Sean Campbell has broken ground here before.
The CEO of Denver-based Formativ kicked off construction on a 16-story, 358-unit apartment complex Wednesday at 38th and Blake streets in RiNo. The project is next to another 16-story apartment building currently under construction, which Campbell started work on last year.
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“Outside of Cherry Creek, there’s not a lot of cranes in the air. … You’re going to see a cliff where there’s nothing new coming onto the market,” Campbell said.
“The idea was to open up into a friendly market.”
The building he just broke ground on will be market-rate, and will come with fifth-floor and rooftop decks along with amenities such as a sauna and cold plunge.
The other apartment building is restricted to those making between 60% to 90% of the area median income, and will come with a pool and gym. Also planned for the 2.1-acre site is a 180-room hotel, set to begin construction early next year.
Part of the construction entails building a pedestrian promenade that leads directly to the Regional Transportation District’s 38th and Blake rail stop. The ground floor of the buildings will hold a combined 15,000 square feet of retail space, which will include three restaurants.
“I was told this morning that the hotel alone will be about a $30 million annual budget, just in the hotel alone. … This is a $400 million development going into the ground,” Campbell said.
The project that broke ground Wednesday will cost $196 million to develop, he added. Formativ has other active projects in RiNo, down at Denargo Market, and is also developing an apartment complex for senior citizens in Littleton.
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Campbell began buying pieces of the site in 2016. Back then, an office and hotel development was anticipated, with consulting firm World Trade Center Denver expected to anchor the campus.
The developer recalled starting site work on the project in the days leading up to the pandemic, which halted construction.
“We all thought that was going to be two or three weeks, and we’d strike the band back up. But the band never got back together,” he said.
The World Trade Center announced in 2021 that it would open in a different location. Campbell’s current plans for the site were first reported in 2024.
The following year, he broke ground on the first apartment complex. Unlike most income-restricted housing projects, Campbell’s did not receive a penny of public money. When asked how he made the math on that work, he had a simple response.
“We’ve got some great partners.”
Campbell’s apartment projects aren’t the only ones to break ground in RiNo recently. In April, fellow Denver developer Jon Dwight started construction on a 13-story, 301-unit apartment building two blocks up the street.
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