How Denver architects are reimagining Speer Boulevard

The vehicle traffic that streams down Speer Boulevard overshadows the creek flowing next to it and represents a missed opportunity to connect downtown Denver with nature.

What's happening: Tryba Architects makes that case as part of a new Speer Boulevard vision that would relocate the segment that connects Interstate 25 and Colfax Avenue, and better unite downtown's performing arts and entertainment districts to Cherry Creek.

• The goal is to make it more pedestrian-friendly, use government-owned land, link the Auraria higher education campus to downtown, and create space for more density and affordable housing.

What they're saying: "It's a 15- to 25-year project. But we need it now," David Tryba tells the Denver Business Journal.

• "We don't have 25 years to wait to build three to five thousand units of affordable housing and we need to build it now. … We have the land and if we have the will, we can do it now," he adds.
• Kourtny Garrett, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, called it a "beautiful vision" for better connecting the downtown.

Reality check: The pitch is merely a dream at the moment, but the firm is hoping to influence a handful of upcoming projects, including the city's $7 million rehab of the Larimer Street bridge, a new CU Denver campus building, and a residential tower.