1780 N Pennsylvania St
1780 N Pennsylvania St is a 5-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 100% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 52 homes and scores it 87 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Where 1780 N Pennsylvania St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1780 N Pennsylvania St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 4 residential floors this building carries 23 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 1780 N Pennsylvania St, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 87 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 62 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 5 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–3: 13,906 sq ft · Floors 4–5: 10,594 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 13,906 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 100% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 36 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 12 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 52 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 49,000 sq ft | $17.6M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $5.4M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $3.1M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningNorth Capitol Hill | C-MX-8 |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
45 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 644 ft of exterior wall, and across 4 residential floors the building carries 2,316 ft of it in total, divided among the 52 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is elongated at 0.42: a slab or an L, which is why so much of the floor lies within reach of a window: the outline buys daylight that a square plan of the same area would not. How window line and plate shape are measured.
At the model’s 750 sq ft average, the plan works out at about 13.0 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 1780 N Pennsylvania St scores 87 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 100, Interior depth 100, Scale 35, Finance 79 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1780 N Pennsylvania 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 |
| Scale52 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 35 | 15% | 5.2 |
| Financeremaining gap is 13% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 79 | 15% | 11.8 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is scale, at 35 out of 100: 52 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 49,000 sq ft of converted floor, or $17.6M in total — about $339K for each of the 52 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1780 N Pennsylvania 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 23 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 52 homes is $12.3M.
What would have to be true
A $5.4M gap before any grant, $2.2M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 13% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $5.4M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 52 homes finishing at $339K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 44% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $250 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $3.1M moves that threshold to $279K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $2.2M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1780 N Pennsylvania St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1780 N Pennsylvania St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 13% downto 653 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Circulation efficiency | 15% upto 92% |
| Conversion cost per square foot | 18% downto $214/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 18% upto $279K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1780 N Pennsylvania St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1780 N Pennsylvania St ranks 40th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 92% of them, and shallower than 87% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 200th 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
13th of 41 in North Capitol Hill — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 41 of the screened buildings in North Capitol Hill. 1780 N Pennsylvania St ranks 13th 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 36 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 8,820 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1776 N Grant St, at 97.
Its nearest match in size: 1080 N Cherokee St
The screened building closest to 1780 N Pennsylvania St in converted floor area is 1080 N Cherokee St: 49,951 sq ft over 5 stories, against 49,000 sq ft over 5 here.
1780 N Pennsylvania St scores 87 to its 76, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from daylight efficiency: 100 out of 100 here, 87 there (84% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90%). 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 1780 N Pennsylvania St $3.1M, 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 1780 N Pennsylvania St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 320 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1790 N Logan St6 stories · 100% daylit · 67 estimated homes · scores 89/100 (Strong candidate)about 320 ft away
- 1801 N Pennsylvania St5 stories · 100% daylit · 89 estimated homes · scores 91/100 (Strong candidate)about 330 ft away
- 500 E 19th Ave6 stories · 98% daylit · 172 estimated homes · scores 95/100 (Strong candidate)about 490 ft away
- 400 E 19th Ave6 stories · 100% daylit · 76 estimated homes · scores 89/100 (Strong candidate)about 580 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.