Developer demolishing RiNo warehouses, future of property unclear

Old Manufacturing Buildings in RiNo Being Demolished

Yet another set of aging industrial buildings in RiNo is undergoing demolition, signaling a new chapter for the area. The future of the site, however, remains uncertain.

Dean Koelbel, a third-generation member of Koelbel & Co., stated, “At the current point, we’ve got no real plans in place.” The family real estate firm recently hired American Demolition to tear down four buildings and two trailers at 3400 Brighton Blvd., located next to the Source Hotel.

Although Koelbel had initially proposed an apartment complex for the 2.2-acre property, the firm is now exploring the possibility of selling the land instead.

Koelbel explained, “Those buildings were just attracting transients and they caught on fire a couple of times, so we felt we needed to get them torn down for liability purposes.” One of the structures had been burned down three separate times.

The site currently consists of five buildings, with the 3435 Wynkoop St. building remaining untouched. Koelbel’s original apartment proposal included two towers with a total of 429 units and 10,000 square feet of retail space. NAI Shames Makovsky brokers are now marketing the property for potential sale.

While Koelbel’s firm has received some interest from potential buyers, the challenges of ground-up development in the increasingly expensive and complex Denver market remain a hurdle.

“The dynamics in Denver are tough,” Koelbel acknowledged. “Nothing is penciling.”

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