401 E Colfax Ave
401 E Colfax Ave is a 7-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 96% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 84 homes and scores it 89 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Also addressed as 1530 N Logan St: Denver’s address records place both on this one footprint.
Where 401 E Colfax Ave is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 401 E Colfax Ave
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 6 residential floors this building carries 3,049 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 401 E Colfax Ave, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 89 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 84 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 7 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floor 1: 20,252 sq ft · Floor 2: 18,217 sq ft · Floors 3–4: 15,285 sq ft · Floors 5–7: 11,165 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 11,165 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 96% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 31 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 0 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 84 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 82,283 sq ft | $29.6M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $9.8M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $5.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningNorth Capitol Hill | C-MS-8 |
| Opportunity Zonenot in a 2018 designated tract | No |
The plan: window line, shape and floor rhythm
48 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 664 ft of exterior wall, and across 6 residential floors the building carries 4,048 ft of it in total, divided among the 84 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is elongated at 0.32: 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 14.0 homes per floor. Its floors are not alike, though: the typical floor's deepest interior point is 31 ft from a facade, while its worst floor reaches 47 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 401 E Colfax Ave scores 89 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 100, Interior depth 100, Scale 56, Finance 73 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 401 E Colfax Ave. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency96% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 100 | 45% | 45.0 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 31 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 100 | 25% | 25.0 |
| Scale84 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 56 | 15% | 8.4 |
| Financeremaining gap is 16% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 73 | 15% | 11.0 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is scale, at 56 out of 100: 84 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 82,283 sq ft of converted floor, or $29.6M in total — about $353K for each of the 84 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 401 E Colfax 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 3,049 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 84 homes is $19.8M.
What would have to be true
A $9.8M gap before any grant, $4.8M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 16% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $9.8M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 84 homes finishing at $353K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 49% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $241 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $5.0M moves that threshold to $293K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $4.8M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 401 E Colfax Ave, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 401 E Colfax Ave, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 16% downto 628 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Circulation efficiency | 20% upto 96% |
| Conversion cost per square foot | 22% downto $202/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 24% upto $293K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 401 E Colfax Ave re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
401 E Colfax Ave ranks 28th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 86% of them, and shallower than 95% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 173rd 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
8th 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. 401 E Colfax Ave ranks 8th 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 31 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: 800 15th St
The screened building closest to 401 E Colfax Ave in converted floor area is 800 15th St: 83,996 sq ft over 7 stories, against 82,283 sq ft over 7 here.
The two land within a few points of each other — 89 here, 91 there — so at this size the screen reads them as much the same prospect. On the money they sit in the same place: each falls short even with the modeled grant. The two stand about 3,900 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 401 E Colfax Ave $5.0M, 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 401 E Colfax Ave
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.
- 1575 N Pennsylvania St10 stories · 100% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 320 ft away
- 1580 N Logan St11 stories · 91% daylit · 92 estimated homes · scores 85/100 (Strong candidate)about 320 ft away
- 1570 N Grant St5 stories · 100% daylit · 32 estimated homes · scores 85/100 (Strong candidate)about 470 ft away
- 551 E Colfax Ave5 stories · 93% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 490 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.