1999 Chestnut Pl
1999 Chestnut Pl is a 12-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 91% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 178 homes and scores it 90 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Where 1999 Chestnut Pl is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 1999 Chestnut Pl
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 11 residential floors this building carries 16,473 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 1999 Chestnut Pl, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 90 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 149 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 12 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–2: 21,890 sq ft · Floor 3: 18,445 sq ft · Floors 4–9: 17,969 sq ft · Floors 10–12: 11,932 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 17,969 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 91% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 48 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 1,685 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 178 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 183,942 sq ft | $66.2M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $24.2M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningUnion Station | R-MU-30 |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
37 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 627 ft of exterior wall, and across 11 residential floors the building carries 6,586 ft of it in total, divided among the 178 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.57: 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 16.2 homes per floor. Its floors are not alike, though: the typical floor's deepest interior point is 48 ft from a facade, while its worst floor reaches 58 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 1999 Chestnut Pl scores 90 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 100, Interior depth 81, Scale 100, Finance 64 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 1999 Chestnut Pl. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency91% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 100 | 45% | 45.0 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 48 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 81 | 25% | 20.1 |
| Scale178 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 21% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 64 | 15% | 9.6 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is finance, at 64 out of 100: remaining gap is 21% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 183,942 sq ft of converted floor, or $66.2M in total — about $372K for each of the 178 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 1999 Chestnut Pl: 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 16,473 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 178 homes is $42.0M.
What would have to be true
A $24.2M gap before any grant, $14.2M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 25% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $24.2M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 178 homes finishing at $372K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 58% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $228 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $316K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $14.2M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 1999 Chestnut Pl, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 1999 Chestnut Pl, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 25% downto 561 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 30% downto $183/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 34% upto $316K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 1999 Chestnut Pl re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
1999 Chestnut Pl ranks 27th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 79% of them, and shallower than 71% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 116th 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
5th of 55 in Union Station — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 55 of the screened buildings in Union Station. 1999 Chestnut Pl ranks 5th 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 48 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 13,167 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1600 17th St, at 95.
Its nearest match in size: 1244 N Speer Blvd
The screened building closest to 1999 Chestnut Pl in converted floor area is 1244 N Speer Blvd: 186,494 sq ft over 11 stories, against 183,942 sq ft over 12 here.
1999 Chestnut Pl scores 90 to its 67, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from daylight efficiency: 100 out of 100 here, 73 there (77% 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 7,800 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 1999 Chestnut Pl $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 1999 Chestnut Pl
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 330 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1900 Chestnut Pl6 stories · 97% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 330 ft away
- 1801 Chestnut Pl6 stories · 83% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 610 ft away
- 1850 Chestnut Pl6 stories · 95% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 660 ft away
- 1801 Wewatta St13 stories · 86% daylit · 287 estimated homes · scores 87/100 (Strong candidate)about 790 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.