1700 N Broadway
1700 N Broadway is a 59-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 68% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 2,073 homes and scores it 56 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Worth a feasibility study
Also addressed as 1720 N Broadway, 1740 N Broadway, 1701 N Lincoln St, 1750 N Lincoln St and 1776 N Lincoln St: Denver’s address records place all 6 on this one footprint.
Where 1700 N Broadway is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1700 N Broadway
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 58 residential floors this building carries 908,004 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 1700 N Broadway, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreWorth a feasibility study | 56 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 711 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 59 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–2: 160,703 sq ft · Floors 3–4: 159,867 sq ft · Floor 5: 133,336 sq ft · Floors 6–7: 130,004 sq ft · Floors 8–10: 120,593 sq ft · Floor 11: 102,513 sq ft · Floor 12: 99,279 sq ft · Floor 13: 58,672 sq ft · Floor 14: 58,146 sq ft · Floor 15: 45,539 sq ft · Floors 16–22: 44,377 sq ft · Floors 23–25: 30,811 sq ft · Floors 26–59: 24,981 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 24,981 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 68% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 59 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 6,700 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 2,073 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 2,852,122 sq ft | $1.03B |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $537.5M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningNorth Capitol Hill | D-C |
| 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 665 ft of exterior wall, and across 58 residential floors the building carries 69,665 ft of it in total, divided among the 2,073 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.71: 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 35.7 homes per floor. Its floors are not alike, though: the typical floor's deepest interior point is 59 ft from a facade, while its worst floor reaches 130 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 1700 N Broadway scores 56 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 56, Interior depth 52, Scale 100, Finance 14 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1700 N Broadway. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency68% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 56 | 45% | 25.3 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 59 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 52 | 25% | 12.9 |
| Scale2073 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 51% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 14 | 15% | 2.2 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is finance, at 14 out of 100: remaining gap is 51% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 2,852,122 sq ft of converted floor, or $1.03B in total — about $495K for each of the 2,073 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1700 N Broadway: 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 908,004 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 2,073 homes is $489.2M.
What would have to be true
A $537.5M gap before any grant, $527.5M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 52% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $537.5M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 2,073 homes finishing at $495K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 110% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $172 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $490K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $527.5M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1700 N Broadway, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1700 N Broadway, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 52% downto 361 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 71% downto $75/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 108% upto $490K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1700 N Broadway re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1700 N Broadway ranks 183rd of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 9% of them, and shallower than 46% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 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 North Capitol Hill and the D-C zone
40th of 41 in North Capitol Hill, 65th of 72 zoned D-C — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 41 of the screened buildings in North Capitol Hill. 1700 N Broadway ranks 40th of them against a median score of 85. 32 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 47 ft from a facade against this building’s 59 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 8,820 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1776 N Grant St, at 97.
72 of the screened buildings are zoned D-C. 1700 N Broadway ranks 65th of them against a median score of 73. 39 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 57 ft from a facade against this building’s 59 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 32,881 homes. The group’s top scorer is 721 19th St, at 95.
Its nearest match in size: 1801 California St
The screened building closest to 1700 N Broadway in converted floor area is 1801 California St: 1,946,868 sq ft over 59 stories, against 2,852,122 sq ft over 59 here.
1700 N Broadway scores 56 to its 52, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from interior depth: 52 out of 100 here, 45 there (deepest interior point 62 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 1,700 ft apart.
The city's own study picked this building too
In August 2023 Denver and the architecture firm Gensler rated 21 downtown office buildings good candidates for conversion to housing and published the top 16 by address. One of them resolves to this building: “1776 N Lincoln St”.
That is an outside opinion reached by different means — architects reading plans, not a model reading outlines — and this screen partly agrees: 1700 N Broadway scores 56 here, worth a feasibility study but not in this screen’s strongest tier. The difference is the money rather than the geometry: at default assumptions the gap here is $537.5M, which no modeled RESIDE grant closes. A study asking whether a building can be converted and a model asking whether it would pencil are answering different questions.
Mile High CRE, Study Identifies 21 Downtown Denver Office Buildings as Good Candidates for Conversion. The full comparison across all 16 is on the Greater Downtown Denver page.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 1700 N Broadway $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 1700 N Broadway
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 280 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1770 N Broadway21 stories · 88% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 280 ft away
- 1775 N Sherman St35 stories · 88% daylit · 444 estimated homes · scores 83/100 (Strong candidate)about 360 ft away
- 1660 N Lincoln St31 stories · 82% daylit · 431 estimated homes · scores 71/100 (Strong candidate)about 400 ft away
- 1673 N Sherman St7 stories · 99% daylit · 43 estimated homes · scores 84/100 (Strong candidate)about 400 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.