IHA was hired to assist in the master planning of the 550-unit mixed-use residential urban infill project in Denver, Colorado. IHA assisted the owner in mediating the city design requirements, consulting on the overall master plan and working with NEPA on the work associated with cleaning the brown field and the realignment of a major highway that ran in front of the project.

The mixed use nature of this project had to be taken into consideration in terms of public and private access, parking and the vastly different requirements of the retail office and residential uses on the site. For example, it was anticipated that the first floor retail would likely be restaurant. In that case several characteristics had to be taken in to consideration. How would the deliveries be made in a secure garage? How would the trash be accommodated between the residents and the kitchen, and how would the smell be mediated to the units above? How would sound be baffled between the two uses? Most importantly and challenging, how would the restaurant be vented through 4 stories of residential and keep the smell in the chase so each unit did not smell of French fries? These types of conflicting programmatic challenges are what our team considers as we evaluate a master plan and assist the client in envisioning new projects or renovations which can incorporate change of use or dissimilar uses within one facility.