The Landmark Preservation Commission last week recommended approving a special district that would allow buildings up to 400 feet tall on the edge of Lower Downtown.
The 5-4 decision puts developer Buzz Geller a step closer to building his $75 million, 31-story condo tower at Speer Boulevard and Larimer Street.
“The thing that was the most difficult was the height of the tower,” said architect Dennis Humphries, a member of the commission who voted in favor of creating the district.
But Humphries noted that most of the people who voiced objections to Geller’s development live in similar towers.
“They’re critical of exactly the same building they live in,” he said. “It’s all about blocking views and other things that don’t have merit.”
But zoning throughout LoDo is consistent and should remain that way, said architect and city planner Ron Roybal, a commission member who voted against the measure.
“When you look at all the Lower Downtown regulations and historic districts, everything has consistently been agreed upon at less than 85 feet (tall),” Roybal said. “It just didn’t make sense for that one parcel to blossom to over 400 feet.”
The measure will be presented to Blueprint Denver on Jan. 12 before making its way on Feb. 17 to the City Council, which has the final say.
Geller has been trying to get the project approved since 2005, when he and partner David Paderski proposed a 375-foot condominium tower and open space for its residents on half of the parcel. A shorter retail and restaurant building is proposed for the other piece. Bell Park, which currently exists on the site, would become a larger public park and would slope gently down to Cherry Creek.
Geller acquired the site in a deal in which Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration gave up prime land near 14th Street and Speer Boulevard in exchange for property it needed for a new justice-center complex on West Colfax Avenue.
A group of area stakeholders began meeting in 2005 to establish design principles and guidelines. They proposed creating the special review district bounded by Wewatta and Larimer streets, Speer Boulevard and 14th Street.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
