900 16th St
900 16th St is a 14-story building in Greater Downtown Denver with 96% of its floor area within daylight reach of a facade. This screen estimates 170 homes and scores it 96 out of 100 for office-to-residential conversion suitability.
CO-1 · Screened 2026-10-04 · Strong candidate
Also addressed as 904 16th St, 910 16th St, 912 16th St, 918 16th St, 1527 Champa St, 1529 Champa St, 1531 Champa St, 1533 Champa St, 1535 Champa St, 1543 Champa St, 1545 Champa St, 1551 Champa St, 1555 Champa St and 1561 Champa St: Denver’s address records place all 15 on this one footprint.
Where 900 16th St is
Its block in Greater Downtown Denver, drawn from Denver's own building outlines and street centerlines.
- Already housing
- Not screened
- 900 16th St
This building does not pencil at default assumptions, even with a modeled RESIDE Act grant.
Across its 13 residential floors this building carries 6,035 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 900 16th St, 2026-10-04.
| Suitability scoreStrong candidate | 96 / 100 |
|---|---|
| Storiesfrom 162 ft aerial-survey height ÷ 12 ft floor-to-floor | 14 |
| Height bandsfloor plate by floor range, from the city's roof outlines | Floor 1: 32,050 sq ft · Floor 2: 28,150 sq ft · Floor 3: 23,562 sq ft · Floor 4: 21,044 sq ft · Floor 5: 17,073 sq ft · Floor 6: 13,122 sq ft · Floor 7: 11,754 sq ft · Floors 8–12: 9,543 sq ft · Floors 13–14: 1,750 sq ft |
| Floor platetypical floor, from the city outlines | 9,543 sq ft |
| Daylight efficiencyshare within 35 ft of a facade | 96% |
| Deepest interior pointviability threshold is 80 ft | 32 ft |
| Windowless coretypical floor; the building-wide total is in the text above | 0 sq ft |
| Estimated homesat 750 sq ft average | 170 |
| Conversion cost$360/sq ft all-in on 165,922 sq ft | $59.7M |
| Gap before grantshortfall against completed value | $19.6M |
| Modeled RESIDE grantat the statutory per-award cap | $10.0M |
| BuiltDenver does not publish a construction year with this data | — |
| ZoningCBD | D-TD |
| 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 465 ft of exterior wall, and across 13 residential floors the building carries 8,086 ft of it in total, divided among the 170 homes this screen estimates.
Its plate is moderately compact at 0.56: 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 13.1 homes per floor. Its floors are not alike, though: the typical floor's deepest interior point is 32 ft from a facade, while its worst floor reaches 64 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 900 16th St scores 96 out of 100
Daylight efficiency 100, Interior depth 100, Scale 100, Finance 73 — each out of 100, then weighted.
Score components for 900 16th St. 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 32 ft from a facade, scored from 80 ft down to 40 ft | 100 | 25% | 25.0 |
| Scale170 estimated homes, scored from 0 up to 150 | 100 | 15% | 15.0 |
| 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 finance, at 73 out of 100: remaining gap is 16% of conversion cost, scored from 60% down to 0%.
What the conversion would cost
$360 per square foot all-in across 165,922 sq ft of converted floor, or $59.7M in total — about $351K for each of the 170 homes.
All-in cost per square foot for 900 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 6,035 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 170 homes is $40.1M.
What would have to be true
A $19.6M gap before any grant, $9.6M after the modeled one. The smallest single change that would close it: average unit size 19% down.
The shortfall before any grant is $19.6M. Closing it from the value side means each of the 170 homes finishing at $351K rather than the $236K the model assumes — 49% more. Closing it from the cost side means getting all-in cost down from $360 to $242 per square foot.
A modeled RESIDE grant of $10.0M moves that threshold to $293K a home. That is still above the $236K assumed, leaving $9.6M uncovered, which is why the grant does not unlock this one.
Nor do all four levers have to move. For 900 16th St, one alone would close the gap at:
Single-assumption flip points for 900 16th St, each holding the other three at their defaults.
| Average unit sizethe binding constraint — the least this building would need | 19% downto 606 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Conversion cost per square foot | 22% downto $202/sq ft |
| Circulation efficiency | 24% upto 99% |
| Completed value per home | 24% upto $293K |
All four are sliders in the survey, where 900 16th St re-scores against your own numbers.
How it compares in Greater Downtown Denver
900 16th St ranks 3rd of the 208 buildings screened here, against a median score of 73.
Its floor plate is better lit than 87% of them, and shallower than 93% of them at its deepest interior point. On size it is the 121st largest by estimated homes. The full survey of all 208 buildings ranks and maps every one of them, and the list by address links each to its own page.
Within CBD and the D-TD zone
2nd of 74 in CBD, 2nd of 20 zoned D-TD — the comparison that shares its rules, rents and streets.
Denver places 74 of the screened buildings in CBD. 900 16th St ranks 2nd of them against a median score of 71. 38 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 57 ft from a facade against this building’s 32 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 33,455 homes. The group’s top scorer is 918 17th St, at 97.
20 of the screened buildings are zoned D-TD. 900 16th St ranks 2nd of them against a median score of 69. 10 score 70 or more, their median deepest interior point is 57 ft from a facade against this building’s 32 ft, and together they would hold an estimated 8,565 homes. The group’s top scorer is 918 17th St, at 97.
Its nearest match in size: 1580 N Lincoln St
The screened building closest to 900 16th St in converted floor area is 1580 N Lincoln St: 168,075 sq ft over 13 stories, against 165,922 sq ft over 14 here.
900 16th St scores 96 to its 73, and with the size held roughly equal most of that lead comes from interior depth: 100 out of 100 here, 51 there (deepest interior point 60 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 3,100 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: “910 16th St”.
That is an outside opinion reached by different means — architects reading plans, not a model reading outlines — and this screen agrees with it: 900 16th St scores 96 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 $19.6M, 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 900 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 900 16th 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.
- 930 16th St8 stories · 78% daylit · 95 estimated homes · scores 61/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 150 ft away
- 820 16th St10 stories · 79% daylit · 180 estimated homes · scores 67/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 220 ft away
- 951 16th St9 stories · 71% daylit · 161 estimated homes · scores 61/100 (Worth a feasibility study)about 270 ft away
- 800 16th St11 stories · 88% daylit · already an apartment buildingabout 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.