500 15th St
500 15th St is a 8-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 88% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 71 homes and scores it 77 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Strong candidate
Where 500 15th St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 500 15th St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 7 residential floors this building carries 8,996 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 500 15th St, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 77 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 101 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 8 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–6: 12,953 sq ft · Floors 7–8: 5,717 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 12,953 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 88% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 52 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 1,799 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 71 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 76,199 sq ft | $27.4M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $10.7M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantbelow the statutory cap | $4.3M |
| 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
49 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 465 ft of exterior wall, and across 7 residential floors the building carries 3,494 ft of it in total, divided among the 71 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is compact at 0.75: 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 10.1 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 500 15th St scores 77 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 96, Interior depth 71, Scale 47, Finance 61 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 500 15th St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency88% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 96 | 45% | 43.4 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 52 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 71 | 25% | 17.7 |
| Scale71 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 47 | 15% | 7.1 |
| Financeremaining gap is 23% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 61 | 15% | 9.2 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is scale, at 47 out of 100: 71 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 76,199 sq ft of converted floor, or $27.4M in total — about $386K for each of the 71 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 500 15th 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 8,996 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 71 homes is $16.8M.
What would have to be true
A $10.7M gap before any grant, $6.4M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 23% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $10.7M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 71 homes finishing at $386K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 64% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $220 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $4.3M moves that threshold to $326K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $6.4M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 500 15th St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 500 15th St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 23% downto 578 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 32% downto $176/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 38% upto $326K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 500 15th St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
500 15th St ranks 88th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 67% of them, and shallower than 61% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 185th 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
28th of 75 in CBD, 28th of 72 zoned D-C — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 75 of the screened buildings in CBD. 500 15th St ranks 28th 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 52 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. 500 15th St ranks 28th 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 52 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: 1888 N Sherman St
The screened building closest to 500 15th St in converted floor area is 1888 N Sherman St: 73,003 sq ft over 9 stories, against 76,199 sq ft over 8 here.
The two land within a few points of each other — 77 here, 79 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 2,400 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 500 15th St $4.3M, 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 500 15th St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 150 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 550 15th St17 stories · 78% daylit · 253 estimated homes · scores 70/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 150 ft away
- 439 14th St17 stories · 85% daylit · 239 estimated homes · scores 88/100 (Strong candidate)about 260 ft away
- 1400 Welton St11 stories · 84% daylit · 145 estimated homes · scores 75/100 (Strong candidate)about 300 ft away
- 500 16th St8 stories · 71% daylit · 496 estimated homes · scores 49/100 (Marginal)about 390 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.