Balfour Senior Living partnered with Gkkworks to create Balfour at Riverfront Park, a mid-rise senior living community in Denver, which was completed in October 2014 and hosted its grand opening in February 2015. The community features a blend of urban and historic design, which establishes a scale and fenestration for what Balfour calls the “new urban retirement experience.” The community’s vision is inspired by large metropolitan areas such as Manhattan and Chicago, where apartment living among all generations is customary.
Riverfront Park represents an adaptive reuse of prime real estate in downtown Denver. Situated at the corner of Little Raven and 15th Street, adjacent to the Millennium Bridge, Balfour is composed of three building elements: a concrete frame podium containing common areas and amenities; a five-story wood frame with independent living residences; and three stories of assisted living and memory care units.
The 275,000 square-foot, five-story building includes two separate wings that house 203 units, including 112 independent apartments, 65 assisted-living apartments, and 26 memory care units. Additionally, the community contains 70 below-grade parking spaces and an on-grade European-style plaza. The upscale living at Riverfront Park has amenities that include five dining areas, three libraries, a penthouse bar, panoramic mountain views, a rooftop garden area, business center, beauty salon, and high-end spa with an indoor saltwater swimming pool.
The community, in the oldest part of Denver, is built on a former rail yard that includes the historic Moffat Depot. The Moffat Depot restoration includes a formal great room that serves as a gathering place for residents. The 2,500-square-foot renovation of the Georgian revival-style building included restoring the brick and mortar and exterior façade’s roof.
The Basset Circle bisecting the building site started as a sizable obstacle, but became an opportunity for design. This obstacle led to the creation of a small village that’s integrated into the architectural character of the community. The sense of arrival through the Basset portal allowed the architecture to span the street, while defining the arrival for guests and residents.
