Mark Falcone\u2019s next office building would have only one-half of the space dedicated to that purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been concerned that conventional office models were not going to capture or meet the needs of office workers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The founder and CEO of Denver-based developer Continuum Partners submitted plans to the city Monday proposing to turn a 4-story, century-old nurses dormitory just east of Colorado Boulevard into \u201ca new kind of workplace ecology,\u201d with fitness, retail, medical and office space all under one roof.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an inexpensive building to redevelop,\u201d Falcone said of keeping the structure built in 1927. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t because it made economic sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
The planned $20 million project is part of Continuum\u2019s 26-acre 9+CO development on the former University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus. The dorm is the only component of the former campus that Continuum didn\u2019t demolish.<\/p>\n
Continuum is gunning for state and federal tax credits, which are capped at 20% of eligible development costs. Construction is anticipated to begin next fall on the long and narrow 25,000-square-foot building.<\/p>\n
The plans call for converting the basement of the building into fitness and recovery facilities. A 1,400-square-foot gym is anticipated, along with sauna, cold plunge and therapy rooms.<\/p>\n
Upstairs, on the ground level, is slated for a lobby coffee shop and small grab-and-go food and beverage operation. One wing is dedicated for coworking space. The other would hold small conference rooms and event spaces.<\/p>\n
The second level is for wellness and medical uses, and the third story is for more traditional office tenants. Falcone said the floors could hold up to 30 suites apiece.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re assembling together a set of wellness providers whose presence in somebody\u2019s workplace makes it very easy to access those needs in their life,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing to the office becomes a place they can meet several different needs in their life at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coworking space, meanwhile, would pull from his experience running a similar operation, Tarra, which has two locations at 9+CO. Since opening three years ago, Falcone has experimented with different membership structures, staff ratios and programming to find a model that works. The leases expire around the time when the redevelopment of the nurses dorm is expected to wrap up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf our demand for the building is so significant that we want to keep those spaces operating, then we will explore that at that time. \u2026 Anyone that\u2019s a member at Tarra now would be converted to a member of this new facility,\u201d Falcone said.<\/p>\n