Stapleton and Lowry: Two New Neighborhoods Take Flight
A history of aviation and adaptive reuse has generated two unique developments in Denver
By Mary Voelz Chandler
When voters in the late 1980s approved construction of a
new Denver airport northeast of the city, city planners began
to figure out what to do with the land at Stapleton
International Airport. Close to the city, but surrounded by
homes (and noise-weary neighbors), Stapleton became the
subject of intense study, eventually turning the area into a
planned, New Urbanist community.
Then, a year before Stapleton International Airport closed in
1995, the Lowry Air Force Base to the south ceased
operation. Announced in 1991, Lowry’s closure left another
giant parcel–3.3 square miles of land, numerous buildings,
and three runways–also open for New Urbanist
redevelopment.
This sudden availability of land presented the delicate
balance of opportunities and challenges, urbanism and
suburbanism. It also lured people eager to live in places
convenient to downtown Denver, but in planned
neighborhoods that avoided the “messy” side of city living.
Two decades later, Stapleton and Lowry have taken different
tacks in facing the future while honoring the past. While
Lowry has preserved numerous former base structures as
repurposed, living landmarks, Stapleton has found new uses
for some buildings, all of which visitors to the 2013 AIA
Convention in Denver will have the opportunity visit.
Stapleton Forest City Stapleton was selected as the master
developer, selling off parcels to home builders who were
required to follow design guidelines found in a weighty
document called the Green Book. The 4,100-plus-acre megaproject has evolved into what in effect is a new mini-town on
the eastern edge of the city. The Green Book focused on
several home styles prevalent in Denver; traditional designs
with alley loaded garages that fill the sections developed
early in the planning process.
Recent developments have become more contemporary in
vision, though the truly distinctive projects in Stapleton tend
toward public buildings and a commercial center. In turn,
people have flocked to Stapleton to live, work, and play.
Stapleton is a magnet for families drawn to the new schools
and recreational opportunities provided by Central Park,
playgrounds, trails, and a recreation center, as well as
commercial and office clusters. A demographic study
conducted by the Piton Foundation and drawn from 2010
census figures showed that about 75 percent of Denver’s
recent growth has happened in Stapleton and areas farther
to the northeast.
And more growth is on the way, in the form of hundreds of
homes in an area with an eco-boost.
“We do our best to anticipate the direction of the market
and be innovating demand while remaining true to urban
design,” says longtime Forest City Stapleton spokesperson
Thomas J. Glean. “Our newest neighborhood, Conservatory
Green, is a more organic expression of the principles that
have made Stapleton known for its quality of life, while
celebrating the relaxed nature of the landscape. Special
accommodations for home gardens and [an] edible
landscape in public spaces have already generated a lot of
excitement.”
Examples of distinctive buildings include:
29th Avenue Town Center, 7351 E. 29th Ave., 4240
Architecture, 2004: This sensitively designed mix of retail,
office and residential developments serves as a gateway and
main street for Stapleton. The narrow streets, ample
sidewalks, diverse storefronts, and cozy feel are bolstered by
contemporary architecture, a nearby park, and the 2012
LEED Gold Sam Gary Branch Library, designed by OZ
Architecture.
Anchor Center for the Blind, 2550 Roslyn St., Davis
Partnership Architects, 2007: The center appears playful on
the exterior, with its different planes, levels, and rambling
spaces. But that sense of fun evolves inside into spaces for
serious learning and a tool for instruction. Designed to serve
children with vision impairments, the center incorporates
light and color to promote a sense of normalcy and joy,
including spaces that appeal to the development of other
senses.
Denver School of Science and Technology, 2000 Valentia
St., klipp architecture, 2004: klipp’s design for the public
charter Denver School of Science and Technology proves
that industrial elements, geometric forms, and a diverse
color palette can add a sexy aura to a technology-focused
academic emphasis. The serious nature of the school’s
mission is reflected in architectural elements that combine
to make a forward-looking building that is LEED Silver
certified.
Hangar 61, 8695 Montview Blvd., Fisher and Fisher and
Davis, with engineer Milo Ketchum, 1959; adaptive reuse in
2009: This rare surviving example of thin-shell concrete
construction and engineering features a diamond-shaped
domed roof balanced and supported by two immense
concrete buttresses. Preservationists and historians worried
in 2004 that the expansion of Stapleton would be the end of
a building that had stood empty for years. But a concerted
community effort and brave developer took on the work:
repairing loose concrete, diging out a tree that had grown in
the cracked dome, fixing the buttresses that hold down the
roof, and upgrading all building systems. The hangar’s
unusual sleek form and strong historical ties contribute the
flair of air travel to a development that can appear more
generic than rooted in a specific place. Hangar 61 also
demonstrates that adaptive reuse can happen anywhere, if
given a chance. The building now houses the Stapleton
Fellowship Church.
FBI Denver Field Office, 8000 E. 36th Ave., SOM, with
Anderson Mason Dale Architects, 2010: In a development
where the glitz factor is low, it’s a surprise to round a corner
and suddenly see this shimmering cube. The fence around
this four-story FBI field office says high security. But the
curtainwall –strips of iridescent glass tinged with blue and
green–indicates the sense of openness and light inside.
Central Park Recreation Center, 9651 E. Martin Luther King
Blvd., Sink Combs Dethlefs, 2011: Clean lines and a
prominent location make this LEED GOLD certified building
stand out as a hub for recreational pursuits. Its
contemporary design relies on a mix of intelligent
proportions and a welcoming white-columned entry.
Lowry
The Lowry Redevelopment Authority (LRA) was formed in
1991 and set a course that included new, low-key residential,
retail, office, educational spaces, and parks. But Lowry also
included impressive existing buildings, saved to play off a
military theme in terms of aesthetics and branding.
“The historic buildings here were a huge asset,” says Hilarie
Portell, founder of the community marketing firm Portell
Works and a spokesperson for the development. “Lowry was
a fully functioning community for years. It had a nice small
town feel to it.” Drawing up districts and finding creative
reuses for buildings were key, she says. “The old base liquor
store is now a community church, and the steam plant is a
loft development.”
Two historic districts exist in Lowry: The Officers’ Row
Historic District and the Lowry Technical Training Center
Historic District. More growth is coming to Lowry, too, with
redevelopment of the 1970s Buckley Annex area. It’s the last
parcel to be transferred to the LRA when the annex
ceased operation and was vacated in 2011.
Officers Row Loft Homes, Roslyn Street from East 1st to
East 4th avenues, Christopher Carvell Architects, 2000: This
new development sits to the west of the historic old
barracks, bringing a contemporary flair that works well with
the structure that became base headquarters in the 1960s.
Steam Plant Lofts, East 4th Avenue and Red Cross Way,
circa 1940, redevelopment by Hartman Ely Investments, Jim
Hartman, Architect and Development Manager, 2006: This
massive building with its four shiny cone-like chimneys
created heat for dozens of buildings on the Lowry base. It
was redeveloped into lofts, with the addition nearby of a
town home complex.
Schlessman Family Branch Library, 100 Poplar St., Brendle
APV, 2002: Although it’s across Quebec Street from Lowry,
architect Michael Brendle’s angular library features a design
with significant sections clad in matte aluminum that plays
up the concept of flight. Canted geometric forms give the
library a sculptural presence.
Hangar No. 1/Wings Over the Rockies Museum and Hanger
No. 2, 7731 E. Academy Blvd., 1940 : It’s not hard to spot
Hangar No. 1, and not just because it is a gigantic metal
hangar. There is also a B-52 on the edge of its parking lot-part of the Wings Over the Rockies Museum, which helps
keep Lowry’s history of aviation alive. Several years ago,
museum officials caused a stir by proposing that the
adjacent Hangar No. 2 be torn down and the land sold to
save money on maintenance. Instead, Hangar No. 2 is now
home to a storage facility, with retail and a developing dining
center.
The Eisenhower Chapel, 293 Roslyn St., 1941: This small
chapel with the lines of a prairie church earned its name
because President Eisenhower and his wife Mamie
worshipped there when he spent time in Denver. It is located
to the east of Lowry’s Town Center.
Denver resident Mary Voelz Chandler has written about
architecture, preservation, art, and design for more than 20
years. She is the author of the Guide to Denver
Architecture and was formerly the architecture writer at
the Rocky Mountain News. She was also a writer at Fentress
Architects, where she completed two books on the firm’s
work, and is currently a business development
communications specialist at GH Phipps Construction
Companies. Chandler received the AIA Colorado 2005 award
for Contribution to the Built Environment by a Non-Architect,
and was honored by the Denver Art Museum in 2012 with
the DAM Contemporaries DAMKey Award.
Recent Related:
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Modernist Ideals Thrive in Suburban Denver
Reference:
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