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84 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / September 2019 / The Hub / From the Start, Fit was the Focus Initially a joint vision of longtime Denver mainstays Gens- ler and Elevation Development Group, discussions about the project began in early 2015. At that time, Gensler and Elevation had just come off suc- cessful mixed-use projects 16M in LoDo and Capital Hill’s MOTO Apartments, so the two companies had cemented a strong working relationship. Before the land was purchased, Elevation’s Brent Farber walked the lot with Gensler’s Brent Mather pondering the possibilities. At that point, Gensler created a concept package that included site mapping and parking studies for Elevation that was used to pitch inves- tors and determine project viability. According to Mather, from the very beginning the focus was on how the project would fit within RiNo. “With this being one of first large, new projects in RiNo, we were very sensitive to how the building would fit into the neighborhood and how it would be received,” says Ma- ther, Gensler design director and principal. “There are issues of gentrification in the area, so we try to be as thoughtful as possible to respect that. We tried to really dig in and un- derstand the essence of RiNo. We were all familiar with it at that point, but, we really dug into it to understand what makes it unique, what makes it special and capture that as much as possible in the design itself.” Team Builds on Strengths According to M.A. Mortenson Construction Executive Jo- seph Plaskett, Mortenson also had a strong working rela- tionship with Elevation and with mixed-use office projects of this size being in their sweet spot, they seemed like a per- fect fit for The Hub. “At that time, the project was in the early design phase and we were providing estimates and design phase consulting to keep the project on budget,” says Plaskett. Eventually, Beacon Capital Partners joined the team as a capital partner. “We signed a design-build contract with Beacon in late March of 2017 and began work on (Hub South) in August of 2017.” With Beacon on board, the project began to move quickly. But, as with any project of this size and scope, there were a few challenges. “I think the biggest challenge was we needed to vacate the alley,” says Nick Seglie, Gensler senior designer.” There was an existing alley, so we worked with the city to vacate the alley and there’s some work getting some city utilities, waste water in particular out of that alley and rerouted along Downing Street. So for me that was the big thing with that site.” Mather explained that the grading was also a bit of a chal- lenge because of the lot’s elevation change. “When you have retail, you want to have it all at grade and have potential for outdoor seating,” says Mather. “The grade made it difficult, so a grade for the retail and where their ef- fective floor would be changes around the entire block. And in large part, that's why we decided to put the fitness center on the southeast corner because that helped us solve some of that grade issue without having to try and make the retail work there.” Nailing the River North Vibe The Gensler team spent countless hours to ensure that the look of The Hub would fit into the neighborhood despite its eight-story size. They studied the neighborhood, its history and its eclectic mix of inhabitants, from artists to brewers, from restaurateurs to digital marketers, scooter mechanics to yoga instructors. “We wanted to reflect the neighborhood itself and we wanted to make the current residents of the neighborhood happy with the building and create public offerings for them,” says Seglie. “It’s not LoDo or downtown, so it needs a very specific response.” Seglie says to that end they used the general massing to create a “next level” office building. An offset core created a large floor plate that could be subdivided in a variety of ways or left wide open for an expansive feel. Expansive windows offer excellent views of the mountains and downtown. Mul- tiple balcony spaces bring even more of the outside-in feel. But, it’s The Hub South’s skin and materiality where the fit with RiNo really takes off. There is red brick detailing that