Denver Dry:
A New Model for Inner-city Mixed-use Development

Originally built in 1888 and expanded three times through 1924, the 350,000-square-foot (32,500 m²) Denver Dry Goods Building in downtown Denver served as the city’s premier department store for generations of residents and was the city’s retail heart. In 1986 the store was sold to May Department Stores of St. Louis, then closed down a year later. The deteriorating building was slated to be torn down and the lot converted to parking. Following several failed private redevelopment bids, the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) purchased the building in 1988 for $7.5 million and sought a development partner. After a string of development plans and failed partnerships with four developers, DURA decided to split the building into discrete portions that could be financed and developed separately, and found the Katonah, New York-based Affordable Housing Development Corporation (AHDC) run by green developer Jonathan Rose.

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