Kuhlman Building Adaptive Re-Use

The Kuhlman Building project was the adaptive reuse of the existing 45,000 sq ft Kuhlman Building into for-rent affordable multi-family housing and retail/restaurant space. The affordable housing portion of the project consisted of approximately 40-50 units with a mix of studios, one and two bedrooms, two retail/restaurant pads, one in the Kuhlman Building, and one stand-alone.

The new stand-alone pad was a 2,500 sq ft warm grey shell retail building near West 17th Avenue and Perry Street. Additionally, there was 4,500 sq ft of retail within the existing building. The site was approximately 50,000 sf and was located at the northwest corner of West 16th Avenue and Perry Street.

Funding for the project came from a combination of developer equity, federal low-income housing tax credits, tax-increment financing from the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, and a performance loan from the Denver Office of Economic Development. The Kuhlman Building required gutting the interior but with only minor changes to the building's exterior. Over the years, the five-story brick building had served as a nunnery, a nursing school and dormitory, and administrative offices for St. Anthony Hospital.

The Kuhlman Building was located within the larger Sloan's Lake/St. Anthony Hospital redevelopment area, which was named Sloans. When complete, the Sloans neighborhood included an Alamo Drafthouse, Highland Tap & Burger, the Raleigh office building, a 12-story condominium tower, a seven-story apartment community, a 6,000 square-foot retail strip, plus the Kuhlman development, all in a seven-block area between Sloan's Lake and West Colfax Avenue. The Kuhlman project was a development partnership by Koelbel and Co. and Trailbreak Partners, and Van Meter Williams Pollack provided the design.