EMBRACING ADAPTIVE REUSE IN URBAN REDEVELOPMENT

JNS Partner, Tobias Strohe

Why Adaptive Reuse, and Why Now? 

Denver, much like other large cities across the country, has seen an influx of successful property use conversions in recent years, with adaptive reuses spanning all types of buildings. This begs the question, what is driving the trend, and why now? 

One obvious answer is sustainability. Working within an existing building is inherently sustainable, given the protection and repurposing of resources, as well as the reduction in waste and energy use. 

Not only does adaptive reuse offer a more sustainable alternative to new construction, it also provides a powerful opportunity for preservation of history, place-based identity and architectural beauty. Existing buildings are representative of specific times and places that define the character of towns, cities, and in some cases, even entire regions.  

As a narrative-based architecture and interior design firm, we value the stories a building can tell, be that through its architectural or design style, its past function(s), or even the people that lived, worked, and/or played in it. Buildings not only function as a manifestation of human experience, but serve to bear witness to the people that have interacted with it over time.   

There are myriad reasons that Denver is a prime candidate for adaptive reuse. We are acutely experiencing the effects of inadequate housing supply and rising construction costs, coupled with an increasingly large inventory of unoccupied, old, and/or historic buildings. Adaptive reuse can not only help to address Denver’s housing concerns, it can also bring new life to unoccupied office buildings and historic buildings with significant cultural value. Furthermore, government incentives like tax increment financing (TIF) and historic tax credits can help to lessen the financial burden that can make adaptive reuse otherwise untenable. 

When evaluating specific buildings for adaptive reuse, there are several key considerations that help ensure a conversion is as effective and efficient as possible.

Building Viability 

In evaluating applications for adaptive reuse, building viability is nuanced. Generally speaking, however, any building that is structurally sound can be suitable for a conversion of some kind. A building’s viability ultimately comes down to the owner’s vision for the building and their correlating cost analysis.  

In crafting a vision for an adaptive reuse project, one important consideration is a building’s previous use and occupancy category. A change in a building’s commercial use has different challenges and obstacles than, say, a business-to-residential conversion or a hotel-to-residential conversion.  

When exploring an office-to-residential conversion, for example, a building valuation will reveal whether potential per-square-foot rents will allow for a building sales price that would warrant such a conversion. While a multitude of structural factors must be considered, older office buildings with shallower building plates, large numbers of columns, and shorter floor-to-floor heights than what is standard in today’s state-of-the-art office buildings tend to be best positioned for these types of conversions.  

Local Zoning and Building Codes 

Having a strong understanding of local zoning and building codes is critical to ensuring a smooth and successful conversion process. A building’s authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) will likely have adopted building codes or amendments that will impact your building. The code year being used, for example, will determine what accessibility and other improvements are required in order to receive a certificate of occupancy.    

Similarly, the area’s specific zoning and neighborhood codes will need to be reviewed to ensure code updates have not affected the current footprint, ground-level activation requirements, required materials or materials not permitted for use on new exterior walls.

Additional Considerations 

While government incentives have helped ease the financial cost of adaptive reuse, the time burden of conforming a building to today’s building codes is substantial, to say the least. Administrative incentives from the City and County of Denver, such as expedited permit reviews or waived permit fees for building conversions, offer a promising solution for combatting this problem.  

Implementing provisions from the International Existing Building Code (IEBC) and allowing alternate pathways for code compliance within existing buildings could similarly help to lessen cost burden from modifications to the physical limitations of an existing structure, and further incentivize owners toward building conversions. 

Adaptive Reuse in Action  

JNS recently completed a conversion of the 1960s-era Art Institute Building, located in Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood, into ArtStudios Apartments. Through our engagement on this project, we were able to revive a previously vacant office building and provide 192 units of much-needed attainable micro units to the community.  

While we certainly encountered challenges related to the age of the building, the change of building use, and supply chain issues related to COVID-19, we also implemented a range of creative solutions, discovering that some of the most innovative design solutions are ones that may not be obvious at first glance.  

Utilizing Hilti’s Engineering Judgement platform with the fire-protection engineer team, we created a series of details to improve the life-safety of the building’s floor slab/wall intersections. By coping a large girder beam, we were also able to add a new elevator stop and door openings on the 10th floor, thereby making the 10th floor fully accessible to building occupants.  

Like ArtStudios, Denver’s Union Station was reimagined for contemporary uses and has not only established itself one of Denver’s most iconic focal points, but an energetic entertainment hub and destination point enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. Similarly, with Turntable Studios, we were able to take an aging hotel property and reinvent it as a lively urban studio apartment property.  

These transformations demonstrate Denver’s immense opportunity for embracing adaptive reuse as a means of breathing new life into old, historic, and unoccupied or underutilized buildings, preserving history, place-based identity and architectural quality, and developing sustainably. Bold creative vision, paired with increased coordination with, and incentivization from, the City of Denver, can make similar visions become reality.