Denver developer Evan Makovsky is eager to begin renovating one of downtown Denver’s most infamous eyesores.
Makovsky said Wednesday that he will start work on the Fontius building – with its peeling paint and duct-taped windows – as soon as he gets the necessary approvals. He plans to focus on the building, at 16th and Welton streets, before working on the rest of the block, which he had previously purchased.
Makovsky acquired the Fontius building from owner Gary Cook and his family last week. The Cook family had long been criticized for letting the building fall into disrepair.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This building needs immediate work and immediate renovation,” Ma kovsky said. “The main project is going to take some time yet to come together, and no one wants to see this building sit this way until the rest of the project is developed.”
Makovsky announced last month he had assembled 75,000 square feet of property between the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center and the 16th Street Mall. He plans to spend about $350 million developing 1 million square feet of shops, offices, residences and hotel rooms on the site, which is viewed as a crucial bridge between the mall and the Colorado Convention Center.
When he announced the original acquisition, Makovsky said the Fontius building was not part of his plan for the area.
But downtown boosters have long lamented the fact that convention goers and other tourists must pass by the dilapidated Fontius building.
Makovsky doesn’t know who will occupy the building, which has stood vacant since the Fontius Shoe store closed its doors in 1988. But one thing is certain: The Fontius name will be removed.
“I think by getting rid of the name, we have an opportunity to give new life to that corner and that end of the mall,” Makovsky said. “I’d love to have a company that is well-respected in the community to be a tenant in the building, and the building should be named for that tenant.”
The Urban Land Institute will convene a national panel in September to study the site and make recommendations on the best uses.
“The idea of a ULI panel is to bring in nonpartisan expertise – people who have no financial or emotional connection to a site and call it as they see it,” said Michael Leccese, executive director of ULI Colorado. “They’re not there to grind any axes. They’re not lobbying anybody. They’re giving you the straight talk and telling you what to do.”
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.
“It will make a gem of the 16th Street Mall,” said Tami Door, president and chief executive of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “That building can be one of the premier buildings on the mall in terms of architectural design. It will be symbolic of our commitment to historic preservation, as opposed to a building that’s been sitting there in such a sorry state for so many years.”
Makovsky’s assemblage does not include the Washington McClintock building, which also fronts the 16th Street Mall.
The Fontius building in particular has drawn the ire of Ken Schroeppel, urban planner and project manager at Matrix Design Group Inc. Schroeppel also writes a blog called DenverInfill, which a year ago sharply criticized the Cook family for not maintaining the building.
“Downtown has so much going for it, and the mall these days is really just a great place,” Schroeppel said. “It’s so unfortunate that this building has been an eyesore for so long.”
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
