1080 N Cherokee St
1080 N Cherokee St is a 5-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 84% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 44 homes and scores it 76 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Also addressed as 1090 N Cherokee St: Denver’s address records place both on this one footprint.
Where 1080 N Cherokee St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1080 N Cherokee St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 4 residential floors this building carries 8,172 sq ft of windowless core — area that must be gutted, re-plumbed and sprinklered but can never be rented as an apartment.
Modeled conversion metrics for 1080 N Cherokee St, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 76 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 61 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 5 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floor 1: 26,496 sq ft · Floor 2: 24,767 sq ft · Floors 3–4: 12,437 sq ft · Floor 5: 309 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 12,437 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 84% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 41 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 1,021 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 44 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 49,951 sq ft | $18.0M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $7.6M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $2.6M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningCivic Center | D-GT |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
39 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 466 ft of exterior wall, and across 4 residential floors the building carries 1,703 ft of it in total, divided among the 44 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.72: 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 11.0 homes per floor. Its floors are not alike, though: the typical floor's deepest interior point is 41 ft from a facade, while its worst floor reaches 66 ft. The score follows the typical floor, so a podium that could not hold a bedroom does not by itself sink a slim tower above it — but it is there, and it is part of what would have to be drawn around.
Why 1080 N Cherokee St scores 76 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 87, Interior depth 97, Scale 29, Finance 54 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1080 N Cherokee St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency84% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 87 | 45% | 39.3 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 41 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 97 | 25% | 24.3 |
| Scale44 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 29 | 15% | 4.4 |
| Financeremaining gap is 28% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 54 | 15% | 8.1 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is scale, at 29 out of 100: 44 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 49,951 sq ft of converted floor, or $18.0M in total — about $409K for each of the 44 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1080 N Cherokee St: 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 8,172 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 44 homes is $10.4M.
What would have to be true
A $7.6M gap before any grant, $5.0M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 27% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $7.6M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 44 homes finishing at $409K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 73% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $208 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $2.6M moves that threshold to $349K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $5.0M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1080 N Cherokee St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1080 N Cherokee St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 27% downto 548 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 38% downto $161/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 48% upto $349K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1080 N Cherokee St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1080 N Cherokee St ranks 95th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 52% of them, and shallower than 82% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 205th 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 Civic Center and the D-GT zone
10th of 23 in Civic Center, 8th of 15 zoned D-GT — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 23 of the screened buildings in Civic Center. 1080 N Cherokee St ranks 10th of them against a median score of 67. 10 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 62 ft from a facade against this building’s 41 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 5,064 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1314 N Elati St, at 92.
15 of the screened buildings are zoned D-GT. 1080 N Cherokee St ranks 8th of them against a median score of 76. 8 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 54 ft from a facade against this building’s 41 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 2,397 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1314 N Elati St, at 92.
Its nearest match in size: 1595 N Pearl St
The screened building closest to 1080 N Cherokee St in converted floor area is 1595 N Pearl St: 50,740 sq ft over 5 stories, against 49,951 sq ft over 5 here.
The two land within a few points of each other — 76 here, 77 there — so at this size the screen reads them as much the same prospect. On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 4,200 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 1080 N Cherokee St $2.6M, 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 1080 N Cherokee St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 210 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1100 N Cherokee St8 stories · 100% daylit · already a condominium buildingabout 210 ft away
- 300 W 11th Ave16 stories · 88% daylit · already a condominium buildingabout 220 ft away
- 1000 N Cherokee St6 stories · 90% daylit · 83 estimated homes · scores 66/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 330 ft away
- 1029 N Cherokee St17 stories · 85% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 410 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.