The Sweet Six: Downtown Denver’s standout projects completed in 2018

The Downtown Denver Partnership has recognized six projects completed in 2018 for significant contributions to the economic growth and vitality of the city’s core downtown neighborhoods.

The 2018 Downtown Denver Awards were announced Thursday. The six winners were chosen by a jury of business leaders.

The partnership, an advocacy and economic development organization dedicated to creating and supporting “an economically healthy, growing and economically powerful” downtown Denver,” worked with Comcast and Denver-based film production firm WestWorks Studios to produce short videos on each project.

The 2018 winners were:

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

The crown of the then nearly finished 1144 Fifteenth tower on March 20, 2018.

1144 Fifteenth Street

Finally completed last spring, this 40-story office tower stands as the most striking addition to Denver’s skyline since the 1980s. Built by Houston-based developer, Hines, this speculative 603-foot-tall building is now 84 percent leased up, according to the Downtown Denver Partnership. Video

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

Cross quadruple stairs are one of the many luxurious features inside the U.S. headquarters of BP’s Lower 48 business operations at 1700 Platte St.

Riverview at 1700 Platte

One of the many new buildings that have risen on historic Platte Street in the Lower Highland part of town the last few years, this sleek office building in headlined by BP, which moved its Lower 48 U.S. headquarters from Houston to Denver last year. Video

Joe Amon, The Denver Post

The newly renovated Civic Center Station in downtown Denver, pictured on Dec. 12, 2017.

Civic Center Station

Spurred in part by concerns about the original design’s safety, RTD poured $31 million into renovating the Civic Center Station bus terminal that sits at the far southwestern end of the 16th Street Mall before it reopened in December 2017. The partnership called it a “safer, more welcoming bookend to the heart of Downtown Denver” in a news release. Video

Andy Cross, The Denver Post

Customers gather around the deli counter at Milk Market, a 16 restaurant and carry-out market concept that’s one of the main attractions at Denver’s Milk Market “micro district.”

Dairy Block

A self-styled “micro-district” within Lower Downtown, Dairy Block has brought a boutique hotel, the Milk Market food hall, a co-working space and more to the city block bounded by Wazee, Blake, 18th and 19th streets. The gem of the project may be the block’s “activated alley” designed specifically to bring in pedestrians. Video

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Shoppers check out the merchandise during a sneak peek of the new Target store on the 16th Street Mall on July 17, 2018.

16th Street Mall Target

The Downtown Denver Partnership and others had been pining for a downtown Target for years before the department store chain finally opened its 16th Street Mall location last summer. The partnership emphasized the groceries and home goods for sale there, claiming the store “is a resounding confirmation of downtown’s booming reputation.” Video

Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Work underway on the Lydian apartment complex at 2560 Welton St. back in 2017 Denver.

The Lydian

Not just another new apartment building with built-in retail space, the awards jury recognized the Lydian for its economic inclusivity in the fast-changing Five Points neighborhood. The building is home to 22 units of affordable housing as well as a bar and restaurant and yoga studio. Video