit and the goal of a more pedestrian-oriented city centerdenverinfill.comdenverinfill.com. The city’s affordable housing mandate (Expanding Housing Affordability ordinance) also now applies, meaning many of these new projects either include on-site affordable units or contribute fees – ensuring that as downtown grows, it does so inclusively.

Policy Drivers and Incentives Fueling Change

The wave of downtown residential conversions and new construction isn’t happening in a vacuum – it’s backed by a suite of policy drivers, incentives, and zoning changes aimed at catalyzing downtown’s transformation.

A key recent policy is the establishment of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA). Approved by voters and the City Council in late 2023, the DDA can use tax-increment financing and other mechanisms to fund redevelopment projects in the urban corebusinessden.com. Essentially, as property values downtown increase (say, due to a successful office-to-residential conversion), the incremental tax revenue can be reinvested into further improvements or to help finance that project. This is a critical tool because one of the biggest hurdles for conversions is financial feasibility – retrofitting HVAC, plumbing, and layouts in old office buildings is expensive and “makes traditional capital sources hesitant” without incentivesbusinessden.com. The DDA’s potential $570 million war chest provides gap funding or low-interest loans that can tip projects into viability.

On the state level, Colorado’s government considered allocating funds to support conversions as well. The mention of a $5 million proposal in 2024coloradosun.comindicates state recognition of the issue, though $5M is modest. More significantly, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) has been involved, as seen by awarding tax credits to Shea’s DTC project and reviewing credits for downtown ones like the University Buildingbusinessden.com. The availability of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) or historic preservation tax credits can make or break the economics of a conversion that includes affordable housing or adaptive reuse of a historic structure.

Zoning changes have also been implemented or are underway. Denver’s zoning code was amended to facilitate easier adaptive reuse – for example, allowing residential uses by right in zones that were formerly office/Commercial-Core only. The city has also been examining and potentially loosening certain building code requirements that are overly burdensome for conversions (like those related to window glazing, egress, or elevators in older buildings). As cited in a Colorado Sun explainer, some buildings are “ill-suited” for conversion due to shape or mechanical systemscoloradosun.com, but the city is identifying which regulations can be adjusted to remove unnecessary barriers while maintaining safety.

Another supportive policy is Denver’s focus on downtown livability initiatives. The 16th Street Mall redesign (a massive project to rebuild the pedestrian/transit mall with more walk space and amenities) is one example of making downtown more attractive for residents. Parks and public spaces are being improved, and programs like popup events, markets, and art installations are being launched to ensure downtown isn’t just a 9-to-5 zone. These “soft” policies complement the hard zoning by creating an environment where people want to live.

Finally, the broader housing policy environment in Denver – including the affordable housing requirements for new developments and the city’s goal of adding thousands of units – puts moral and political wind in the sails of these downtown projects. City leaders have explicitly tied the conversion strategy to housing goals: downtown’s empty offices are seen as an untapped resource to help meet the need for roughly 55,000 additional housing units across income levels in Denverdenver7.com. By framing conversions as a solution to a housing crisis, the city builds public support and urgency around them. Thus, developers find a more receptive atmosphere at public hearings and perhaps expedited processing if their plans align with city objectives (especially if affordable housing is included).

In summary, downtown’s residential resurgence is being nurtured by intentional policy choices – from financial incentives (DDA, tax credits) and flexible zoning, to strategic urban improvements and housing mandates. Denver is positioning itself as a leader in adaptive reuse, with officials even studying how to help buildings convert off old steam heating systems to modern electric – tackling climate goals alongside reusebusinessden.com. It’s a multi-faceted approach that increases the likelihood these projects will succeed where they might have stalled in a less supportive policy environment.

Impact on Downtown Denver’s Housing Market and Future

The short- and long-term impacts of these conversions and new builds on downtown Denver’s housing market and urban vitality are poised to be significant.

Short-term (next 1–3 years): In the immediate future, as the first projects break ground, we’ll see a construction boom in some downtown blocks that have been quiet for years. This will bring construction jobs and some disruption, but also signals progress. Once the initial conversions (likely smaller ones like the Petroleum Building or Symes “George” building) and The Upton open their doors, there will be a measurable uptick in the downtown residential population. Hundreds of new apartments coming online could slightly ease the city’s tight rental market, potentially tempering rent growth if supply starts to outpace demand. However, given the scale – a few hundred units in a city that needs tens of thousands – the effect on rents citywide may be limited. More noticeably, specific sub-areas of downtown will gain new resident demographics: for instance, if the 17th Street towers convert to affordable housing, you could see more service workers, students, or young families living downtown than before, which diversifies who calls downtown home.

The retail and small business environment should feel a positive jolt even with a few hundred new residents. Every new downtown dweller represents additional demand for grocery stores, cafes, gyms, etc. The “eyes on the street” provided by residents can also improve safety and perception of safety, which has been a concern in some parts of downtown. Moreover, early signs of success in one conversion can catalyze others – developers sitting on the fence might proceed once they see a peer project lease up quickly.

Long-term (5+ years): If most of the proposed conversions and new residential builds are realized by, say, 2030, downtown Denver could have several thousand more residents than it does today. This would be a game-changer for the downtown housing market. Downtown could shift from a primarily commercial district with limited after-hours activity to a bona fide mixed-use neighborhood. A larger residential base tends to attract services like urban grocery stores, schools or daycare centers, and community amenities that make living downtown more convenient, which in turn attracts even more residents – a virtuous cycle.

From a housing market perspective, increased inventory downtown (especially if a good portion is affordable or moderately priced) can provide relief to pressure on other neighborhoods. If people who might otherwise compete for housing in Capitol Hill or Uptown choose a downtown converted unit, it spreads demand more evenly. Additionally, the introduction of condos like The Upton adds ownership opportunities which have been scarce downtown; this can stabilize the community with owners invested in the neighborhood’s long-term success (versus only transient renters).

Downtown’s urban fabric will also likely improve. Instead of dark, empty office floors after 6 pm, those buildings will have lights on, plants in windows, and life at all hours. The safety and cleanliness of downtown could improve as a result: residents advocate for better lighting, cleaner streets, and they form neighborhood associations that work with the city (just as other residential areas do). We might see new downtown elementary school campuses or playgrounds if enough families move in – something almost unheard of in many U.S. downtowns but a sign of a truly mixed community.

Economically, more residents mean a broader tax base for the city. It could also help downtown businesses recover and thrive. Studies have shown that converting 450,000 sq. ft. of offices to 664 homes (the figure from DenverInfill) is a net gain because those offices were largely empty anywaydenverinfill.com. You trade daytime-only use for round-the-clock use without significantly harming the office market (which has plenty of excess space citywide). In fact, a healthier downtown with more residents can make the remaining offices more attractive – companies often want to locate where the action is. So, paradoxically, adding housing could eventually help fill other offices by energizing the area.

There are challenges to consider too. Conversions are complex projects and some might stall or prove unfeasible, leaving buildings in limbo. Even if successful, a building converted to housing is essentially permanently removed from the office inventory, which is fine now but if Denver’s economy roars back, there might be a day when downtown needs more office space again. However, the current consensus is that Denver (and many cities) had an over-supply of office and under-supply of housing, so this rebalancing is prudent.

Another long-term consideration: Will people want to live in converted offices? The answer hinges on execution. If done well, these buildings will offer unique loft-like apartments with high ceilings and big windows (features many offices have). Early signs, like interest in the Petroleum and Symes conversions, suggest yes, people will rent them – especially if priced affordably or at market rates slightly below new construction (since conversion units might have slightly quirky layouts or fewer amenities than a brand-new tower). The Luzzatto project banking on affordable rents certainly bets on strong demand for downtown living among moderate-income earners who have until now been priced out of downtown.

In conclusion, the Downtown Denver residential conversions and new builds represent a hopeful path forward for a post-pandemic downtown. By turning “ghost” offices into homes, Denver is aiming to cure downtown’s vacancy blues and foster a thriving urban residential community. If these efforts continue and expand, downtown Denver in a decade could be far more populous, lively, and resilient. The housing market will gain units and downtown will gain a new identity – not just as the region’s business hub, but as a neighborhood in its own right. This balanced, mixed-use future is the key to keeping downtown relevant and prosperous in the changing landscape of American citiesbusinessden.comdenver7.com. Denver’s willingness to innovate with its built environment today is laying the groundwork for a stronger, more vibrant city center tomorrow.