910 16th Street

Denver’s historic University Building is getting a new chapter. Soon, more people will be living just steps away from jobs, culture, and transit in the heart of downtown!

With $14.5 million in DDA funding, the 12-story high-rise will be converted into 120 mixed-income housing units, serving residents earning 30–80% of the area median income.

Originally built in 1911 as the A.C. Foster Building, it was one of Denver’s first steel-and-concrete high-rises, designed by the prominent architectural firm Fisher & Fisher, after the city lifted its height restrictions. At the time, it was considered “possibly the most exciting and original skyscraper” west of the Mississippi.

In the 1940s, developer A.C. Foster donated the building to the University of Denver, and it’s been known as the University Building ever since.

Over the years, it became home to jewelers, small offices, and even the workspace of future Supreme Court Justice Byron White. It earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Importantly, this building was highlighted in the 2023 Compatibility Study conducted by the City of Denver and Gensler to evaluate which downtown buildings were best suited for office-to-residential conversion. The University Building received a compatibility score of 91%(the highest score) affirming both its historic charm and structural adaptability.

Now, it’s joining a wave of adaptive reuse across downtown.

The conversion will add new homes, activate ground-floor retail, and bring modern amenities into a space that had largely been reserved for office use. It’s part of a broader DDA initiative to reduce vacancy, restore vitality, and build housing without starting from scratch.

Once a symbol of commercial ambition, the University Building is stepping into its next role which is, housing the people who make downtown Denver hum.