Taxi Masterplan
Urban Design
18.8 acres
Denver, Colorado
Sited at the former Yellow Cab terminal, Zeppelin Development created a multi-phase, mixed-use development in the River North (RiNo) district of Denver, Colorado. Five minutes from the Rockies ballpark and fifteen minutes from downtown, TAXI is bounded by the Platte River on the east and railyards to the west. The site affords spectacular views both to downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains. It is a pioneering move in an industrial area emerging in its next life.
Zeppelin commissioned the team in 2004 to collaborate in planning of the 9.8 acre yellow cab parcel. The process was inspired by Zeppelin’s research travels to Amsterdam, where they experienced the vitality of the East Islands and Docklands redevelopment. This led the team to a spatial and economic strategy of highly efficient ‘bar’ buildings, carefully oriented to create perspectival landscapes and viewframes.
Our leadership role in planning was commissioned in 2007 to design a phased masterplan of an enlarged 18.8 acre site, extending to the north. The brief called for a build-out of 600,000sf of multiple uses. Visually and physically bridging parcels together, mixed use bar buildings create active urbane plazas and gardens for film, art, work, and outdoor life. Surface parking and veneered garages are allowed to reinforce edges, while dynamic activities draw toward the riverfront. A pedestrian bridge reinforces neighborhood connectivity. Here, multiple scales from live work to high-rise coexist in a fusion not seen before in Denver.
Heritage project in collaboration with David Baker Architects, Harry Teague Architects, and Alan Eban Brown.
