The massive office footprint at 1670 Broadway sits empty as UMB Bank relocates to Cherry Creek, but the silence is about to break. Instead of sitting vacant, the building is becoming the latest target in an aggressive citywide plan to turn empty commercial space into homes.
Municipal records from early 2026 reveal an unprecedented wave of activity led by the Denver Housing Authority. In a coordinated effort to repurpose the city's shrinking office stock, the Authority filed 479 distinct permits and over 450 licenses to transform vacant commercial structures across the 80202 ZIP code.
This isn't a slow, piecemeal renovation. Between April 9 and April 27, 2026, the Authority submitted 38 separate permits in a concentrated burst. This rapid pace follows a broader trend of 33 legal description filings logged under generic addresses in just 90 days, signaling a deliberate land assembly strategy rather than isolated projects.
The scope of the operation extends well beyond a single block. Data shows 452 business license updates specifically within the 80202 ZIP code over three months, with an additional 27 licenses appearing in the adjacent Capitol Hill neighborhood. This geographic spread points to a systematic conversion strategy designed to absorb the commercial surplus left by major employers moving to lower-vacancy districts.
With vacancy rates rising in the core, the city is pivoting toward high-density residential use. The 479 permits filed by the Housing Authority represent the most significant coordinated effort to date to address this surplus. Residents should expect demolition or heavy retrofitting to begin soon on multiple historic office buildings, raising immediate questions about utility capacity and infrastructure strain as these zones transition into dense residential districts.