Denver developer Evan Makovsky has acquired the run-down Fontius building on the 16th Street Mall.
The acquisition gives Makovsky the entire block between the Hyatt hotel and the mall.
Makovsky announced last month that he had assembled 75,000 square feet of property along California, where he plans to spend about $350 million developing 1 million square feet of shops, offices, residences and hotel rooms.
At the time of that announcement, Makovsky said he never intended to acquire the Fontius building. He said that because it is a historic structure and could not be torn down, it does not fit with his plans for the rest of the block.
Over the past three years, the Downtown Denver Partnership and the mayor’s office have encouraged the assemblage of the block, long considered one of Denver’s biggest eyesores.
Demolition already has started on the Bank of Denver and will be followed by razing the old Colonial Hotel. The property will remain open space through the Democratic National Convention in August 2008.
