Skyline Redefining Redevelopment Moving Forward in Denver

"The River Mile project won crucial approvals of the Denver City Council with votes on Monday night that drew a broad portrait of the district-sized redevelopment plan," reports Andrew Kenney.  

The City Council approved a development agreement and rezoning that allow developer Rhys Duggan to move forward with a plan to develop "8,000 residential units and come of the city's tallest buildings," according to Kenney.

Motivated by a desire for the redevelopment to be sensitive to the human scale, the city's planners have created new zoning types for the redevelopment. Kenney explains some of the details of the zoning rules that will guide the redevelopment of River Mile.

The new zoning doesn’t set a specific height limit for the densest parts of the plan. However, building above five floors would also require building affordable units. For example, a 12-story tower with 180 housing units would have to come with 14 affordable units nearby. (Office buildings could pay a fee instead.)

The developer also would have to obey rules to keep buildings skinny and farther apart, which creates a natural limit on height. “As you grow taller, you must grow smaller,” Johnson said.

Jon Murray reported on the project in additional detail at an earlier stage of the process in June 2018.