Denver Business Journal

The Downtown Denver Partnership Inc. trade group has plans to promote an initiative to help create a plan for upgrades to the 16th Street Mall for which it manages.  The DDP is sponsoring a panel that is headed by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), to evaluate the mall's future and its redevelopment.  The panel will be in Denver May 12-16. 

The city of Denver's Landmark Preservation Commission finally gave permission to Denver devoper Evan Makovsky to modernize the windows of the Fontius building.  Makovsky and architecture firm, Klipp have had discussions since August 2007 about the historic building's windows.

"This is a big deal... because we want this building to be sustainable, to conserve energy," Brian Klipp, principal of Denver's Klipp architectural firm, said of the window decision. "The commissioner gave us permission to do that today."

Evan Makovsky of Shames Makovsky Realty Co. has purchased the Fontius building on the 16th Street Mall, which has been vacant since the last 1980s, with plans to redevelop the historic building.

The building was built in the 1920s and was the home of the former Fontius shoe store.  It has also been an eyesore in the downtown Denver area, sitting close to the Colorado Convention Center, which city official have been waiting to see it be restored.

Denver developer, Evan Makovsky, has bought the final piece of the downtown Denver Block 162, the Washington/McClintock Building, for $8.3 million, according to Denve rCounty real estate records.  Located on the 16th Street Mall and California Street, the historic building is occupied by office tenants such as Morey Evans Advertising Inc. and Crown Technology and retail tenants that include Anthony's Pizza restaurant.  Washington McClintock Properties Inc. of Greeley was the seller.

The Residence Inn by Marriott Denver City Center, located at 1725 Champa St will open on Januray 26.  This $44 million hotel was developed by Denver companies Sage Hospitality Resources LLP and Shames Makovsky Realty Co as a partnership call Chai LLC which owns the new hotel and Sage manages it.

Shames Makovsky Realty Co. has bought 75,000 square feet of Block 162 in downtown Denver as part of a large redevelopment project it's pursuing.  The block, which consists of the Bank of Denver and old Colonial Hotel buildings, will be demolished, reported by Shames Makovsky.  The demolition of the bank building began this week.

Shames Makovsky Realty Co. has plans to be in control of the Fontius building by September.  As part of the deal, TDG Cook Co. Ltd., the previous owner, is to deliver the building to Makovsky with no tenants. 

"We plan to eliminate the Fontius name as soon as possible," said Shames Makovsky princial Evan Makovsky. The developer does not currently have a new name for the property, but it may have a historical relation.

As of Friday, most of the remaining tenants in downtown Denver Fontius building have vacated their space.  The Denver Cobbler shoe repair shop, which is in the process of moving to a new location, is the only tenant left in the building. 

Evan Makovsky of Shames Makovsky Realty Co. bought the four-story building in July with plans to convert the historic Fontius building into retail and office space.

Evan Makovsky is looking for ideas on how to use part of his Block 162 in downtown Denver, while he draws up the full details of the mixed-use development of the block.  The project will include the part of the block at 15th and California streets. 

Denver's real estate developer, Evan Makovsky, typically operates under the radar so it wasn't business as usual for him with the overwhelming positive reactions to his 2007 purchases of the downtown Denver's outdated Block 162 and blighted Fontius building.

"He's a real low-key guy," said Darrin Revious, managing director at the Denver-based Frederick Ross Co.  "He's not used to all the press about Block 162, but he's got [the Westword newspaper's] 'Evan Almighty' story hung on the lobby wall of his office."