1660 Blake St
1660 Blake St is a 6-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 100% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 71 homes and scores it 89 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Where 1660 Blake St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1660 Blake St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
This footprint has no windowless core at all: every point on the floor plate is within 35 ft of a facade, which is unusual and is the main reason it scores as well as it does.
Modeled conversion metrics for 1660 Blake St, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 89 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 73 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 6 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floor 1: 17,188 sq ft · Floor 2: 16,744 sq ft · Floors 3–4: 16,214 sq ft · Floor 5: 12,818 sq ft · Floor 6: 5,342 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 16,214 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 100% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 36 ft |
| Windowless corea measured sliver under 10 sq ft, not counted as windowless floor | 8 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 71 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 67,332 sq ft | $24.2M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $7.5M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $4.3M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningUnion Station | D-LD |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
43 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 668 ft of exterior wall, and across 5 residential floors the building carries 3,025 ft of it in total, divided among the 71 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.46: 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 14.2 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 1660 Blake St scores 89 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 100, Interior depth 100, Scale 47, Finance 78 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1660 Blake St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency100% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 100 | 45% | 45.0 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 36 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 100 | 25% | 25.0 |
| Scale71 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 47 | 15% | 7.1 |
| Financeremaining gap is 13% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 78 | 15% | 11.7 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is scale, at 47 out of 100: 71 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 67,332 sq ft of converted floor, or $24.2M in total — about $341K for each of the 71 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1660 Blake 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 31 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 71 homes is $16.8M.
What would have to be true
A $7.5M gap before any grant, $3.2M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 12% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $7.5M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 71 homes finishing at $341K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 45% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $249 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $4.3M moves that threshold to $281K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $3.2M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1660 Blake St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1660 Blake St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 12% downto 657 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Circulation efficiency | 14% upto 91% |
| Conversion cost per square foot | 18% downto $212/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 19% upto $281K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1660 Blake St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1660 Blake St ranks 31st of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 93% of them, and shallower than 88% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 185th 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 Union Station and the D-LD zone
6th of 55 in Union Station, 2nd of 29 zoned D-LD — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 55 of the screened buildings in Union Station. 1660 Blake St ranks 6th of them against a median score of 69. 23 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 61 ft from a facade against this building’s 36 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 13,167 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1600 17th St, at 95.
29 of the screened buildings are zoned D-LD. 1660 Blake St ranks 2nd of them against a median score of 68. 10 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 61 ft from a facade against this building’s 36 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 5,069 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1600 17th St, at 95.
Its nearest match in size: 1351 N Cherokee St
The screened building closest to 1660 Blake St in converted floor area is 1351 N Cherokee St: 66,741 sq ft over 7 stories, against 67,332 sq ft over 6 here.
1660 Blake St scores 89 to its 81, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from interior depth: 100 out of 100 here, 86 there (deepest interior point 45 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft). On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 5,000 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 1660 Blake St $4.3M, 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 1660 Blake St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 110 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1415 16th St11 stories · 88% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 110 ft away
- 1601 Blake St8 stories · 90% daylit · 66 estimated homes · scores 81/100 (Strong candidate)about 240 ft away
- 1510 17th St6 stories · 100% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 260 ft away
- 1550 17th St8 stories · 73% daylit · 147 estimated homes · scores 61/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 340 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.