The purpose of the project is to create an ‘ambassador street’ within the downtown city grid, linking together several cultural and municipal facilities, including the Denver Center for Performing Arts, Denver Convention Center, Webb Building, and historic Larimer Square.
The initiative is the result of a public-private partnership of the City and County of Denver, the Downtown Denver Partnership, and property owners along 14th Street. The property owners voted in November for the formation of a general improvement district (GID) to provide additional capital construction and maintenance dollars to match a $10 million contribution from the city.
Key to the project’s success will be the implementation of a new urban street cross-section that will rebalance the corridor to meet the needs of all multimodal and pedestrian travelers and will also allow for greater economic development opportunities within the right-of-way. Included in the cross-section will be wider sidewalks, a dedicated bike lane and a ‘flex-lane’ allowing on-street parking during non-peak times. The street cross-section will also provide amenities such as granite planters, way-finding monuments and sidewalk cafes.
As the prime consultant, PB is responsible for developing a general concept for the corridor as well as overall project management. The firm will provide final design of all the transportation and civil engineering elements and will also assist the city with the formation of the improvement district. PB is also providing 3D visualization and animation services for the ultimate design of the project.
The design phase for the project is expected to be complete in 2010, with construction completed by the end of 2011.
The PB team is supported by several sub-consultant partners including CRL Associates and studioINSITE. CRL Associates is providing public involvement stakeholder consensus services, and studioINSITE is providing urban design and landscape architecture services.
