When searching for a new office for his architecture firm, Blake Mourer insisted on finding something that was not move-in ready.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really less about location, more about finding the right asset,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s looking for something that needed work, that I could improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mourer is the co-founder and principal at Open Studio Architecture, a local firm that has designed everything from new office buildings in RiNo and Cherry Creek to the revamped Mighty Argo Gold Mill in Idaho Springs, which will bring cable cars, an amphitheater and retail space to the tourist attraction.<\/p>\n
Last month, Open Studio purchased 1120 Santa Fe Drive in Denver\u2019s Lincoln Park for $1.4 million, according to public records.<\/p>\n
The company will move there in February from its office at 1010 Park Ave. in Ballpark, which it built in 2018. Mourer\u2019s firm only ever occupied half of the building, and sold it to a small-scale hotelier in the spring.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanta Fe is known for the arts and known for just being a pretty hip and vital kind of place. And so it\u2019s a nice change of pace,\u201d Mourer said.<\/p>\n
The architect spoke with BusinessDen on the property\u2019s 3,500-square-foot patio, which features mature trees and a colonnade, as construction work was underway in the building.<\/p>\n
Mourer said the 4,000-square-foot building has \u201cgood bones.\u201d It will soon feature oak floors, mud-in lighting and gyp ceilings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be very much like you\u2019re hanging out in the lobby of a hotel \u2026 that\u2019s just warm, simple, clean,\u201d he said of how he\u2019s remaking the interior.<\/p>\n
A library will fill out the basement, while a kitchen, conference room and a pair of offices will wrap around the perimeter of the main floor. The main chunk of the office will be dedicated work space, with rows of three 8-foot-long oak tables, big enough to hold 18 people.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s notable, considering Open Studio has only about a dozen people on staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll probably add three to five people in \u201926 and that\u2019s based on the momentum I\u2019m seeing now. \u2026 I don\u2019t know if that\u2019ll hold. There could be any number of things that would disrupt that,\u201d Mourer said.<\/p>\n
But for now, Mourer is focused on the build-out. He wouldn\u2019t disclose the cost of the work, but public records state the renovations are costing $235,000. The firm looked all over Denver\u2019s urban core for a new location, including places in LoHi and RiNo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe like all those neighborhoods for different reasons. Of course, we wanted to be central enough that our employees didn\u2019t have too much of a new commute,\u201d Mourer said.<\/p>\n
Part of the reason for buying the building, though, is what someone else might be able to do with it down the line. The site is zoned for up to 8 stories, so it has the potential for development in the future, Mourer added.<\/p>\n
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