In the summer of 2015, Continuum Partners contacted El Dorado with a unique urban design challenge in the Lower Downtown District of Denver: to design an entire city block from the ground up. Continuum had recently completed an innovative adaptive re-use renovation of nearby Union Station as a major downtown mixed-use multi-modal transportation hub, leaving our site, the former downtown bus terminal at 16th and Market, open for new development. Through a rigorous massing and architectural design review process, El Dorado has worked closely with Continuum’s development models to generate multiple site design iterations, ultimately landing on site strategies that deploy a high concentration of mixed-use urban density fronting Denver’s iconic 16th Street Mall. Through careful attention to adjacent urban fabric of secondary arteries, lower density retail and residential has been introduced along Blake Street, Market Street and 17th Street. El Dorado’s architectural strategies represent thoughtful responses to historically sensitive guidelines, freshly re-engaging masonry as an artisan craft through careful attention to fenestration and details.