Top 10 Confluence Denver Features of 2014

The year 2014 was a big one for Denver, from the grand opening of Voodoo Doughnut to the demolition of the old Gates Rubber plant to the re-opening of Union Station. Here are the top 10 feature stories from Confluence Denver this year.

1. A Dozen Abuzz: 12 Anticipated Openings in Denver (October)
Denver is on fire. Here are 12 of the most anticipated openings of projects currently in the works across the city. See you there soon.

2. New Breweries Taking Off in South Denver (February)
As many as five new craft breweries might be in business by mid-2014 along or near South Broadway and East Evans Avenue in south Denver. Former Future Brewing Company was first to open last weekend, and Declaration Brewing, Grandma's House, Fermæntra and Platt Park Brewing Company are currently in the planning or construction stages.

3. What Smart Cities Can Learn from Denver (August)
Fueled by collaboration, the Mile High City is investing in transit-oriented development while also preserving its historic neighborhoods. Denver has gained 50,000 new residents in the past four years, outpacing its suburbs and most other metro areas.


4. Gates Demolition Underway, Redevelopment Next (January)
The former Gates rubber factory has blighted the South Denver landscape for more than a decade. Now that demolition is underway, can the redevelopment reality match the award-winning mixed-use plan that fell apart five years ago?



5. Denver Union Station a National Standout for Urban Depot Redevelopment (February)
Denver's Union Station is in the final months of a five-year, $500 million redevelopment project. As it prepares to open this summer, other cities are renovating their own urban train stations into neighborhood amenities, with multimodal transportation hubs, vibrant public spaces, and mixed-use projects rethinking the old Amtrak-based model.


6. Voodoo Doughnut Puts its Magic in the Hole on Colfax (January)
Voodoo Doughnut picked Denver over Austin, San Francisco, New York and Las Vegas for its first location outside of Oregon. Co-Founder Tres Shannon and GM Laura Wolken share why the city is perfect for the one-of-a-kind doughnut business.


7. Denver Bridging Gaps for Walking and Pedaling (January)
Over the past decade, Denver has built new pathways for the city's bipedal travelers, including the Millennium Bridge between LoHi and LoDo. Now the city is working on new projects to make the city more navigable by foot and bike, including a pedestrian bridge in the RiNo neighborhood that will cross a tangle of railroads and access the forthcoming light-rail station near Blake and 36th streets. Other parts of Denver still need help -- and some are starting to get it, with $10 million worth of projects in the works.

8. Industry Denver: Reinventing the Workplace in RiNo (July)
In Denver's booming RiNo neighborhood, there are few projects as ambitious as Industry. The former warehouse and grocery terminal is now a "shared workspace" with the second of three phases set to open in August.

9. From What River? to River Vision: South Platte Getting $25 Million Upgrade (September)
On the South Platte River in Denver, numerous projects known collectively as River Vision are underway, aiming to improve both recreation and ecology. While the river remains a work in progress, it's unrecognizable compared to the mess it was 50 years ago.

10. Jeremy Duhon: 'Denver Is No Longer an Underdog' (July)
Jeremy Duhon of Denver Investments and TEDxMileHigh lives by a very Colorado adage: work hard, play hard. He says Denver has grown markedly in many different directions and the city needs to shout about its maturation for the entire country to hear.