1801 N Broadway
1801 N Broadway is a 20-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 84% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 232 homes and scores it 77 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Where 1801 N Broadway is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1801 N Broadway
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 19 residential floors this building carries 40,608 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 1801 N Broadway, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 77 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 241 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 20 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–2: 14,941 sq ft · Floors 3–20: 13,517 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 13,517 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 84% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 56 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 2,101 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 232 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 258,252 sq ft | $93.0M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $38.2M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningCBD | D-C |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
40 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 484 ft of exterior wall, and across 19 residential floors the building carries 9,200 ft of it in total, divided among the 232 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is compact at 0.73: close to a square or a circle, the most efficient envelope an office can have and the least generous one for apartments: little perimeter to divide among homes. How window line and plate shape are measured.
At the model’s 750 sq ft average, the plan works out at about 12.2 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 1801 N Broadway scores 77 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 89, Interior depth 59, Scale 100, Finance 49 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1801 N Broadway. 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% | 89 | 45% | 39.8 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 56 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 59 | 25% | 14.7 |
| Scale232 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 30% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 49 | 15% | 7.4 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is finance, at 49 out of 100: remaining gap is 30% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 258,252 sq ft of converted floor, or $93.0M in total — about $401K for each of the 232 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1801 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 40,608 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 232 homes is $54.8M.
What would have to be true
A $38.2M gap before any grant, $28.2M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 34% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $38.2M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 232 homes finishing at $401K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 70% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $212 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $358K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $28.2M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1801 N Broadway, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1801 N Broadway, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 34% downto 495 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 42% downto $151/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 52% upto $358K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1801 N Broadway re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1801 N Broadway ranks 92nd of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 54% of them, and shallower than 52% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 96th 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 D-C zone
29th of 75 in CBD, 29th of 72 zoned D-C — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 75 of the screened buildings in CBD. 1801 N Broadway ranks 29th 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 56 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 33,698 homes. The group’s top scorer is 918 17th St, at 97.
72 of the screened buildings are zoned D-C. 1801 N Broadway ranks 29th 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 56 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: 750 15th St
The screened building closest to 1801 N Broadway in converted floor area is 750 15th St: 257,926 sq ft over 20 stories, against 258,252 sq ft over 20 here.
1801 N Broadway scores 77 to its 94, and with the size held roughly equal most of that shortfall comes from interior depth: 59 out of 100 here, 100 there (deepest interior point 32 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 1,800 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: “1801 Broadway”.
That is an outside opinion reached by different means — architects reading plans, not a model reading outlines — and this screen agrees with it: 1801 N Broadway scores 77 out of 100 here, in the same top tier. The difference is the money rather than the geometry: at default assumptions the gap here is $38.2M, 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 1801 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 1801 N Broadway
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 200 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 475 17th St18 stories · 86% daylit · 260 estimated homes · scores 75/100 (Strong candidate)about 200 ft away
- 321 17th St20 stories · 84% daylit · 321 estimated homes · scores 68/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 240 ft away
- 1820 N Broadway15 stories · 91% daylit · 150 estimated homes · scores 92/100 (Strong candidate)about 240 ft away
- 1770 N Broadway21 stories · 88% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 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.