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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— April 20-May 3, 2016
Construction, Design & Engineering News
El Jebel Shrine, the historic
Shriners building located on the
Willis Case Golf Course in Den-
ver’s Berkeley Neighborhood, is
being redeveloped into 25 high-
end condominiums by Clear
Creek Homes, the for-sale brand
of Colorado-based Confluence
Builders.
Confluence Builders is build-
ing the $12 million project,
which is scheduled for comple-
tion in March. Shrine Preserva-
tion Partners, also of Colorado,
is partnering on the redevelop-
ment, which will preserve and
restore the exterior of the clas-
sic 55,000-square-foot building.
Craine Architecture is serving
as the architectural firm for the
project.
“As an architectural firm,
we are thrilled to be a part of
the Confluence team and to be
involved with the adaptive-
reuse of the El Jebel Shrine build-
ing,” said Dan Crain, AIA, of
Craine Architecture. “With the
abundance of ground-up, for-
rent multifamily product being
designed and constructed, it is a
refreshing and worthwhile chal-
lenge to breathe some life into
the great older Denver struc-
tures so that they can be enjoyed
for the next 100 years.”
The building has “great
bones,” according to Tim Walsh,
founder of Confluence Builders.
“It will provide a unique and
special place for people to call
home.”
And “the building itself lays
out well for a conversion into
unique for-sale condominiums,
lending itself to great interior
layouts and many incredible
exterior spaces,” Craine said.
The top floors are well-suited
for large decks that have “stun-
ning views of the Rockies,”
Walsh said. “The fact that the
building is located in the heart
of Willis Case Golf Course and
walking distance to Tennyson
Street’s shops and restaurants
adds to the overall ambiance
and surroundings. We already
have strong interest from poten-
tial buyers, and we can’t wait to
present people with the finished
product.”
Upon completion, the build-
ing will be energy-efficient (the
developers plan to achieve a
LEED Silver certification), feature
a heated indoor parking garage,
storage units, pet and gear wash-
room, fitness center, and club
room for the residents to enjoy.
Confluence Builders, which
has completed 21 residential
multifamily projects in the Den-
ver metro area since 2010 with
over 2,100 total units, has five
other projects planned or cur-
rently under development.
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Shown is an interior rendering of an El Jebel condo.
The Robert E. Loup Jewish
Community Center is being
transformed into a state-of-the-
art campus. Designed by the
Farnsworth Group, phase one
upgrades for the existing facil-
ity, located at 350 S. Dahlia St. in
Denver, are complete.
Waner Construction recently
completed the $400,000 worth of
upgrades in the building’s exist-
ing fitness center, common areas
and lobby. Upgrades include:
a new design and color palette
(paint, carpeting and fixtures);
bright, energy-efficient, LED
lighting; new, colorful and com-
fortable furnishings in the com-
mon areas (lobby); new fitness
equipment (spin bikes, racks,
exercise equipment, TVs, tow-
els and more); new water foun-
tains; improved sidewalk with
easier access to the lobby; and a
new art collection.
The next phase will take
approximately 12 to 18 months
to construct an entirely new
63,000-square-foot fitness and
wellness center on another por-
tion of the existing Dahlia Street
site.
Funded entirely by a gift from
philanthropist and developer
Michael Staenberg, the phase
one upgrades will be followed
by construction of the new fit-
ness and wellness center, a new
aquatic center featuring (four)
indoor and outdoor pools, an
expanded multigenerational
family center, a renovated early
childhood education center and
a “refresh” of the Mizel Arts &
Culture Center.
“The J has amazing cultural,
educational and recreational
programs andwe want the qual-
ity of the facilities to match,”
Staenberg stated. “I’d like to see
the J become the go-to multi-
use facility in metro Denver
for the entire community, Jews
and non-Jews alike, and set an
example for JCCs nationwide.”
Construction of the newhealth
and wellness center is slated to
begin later this year.
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Phase one renovations are complete at the JCC.
RTA Architects announced
the conclusion of the design
and construction of the Den-
ver Health Southwest Com-
munity Health Center and
Urgent Care at 1339 S. Fed-
eral Blvd. Nearly 30 months
after the planning of the clinic
began, the 45,000-square-foot
facility is nearing its opening.
Hensel Phelps was the general
contractor.
Pete Gutierrez, associate
chief operating officer, Denver
Health Ambulatory Services,
said, “Together with RTA, we
are aiming for more than just
a building. You have to spur
the community to help them
rise up. You have to give them
hope by surrounding them
with people who truly care
about their well-being and
provide facilities to support
that. The Southwest Family
Health Center will absolutely
turn this community around.”
RTA began the design pro-
cess with an immersion phase
and spent several days at an
existing Denver Health com-
munity health center to doc-
ument the current state of
patient, staff and procedure
flows.
“We went in with our eyes
and ears wide open and real-
ly looked at Denver Health’s
needs, desires, processes and
mission,” said Kevin Gould,
AIA, RTA principal-in-charge.
“The ultimate goal was to opti-
mize flow and value for the
patients and staff of the new
Southwest Community Health
Center and to create a space
that will be embraced as a cen-
terpiece of the community.”
Denver Health’s intention
to serve and empower com-
munity members is embodied
throughout the entire building
from expansive atriums and
lobbies, to a large interactive
children’s play zone. There
also is a large multipurpose
community conference room,
which can be used for activities
such as cooking classes and
local meetings. Universal sig-
nage and intuitive wayfinding
allow multilingual patients to
easily make their way around
the facility. Departments that
need to be most accessible to
the community – like urgent
care, pharmacy and dental ser-
vices – are all located near the
entrance of the building.
The Southwest Community
Health Center offers 40 exam
rooms and will be the first
in the Denver Health system
to provide on-site urgent care.
The opening of the new clinic
this month coincides with the
50th anniversary of the first
Denver Health community
health center in the Five Points
neighborhood.
Since 1975, RTA Architects
has created award-winning
architectural and interior
designs for the Colorado built
environment. RTA specializes
in health care, education, retail
and commercial properties.
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Denver Health Southwest Community Health Center
