Denver-based developer Nichols Partnership plans to convert a 10-story office building at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and Lincoln Street — previously home to the Art Institute of Colorado —into a 194-unit micro-apartment community, according to a site development plan recently filed with the city.
The project, known as Art Studios, will be comprised entirely of market-rate studio apartments. Melissa Rummel, development director for Nichols Partnership, said the company is targeting attainable rents by creating smaller floor plans.Nichols Partnership also plans to construct a new five-story apartment building atop an existing four-story parking structure that sits next to the former Art Institute building. That second phase is still in concept planning, Rummel told Denver Business Journal.
The company purchased both buildings in September 2019 for a combined $15.25 million, according to property records. The Art Institute of Colorado closed in late 2018 after more than half a century in Denver, according to previous DBJ reporting. Both future apartment buildings will utilize the existing 240-space parking garage, Rummel said.
Randy Nichols, president and founder of Nichols Partnership, previously told BusinessDen that the company anticipated being able to fit 155 units into the 10-story building.
Rummel said that number grew to 194 as the company decided to focus solely on studio apartments rather than incorporating co-living units, which feature multiple bedrooms that are rented out to individuals. Converting a large building to micro apartments is a familiar concept for Nichols Partnership.
The company did the same thing at Turntable Studios near Mile High Stadium, turning the 13-story former hotel into 179 apartment units ranging from 330 to 820 square feet.
The bottom floor of Art Studios will feature a large lobby area, a fitness center and a new retail tenant, according to Nichols Partnership's website.
The 10th floor will feature six penthouse studios, as well as shared amenity space accessible to all residents that will lead to an outdoor deck. Each of the penthouses will have its own outdoor balcony or private rooftop space, Rummel said.
Johnson Nathan Strohe is the architect for the project. The exterior of the building will still look largely the same after the renovations, aside from cosmetic improvements such as a power washing, Rummel said. The interior will draw on elements of art-deco design and utilize items left behind by the Art Institute.
The name Art Studios is an homage to the building's former tenant, as well as the surrounding neighborhood, Rummel said.
Art Studios lies at the eastern border of the Golden Triangle Creative District, where several other developers are currently planning thousands of new residential units just south of downtown Denver.
"We're trying to have attainable rents so artists themselves can actually afford it," Rummel said.
Construction is slated to begin early 2021, with delivery planned for early spring 2022.
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