101 W Colfax Ave
101 W Colfax Ave is a 14-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 66% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 406 homes and scores it 35 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Marginal
No address point in Denver’s records falls inside this footprint, so it is named by the closest one that no other screened building claims — usually a site entrance, but check the outline on the plan below before relying on the street number.
Where 101 W Colfax Ave is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 101 W Colfax Ave
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 13 residential floors this building carries 192,566 sq ft of windowless core — area that must be gutted, re-plumbed and sprinklered but can never be rented as an apartment.
Read with caution. This footprint carries 6 street addresses across 57,182 sq ft, which usually means the city’s GIS has merged a block or complex into a single polygon rather than describing one convertible building.
Modeled conversion metrics for 101 W Colfax Ave, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreMarginal | 35 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 166 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 14 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–4: 57,182 sq ft · Floors 5–7: 55,544 sq ft · Floors 8–10: 45,603 sq ft · Floor 11: 43,224 sq ft · Floor 12: 27,541 sq ft · Floor 13: 26,954 sq ft · Floor 14: 1,300 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 57,182 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 66% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 86 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 22,992 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 406 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 574,007 sq ft | $206.6M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $110.8M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningCBD | PUD |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
34 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 1,190 ft of exterior wall, and across 13 residential floors the building carries 13,630 ft of it in total, divided among the 406 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.51: a squarish plan, with enough perimeter for a conventional double-loaded corridor. How window line and plate shape are measured.
At the model’s 750 sq ft average, the plan works out at about 31.2 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 101 W Colfax Ave scores 35 out of 100
The weighted components add to 42, but the score is capped at 35 because its deepest interior point is 86 ft from a facade, past the 80 ft threshold beyond which conversion requires carving a light well.
Score components for 101 W Colfax Ave. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency66% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 53 | 45% | 23.8 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 86 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 0 | 25% | 0.0 |
| Scale406 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 49% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 19 | 15% | 2.8 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is interior depth, at 0 out of 100: deepest interior point 86 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 574,007 sq ft of converted floor, or $206.6M in total — about $509K for each of the 406 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 101 W Colfax Ave: base cost plus the code work a change of use triggers.
| Base conversion cost | $260/sq ft |
|---|---|
| Plumbing risers to every unit | $40/sq ft |
| Operable windows and glazing | $30/sq ft |
| Additional egress stair | $18/sq ft |
| Fire sprinklers (NFPA 13R) | $12/sq ft |
| All-in | $360/sq ft |
That cost is charged across every converted square foot, including the 192,566 sq ft of windowless core, which has to be gutted, re-plumbed and sprinklered like the rest of the building and then earns nothing. Against it the model sets a completed value of $236K a home, which for 406 homes is $95.8M.
What would have to be true
A $110.8M gap before any grant, $100.8M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 51% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $110.8M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 406 homes finishing at $509K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 116% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $167 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $484K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $100.8M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 101 W Colfax Ave, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 101 W Colfax Ave, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 51% downto 366 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 68% downto $84/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 105% upto $484K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 101 W Colfax Ave re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
101 W Colfax Ave ranks 203rd of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 7% of them, and shallower than 5% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 48th largest by estimated homes. The full survey of all 214 buildings ranks and maps every one of them, and the list by address links each to its own page.
Within CBD and the PUD zone
70th of 75 in CBD, 20th of 21 zoned PUD — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 75 of the screened buildings in CBD. 101 W Colfax Ave ranks 70th of them against a median score of 71. 40 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 56 ft from a facade against this building’s 86 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 33,698 homes. The group’s top scorer is 918 17th St, at 97.
21 of the screened buildings are zoned PUD. 101 W Colfax Ave ranks 20th of them against a median score of 77. 12 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 49 ft from a facade against this building’s 86 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 5,808 homes. The group’s top scorer is 300 E 17th Ave, at 96.
Its nearest match in size: 1437 N Bannock St
The screened building closest to 101 W Colfax Ave in converted floor area is 1437 N Bannock St: 521,345 sq ft over 16 stories, against 574,007 sq ft over 14 here.
1437 N Bannock St scores 78 and 101 W Colfax Ave only 35, and the difference is a hard fail rather than a matter of degree: the lower one is capped at 35 because its deepest interior point is 86 ft from a facade, past the 80 ft threshold beyond which conversion requires carving a light well. On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 1,000 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 101 W Colfax Ave $10.0M, on the assumption it qualifies. Whether it does, no published dataset can say.
That figure assumes the building meets the Act’s vacant-and-abandoned test, which turns on code-enforcement and receivership records no city publishes.
It does not sit in a 2018 designated Opportunity Zone, so it would not draw that Section 201 priority.
Other buildings screened near 101 W Colfax Ave
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 240 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 110 16th St15 stories · 85% daylit · 157 estimated homes · scores 82/100 (Strong candidate)about 240 ft away
- 1550 N Broadway24 stories · 75% daylit · 534 estimated homes · scores 56/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 470 ft away
- 1625 N Broadway32 stories · 80% daylit · 358 estimated homes · scores 69/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 510 ft away
- 201 W Colfax Ave16 stories · 58% daylit · 487 estimated homes · scores 38/100 (Marginal)about 530 ft away
A screen, not a feasibility study, from outlines and heights rather than plans: the method and how to correct a figure. If you know this building’s interior, you know what this model cannot see.