225 E 16th Ave
225 E 16th Ave is a 15-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 89% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 180 homes and scores it 88 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Also addressed as 1600 N Sherman St: Denver’s address records place both on this one footprint.
Where 225 E 16th Ave is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 225 E 16th Ave
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 14 residential floors this building carries 20,416 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 225 E 16th Ave, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 88 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 180 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 15 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–2: 26,619 sq ft · Floor 3: 25,110 sq ft · Floors 4–13: 12,399 sq ft · Floor 14: 10,029 sq ft · Floor 15: 3,433 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 12,399 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 89% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 49 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 1,568 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 180 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 189,184 sq ft | $68.1M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $25.6M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningNorth Capitol Hill | C-MX-12 |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
41 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 449 ft of exterior wall, and across 14 residential floors the building carries 7,409 ft of it in total, divided among the 180 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is compact at 0.77: 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 12.9 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 225 E 16th Ave scores 88 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 98, Interior depth 79, Scale 100, Finance 62 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 225 E 16th Ave. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency89% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 98 | 45% | 44.3 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 49 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 79 | 25% | 19.6 |
| Scale180 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 23% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 62 | 15% | 9.3 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is finance, at 62 out of 100: remaining gap is 23% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 189,184 sq ft of converted floor, or $68.1M in total — about $378K for each of the 180 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 225 E 16th Ave: 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 20,416 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 180 homes is $42.5M.
What would have to be true
A $25.6M gap before any grant, $15.6M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 27% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $25.6M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 180 homes finishing at $378K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 60% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $225 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $323K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $15.6M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 225 E 16th Ave, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 225 E 16th Ave, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 27% downto 547 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 32% downto $177/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 37% upto $323K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 225 E 16th Ave re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
225 E 16th Ave ranks 35th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 71% of them, and shallower than 68% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 113th 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 C-MX-12 zone
11th of 41 in North Capitol Hill, 5th of 16 zoned C-MX-12 — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 41 of the screened buildings in North Capitol Hill. 225 E 16th Ave ranks 11th 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 49 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 8,820 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1776 N Grant St, at 97.
16 of the screened buildings are zoned C-MX-12. 225 E 16th Ave ranks 5th of them against a median score of 85. 13 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 44 ft from a facade against this building’s 49 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 2,011 homes. The group’s top scorer is 1776 N Grant St, at 97.
Its nearest match in size: 1660 N Sherman St
The screened building closest to 225 E 16th Ave in converted floor area is 1660 N Sherman St: 191,113 sq ft over 12 stories, against 189,184 sq ft over 15 here.
225 E 16th Ave scores 88 to its 72, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from daylight efficiency: 98 out of 100 here, 76 there (78% 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 300 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: “225 E 16th Ave”.
That is an outside opinion reached by different means — architects reading plans, not a model reading outlines — and this screen agrees with it: 225 E 16th Ave scores 88 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 $25.6M, 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 225 E 16th Ave $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 225 E 16th Ave
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 300 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 1600 N Grant St7 stories · 100% daylit · 40 estimated homes · scores 86/100 (Strong candidate)about 300 ft away
- 1660 N Sherman St12 stories · 78% daylit · 159 estimated homes · scores 72/100 (Strong candidate)about 330 ft away
- 1575 N Sherman St11 stories · 88% daylit · 96 estimated homes · scores 78/100 (Strong candidate)about 360 ft away
- 1570 N Grant St5 stories · 100% daylit · 32 estimated homes · scores 85/100 (Strong candidate)about 380 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.