The Rossonian: A landmark on the agenda, again

Last October, the Rossonian was on the Denver Landmark Preservation agenda for two design reviews. One item was the partial demolition of the roof, and the second item was the rehabilitation, rooftop addition, and alterations to the Rossonian’s annex next door.

Those discussions were postponed.

Now, the revered Rossonian, a 1911 building designed by George Louis Bettcher, is back in play. On Tuesday, June 4, the landmark commission will consider demolition of the annex, and will discuss a new iteration of plans for an infill structure next to the Rossonian. It is the initial step to address the issues of mass, form and context for a major building.

Things have changed, but the owner, Palisade Partners, with the Five Points Development Corp. and the architect, Craine Architecture, stay the same.

According to the new application for review, the programming for the new project will include a restaurant, a “speakeasy lounge,” a jazz club, a boutique hotel, and a rooftop restaurant. Next door to the Rossonian complex, the Hooper, a mixed-use project with offices and apartments and a ground-level bar and restaurant broke ground in April. The owner also is Palisade Partners, and the architect is Craine Architecture. To me, that means there will be some compatibility along that stretch of Welton Street.

The Rossonian is a high point of the Five Points Cultural District. It is a structure that has been waiting, waiting, and waiting for something to happen, years after it no longer was a prominent jazz venue with an incredible history and cultural importance.

Below are links to the applications and landmark staff comments on the demolition of the annex, which is not an historic building, and on the new infill building. Also, there are links to stories on the groundbreaking for The Hooper, and on the projects by Palisade Partners.

The photo at the top of this post is a rendering of the “new” Rossonian project; below the links is a rendering of the project from October.

https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/landmark/lpc/agendas/2019/2650.WeltonSt_AnnexDemolition_LPCStaffReport_06.04.2019.pdf

https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/landmark/lpc/agendas/2019/2650.WeltonSt_AnnexDemolition_ApplicantMaterials_06.04.2019.PDF

https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/landmark/lpc/agendas/2019/2650.Welton_PhaseIMFC%20_StaffReport_06.04.2019.pdf

https://www.denvergov.org/content/dam/denvergov/Portals/646/documents/landmark/lpc/agendas/2019/2650.WeltonSt_PhaseIMFC_ApplicantMaterials_06.04.2019.pdf

https://www.bisnow.com/index.php/denver/news/mixed-use/palisade-breaks-ground-on-the-hooper-98624

https://milehighcre.com/palisade-partners-plans-complimentary-projects-in-five-points/?utm_source=Mile+High+CRE+Final+List&utm_campaign=696aff3d7e-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d7e9da0309-696aff3d7e-171364209