Yesterday for my birthday I got to go see A Chorus Line at the Denver Center for Performing Arts.  I was really surprised and better yet we got front row seats!  The show was amazing and it was a wonderful and memorable experience.  I had never seen it before and thought all of the actors and their numbers were Broadway quality.   When the show was letting out (it was sold out) the crowds and buzz at the DCPA were sizeable and fun to see.

Before the show I grabbed a drink at one of my favorite spots to see Downtown - Peaks Lounge.  Located on the 27th floor of the Hyatt Convention Center Hotel the views of Downtown and the mountains are incredible.  The sun was starting to set and seeing all of the activity made for a great show in itself.  The views at night are even better!

Summer is almost here and the Steel Building looks awesome!  With the scaffolding down and the new window installation underway it already looks like a brand new building.

I was shocked at how great the cornice detailing and other historical elements look now that they have been cleaned and restored.  I know that this building once completed will be instrumental in revitalizing this entire part of Downtown.  I wonder what new retailers we will get along the 16th St. Mall…..

Exiting details about 1800 Larimer  (check out the cool video that shows what Downtown will look like when it is finished) were released today by Westfield Development.  They reported that Xcel Energy has signed a lease for a significant portion of the 500,000 sf 22 story project.  With other tenants such at Westfield Development Company, Westfield Capital Partners, Frederick Ross Company, Apartment Realty Advisors and Citywide Banks - the building in almost 75% pre leased!  John Rebchook at the Rocky Mountain News already reported on this at 2:30pm today.

Xcel plans to consolidate two current offices into 1800 Larimer - their 1225 17th St. and 550 15th locations.  It is interesting to note that Xcel owns the building at 550 15th St - I wonder if it will be sold and redeveloped?

Wachovia will provide the construction financing and over the next two years we will get to watch the first high rise office building built in the Central Business District in 20 years rise into our skyline.  This is such great news for the Downtown office market given economic conditions nationwide.  I am very happy to have another project to tour on my “circuit” of construction monitoring!

On Sunday we went to Table 6 - 609 Corona St. - for brunch.  We had not been back for a couple of years actually when we had last gone for dinner.  Last week when we were taking a walk we noticed that they had a brunch menu and finally decided to check it out.

I was pleasantly surprised.  To start off with they served an amuse-bouche - an almond frange pan tart - that was phenomenal.  For my entree I had their “Two Eyed Susan” which was a thick piece of brioche with two poached eggs served inside that was topped with hollandaise and served on their version of creamed spinach.  It was so good - the hollandaise was obviously made fresh in house and was just a bit tangy.  Surprisingly their creamed spinach was not heavy but was simply a bit of cream, sauteed spinach and onions. 

Even their tomato juice was great - it was also made in house and served with a pickled aspargus spear and cornichon garnish.  The space is small but intimate with an open display kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work.  It is one of those great neighborhood places where they make you feel welcome and treat you great.  It even looks as if they may be expanding into the recently vacated flower shop there on the corner of 6th & Corona. 

I highly recommend checking them out!

Last night I attended a preview party of the Wynkoop Residences located at 1401 Wynkoop in Lower Downtown.  Even though it was cold it was nice to walk down 14th and check up on all of the construction going on.  I had not visited this project for a while and was excited to see how far along it was.

The Wynkoop Residences are unique in that they are 22 residences that take up the top 4 floors of a 10 story mixed use office building with ground floor retail.  I arrived and rode the construction elevator up to the third floor where they had food and live music.  Even on the third floor (soon to be office space) the views of Downtown and the mountains were awesome.  All of the food was good - they had a stuffed date wrapped in bacon that was killer - I also enjoyed the cheesecake lollipops.

For the next part of the event I signed a construction waiver and donned a hard hat for a ride up to the seventh floor where the residences began.  Just as I suspected the views were stellar and the homes on that floor will have huge terraces for dining and entertaining.

Once I was dropped off I was free to explore the entire 7th floor on my own.  They were just finishing up framing and starting the wiring so you could get a sense of the room layout.  From every angle the views were remarkable and I was almost tempted to sneak up the stairs to explore the higher floors.

After my self guided tour I stopped back on the party floor and made another round for food, mingled and then took off and walked back towards Union Station.  This part of Downtown is undergoing a massive transformation and it is not until you experience it at the ground level can you appreciate how different it will all feel when finished.

On Wednesday my office organized a walking tour and happy hour to wind up the day.  We made our way down the 16th St. Mall to the Millennium Bridge.  From there we crossed over it and the next two bridges into the Highland neighborhood and ended our walk at Vita Restaurant  - 1575 Boulder St. -which is right next to LoLa which I posted about on April 9th.

I had never actually crossed all three of the bridges at once so it was a lot of fun.  Although it was a bit nerve racking crossing the Highland Pedestrian Bridge with all of the I-25 traffic below me.  What is interesting to me is how critical each bridge was in overcoming an obstacle.

The Millennium Bridge allows pedestrians to cross the main line railroad tracks, the next bridge gets people over the Platte River and the Highland Bridge completes the much needed pedestrian connection over I-25.  Not only are these bridges very functional they are also aesthetically complimentary to one another and provide visual interest (along with great views) from a number of different vantage points.  Signs of gentrification were already evident in the Highland neighborhood but with the newest pedestrian bridge open it will speed up the transformation and bring many more new residents to this part of Downtown Denver.

Vita is a lot of fun.  They have a rooftop patio and bar where we sat and shared appetizers while enjoying cocktails.  For a restaurant the views of the skyline are hard to beat.  I enjoyed everything I tried but especially liked the risotto fritters and their ahi tuna.

Recently I got to attend the topping out party for the Lincoln Terrace project located at 501 Lincoln Street.  It was catered by Brothers BBQ and I got to have lunch with the construction crew.  Developed by Century Development this 7 story building will have 75 rental units aimed at serving lower income residents.  This location is great as it sits between Broadway and Lincoln and will allow residents to use transit or even walk into the core of Downtown.  In addition to lunch I got to go on a hard hat tour of the building which started on the 3rd floor and ended on the 6th floor (the 7th floor was just poured and curing).  The views of the mountains and the Downtown skyline were great.

I think this will be another catalyst in gentrifying this part of the Baker Neighborhood.  Another nice feature will be the activation of the ground floor with retail space that stretches along Lincoln.  With the Broadway Marketplace right there it should have good synergy with the existing tenant mix.  Add in the two levels of above ground parking and this whole area is going to change significantly when the new tenants move in.  The rendering of the exterior looks amazing - I will do a follow up post when the facade is complete.

Recently the DenverInfill Blog reported very exciting news.  Callahan Capital Partners have submitted a building permit application for Two Tabor!  I have posted about this project a couple of times, first in August of 2007 and again on February 25th.

This project will have a dramatic effect on both our skyline and the Central Business District.  I expect a crane and visible progress by the end of the summer.  The brochure I have from Callahan says “delivering 2010” so I hope they are able to keep to that time frame.

Recently the Denver Infill blog finally got permission to write about a very exciting project that when completed will fill a very large void in Downtown Denver’s Central Business District.  999 17th Street is being developed by Shea Properties and will occupy half of an entire city block along Curtis Street between 17th and 18th adjacent to the Hotel Monaco and Residence Inn - Marriott.

Besides being a great project it is of interest to me because right after I returned back from college I worked at the U.S. Bank building right across the street and used to park on the very site of this proposed project.  I really hope this project goes forward as it will really shore up the street wall along Curtis and provide much need density to the core of our Downtown.

I took a walk down to the site this past Saturday to see it first hand.  All that is left of when I used to park there was the ATM building although it is now abandoned.  The former drive up bank building has been demolished and U.S. Bank has also vacated their former main branch location adjacent to the site.  When you are walking along that block it is really exciting to imagine what a change 999 17th Street will bring to this part of the city. 

Besides this important project, Two Tabor and 1800 Larimer are in very close proximity.  Add to that the complete demolition and remodel of the front plaza and lobby of 1001 17th Street - formerly the U.S. West/Qwest building - and you can see how much capital investment is happening in this part of Downtown.

Ling & Louie’s is coming to Downtown Denver.  Recently signage went up at the Tabor Center across from Writer’s Square indicating that the vacant former Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate ground floor retail spots along the 16th Street mall will be the home for this new Downtown eatery.

This is not their first location in the City of Denver as they opened a location at the Shops of Northfield out by the Stapleton redevelopment about a year ago.  I ate at that location once before and it was pretty good - it was kind of like PF Chang’s or a Pei Wei Asian Diner but different.  A story about the founder of the chain out of Scottsdale Arizona gives insight as to how Ling & Louie’s is unique as well as their expansion plans can be found on their corporate website.

This location will be only the third in the United States that is corporate owned with ambitious plans for future franchises throughout the country.  According to their website they plan to change the menu regularly so there is always something to come back for.  It is interesting to me that while they have Asian influences they refer to themselves as a “neighborhood bar & grill”.

Regardless I think this is great simply because it fills up about 2,500 square feet of vacant retail space along the 16th Street Mall.  I think that with the Cheesecake Factory and ESPN Zone it will be a great tourist and visitor draw and help further activate this part of the mall.  With two other vacant spots next to it and the former Palomino space up the mall we need to get retailers into these spots!

Ling & Louie’s will open this summer.