501 16th St
501 16th St is a 23-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 81% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 406 homes and scores it 69 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-09-19 · Worth a feasibility study
Also addressed as 511 16th St, 519 16th St, 518 17th St, 1611 Glenarm Pl, 1621 Glenarm Pl, 1625 Glenarm Pl, 1631 Glenarm Pl and 1635 Glenarm Pl: Denver’s address records place all 9 on this one footprint.
Where 501 16th St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 501 16th St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 22 residential floors this building carries 87,572 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 501 16th St, 2026-09-19.
| Suitability scoreWorth a feasibility study | 69 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 279 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 23 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floors 1–3: 49,423 sq ft · Floor 4: 48,397 sq ft · Floor 5: 42,778 sq ft · Floors 6–9: 28,314 sq ft · Floor 10: 16,923 sq ft · Floors 11–17: 15,568 sq ft · Floor 18: 11,771 sq ft · Floor 19: 10,376 sq ft · Floor 20: 6,970 sq ft · Floor 21: 6,652 sq ft · Floor 22: 2,291 sq ft · Floor 23: 1,338 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 28,314 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 81% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 62 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 4,531 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 406 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 468,571 sq ft | $168.7M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $72.9M |
| 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
38 ft of exterior wall for each home the screen estimates — enough for two- and three-bedroom homes across the plan.
The typical floor has 969 ft of exterior wall, and across 22 residential floors the building carries 15,618 ft of it in total, divided among the 406 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is elongated at 0.38: 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 18.5 homes per floor, repeated on every residential floor, since this building's outline does not change as it rises.
Why 501 16th St scores 69 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 83, Interior depth 45, Scale 100, Finance 38 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 501 16th St. Points are the subscore times its weight.
| Component | Subscore | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight efficiency81% of the floor area within 35 ft of a facade, scored from 40% up to 90% | 83 | 45% | 37.2 |
| Interior depthdeepest interior point 62 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 45 | 25% | 11.2 |
| Scale406 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| Financeremaining gap is 37% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0% | 38 | 15% | 5.7 |
Most of what it earns comes from daylight efficiency, and what holds it back most is finance, at 38 out of 100: remaining gap is 37% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 468,571 sq ft of converted floor, or $168.7M in total — about $415K for each of the 406 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 501 16th 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 87,572 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 406 homes is $95.8M.
What would have to be true
A $72.9M gap before any grant, $62.9M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 40% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $72.9M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 406 homes finishing at $415K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 76% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $204 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $391K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $62.9M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 501 16th St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 501 16th St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 40% downto 453 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 52% downto $126/sq ft |
| Completed value per home | 66% upto $391K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 501 16th St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
501 16th St ranks 119th of the 214 buildings screened here, against a median score of 72.
Its floor plate is better lit than 45% of them, and shallower than 28% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 48th 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
42nd of 75 in CBD, 41st of 72 zoned D-C — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 75 of the screened buildings in CBD. 501 16th St ranks 42nd 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 62 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. 501 16th St ranks 41st 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 62 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: 1777 Chestnut Pl
The screened building closest to 501 16th St in converted floor area is 1777 Chestnut Pl: 507,725 sq ft over 23 stories, against 468,571 sq ft over 23 here.
501 16th St scores 69 to its 91, and with the size held roughly equal most of that shortfall comes from interior depth: 45 out of 100 here, 95 there (deepest interior point 42 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 5,300 ft apart.
Would it qualify for a RESIDE Act grant?
The model awards 501 16th St $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 501 16th St
The 4 closest the screen also covers, from 170 ft away. They are the colored outlines on the plan at the top of this page.
- 535 16th St13 stories · 88% daylit · 224 estimated homes · scores 84/100 (Strong candidate)about 170 ft away
- 1600 Glenarm Pl32 stories · 86% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 210 ft away
- 444 17th St12 stories · 100% daylit · already a condominium buildingabout 260 ft away
- 600 17th St34 stories · 82% daylit · 651 estimated homes · scores 73/100 (Strong candidate)about 350 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.