Rebirth for judicial center, museum

Plan developing to rebuild complex on Broadway, relocate history collection

John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, December 1, 2006

A plan is gathering momentum to build two new high-profile state-owned buildings in downtown Denver - the Colorado Judicial Center and the Colorado History Museum.

Together, the two buildings would cover more than 900,000 square feet and have an estimated cost of about $250 million. For comparison, the 56-story Republic Plaza, the tallest building in Denver, has 1.2 million square feet.

A year ago, the Urban Land Institute issued a 23-page report on the redevelopment of the site, which is known as the Colorado Judicial Heritage Complex at East 14th Avenue and Broadway.

There are two buildings on the block, both built in 1977.

One houses the state Supreme Court, appellate courts, a law library and other judicial department space.

The other building is the 135,273-square- foot history museum. Both operations are in desperate need of bigger facilities, according to the ULI analysis, paid for by the state Judicial Department.

The roof leaks in the judicial building, and it is so crowded that some staff members work in janitor's closets, according to the report.

The judicial building needs high security, and the museum needs to double in size to accommodate a growing number of visitors and exhibits.

The ULI recommends razing the current buildings and replacing them with a new judicial center building with 663,000 square feet at a cost of $180 million.

The ULI, a real estate and development think tank that has been involved in almost every major public redevelopment project in downtown, also says the new judicial building could house offices for state public defenders and the attorney general's office.

Annual rent and maintenance savings by consolidating into the new building were estimated at more than $3 million by the ULI.

"Any day now, we will have our report on the next phase," Karen Salaz, spokeswoman for the judicial department, said Thursday.

The department has hired Bill Mosher of the Trammell Crow Co. to work on its proposed expansion.

The plan also calls for building a new 260,000-square-foot history museum in the Golden Triangle area.

At $270 per square foot, that building would cost about $70 million. To renovate and expand its current building would cost an estimated $60 to $80 million, with the price tag possibly hitting $100 million in the next five years, according to the ULI report. And if the current building is expanded, the judicial department would not expand onto the entire block.

The report identified two possible sites for the new museum, which it describes only as Site A and Site B.

However, based on detailed descriptions of the sites in the report, and speaking with people familiar with the process, the Rocky Mountain News has determined that Site A is the state building and parking lot at the northeast corner of Lincoln Street and Colfax Avenue.

However, since the report was released, the state has moved forward on plans for a new state building on that site at a cost estimated between $40 million and $50 million.

The new building would have about 190,000 square feet of offices, 275 parking spaces and 15,000 square feet of retail. David Owen Tryba is the architect working on the project.

Site B in the ULI report apparently is the block bordered by 14th and 13th Avenues and Bannock and Cherokee streets.

The block includes the former building permit office for the city of Denver, which is now vacant; the Forum Apartments, owned by the Colorado Coalition of the Homeless; and two historic buildings - Cherokee Boiler and the D.M.W.W. Garage - and privately owned parking lots. In addition to a museum, the site could incorporate retail and residential units.

When asked about that site, Rebecca Laurie, spokeswoman for the museum, said "I don't know if I can say anything about that."

rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5207