CREJ

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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2016

then, the all-union crew has hovered between roughly 120 and

200 workers. “We’ve had a lot of close coordination with the trades

council filling that labor gap,” says Ascherman.

“Logistics is always a challenge,” he adds. “We’ve got a lot of neigh-

bors and traffic with a bus station and light rail. It limits our access.

You don't really want to get tangled up with pedestrians.”

Ascherman gets one question a lot. “People always ask, ‘Why no

tower crane?’ The nature of precast is it’s big and heavy,” he says.

“The capacity of the project didn’t lend itself to a tower crane.”

Another project challenge: people – pedestrians, moviegoers,

commuters, office workers. “We’re right across from Dave & Buster’s,

we’re right across from the movie theater,” Ascherman says. Tower

I is full, Tower II is full. There’s a lot of general public to keep sep-

arate from. In this context, “knowing when the next X-Men movie’s

coming out” becomes critical for scheduling, he laughs.

Mechanical included a pair of “two really heavy rooftopunits,” says

Ascherman. The crew used precast cranes to get the 32,000-pound

units on the roof. “That’s a long reach for the crane,” he says.

Also on the roof, the terrace features tree planters, a trellis and a

fire pit, with an enclosed structure that’s home to event space that

opens up by way of a NanaWall, a fireplace and a fully equipped

catering kitchen.

“That wasn’t in the original plan,” says Ascherman of the rooftop

venue. “They had this awesome roof with great views of the entire

Front Range. You can see the Flatirons all the way down to Pikes

Peak.”

Ascherman says the Tower III project also includes “a large site

package” centered on building a connection between the tower

and the entertainment complex. “The new concept is a ‘Main Street’

that goes from the front of the tower to the front of the movie the-

ater,” he explains.

Scott Halpin, associate principal at Tryba Architects in Denver,

says a 300-unit residential tower could soon be on the way. “We’re

working through cost issues,” he says. “It will really complement

/ Colorado Center Tower III: Infill Site Evolves /

OPENING ART:

JE Dunn continues construction on

Colorado Center Tower III at Interstate

25 and Colorado Boulevard.

RIGHT:

Rendering of Colorado Center Tower III

PROJECT TEAM

DEVELOPER:

Lincoln Property Co.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:

JE Dunn Construction

ARCHITECT:

Tryba Architects

CIVIL ENGINEER:

Martin & Martin

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT:

StudioInsite/Chris Stutterfield

Headquartered in Dallas, Lincoln Prop-

erty Co. is a national real estate brokerage,

development and property management

firm with a strong presence in Colorado.

The Denver office currently has more than

3 million square feet in third-party business.

Caldwell joined Lincoln in 2001 after work-

ing in the Denver office of Grubb & Ellis for

nine years. He’s overseen the ongoing develop-

ment of Colorado Center, and thinks Tower III

will prove as popular an office building as its two predeces-

sors. “Interest has been really good,” says Caldwell.

Caldwell notes that the two extant towers are 97 percent

leased. Because of all of the activity, “It’s taken a good team

to figure it out,” he says. “Our team has really worked well

together. It’s a pretty complex site.”

Taking the temperature of the broader office market, Cald-

well says LoDo remains a hot spot. “Outside of LoDo, it’s pri-

marily transit-oriented.”

Job growth might slow down a bit, he adds, but it’s likely

to remain positive in metro Denver in the short term. “Right

now, things are looking good,” says Caldwell.

Scott Caldwell

Scott Caldwell, senior vice president,

Lincoln Property Co.