707 17th Street

707 17th Street
MCI Plaza.jpg
General information
Status Complete
Type Office, Hotel[1]
Location 707 17th Street, Denver, Colorado, United States
Coordinates
Opening 1981[1]
Height
Roof 522 ft (159 m)[2]
Technical details
Floor count 42[1]
Floor area 522,071 square feet (48,502 m2)
Design and construction
Owner MCI Inc.,
Marriott International, Inc.[2]
Architect Metz, Train & Youngren[2]
Developer Crescent Real Estate Equities Company[2]

707 17th Street, formerly known as the MCI Building and Arco Tower, is a skyscraper in Denver, Colorado. The building was completed in 1981, and rises 42 floors and 522 feet (159 m) in height.[2] The building stands as the sixth-tallest building in Denver as of 2010. It also stood as the tallest building in the city at the time of its 1981 completion, and held that distinction for two years until it was surpassed by the 709-foot (216 m) 1801 California Street in 1983.[3]

707 17th Street was known as MCI Plaza until 2005; MCI Inc. filed for bankruptcy in 2002, and the company was subsequently acquired by Verizon Communications on February 14, 2005.[4] Prior to its bankruptcy, MCI occupied the uppermost commercial floors of 707 17th Street, and served as the structure's primary tenant.[5] However, even before MCI's acquirement, 707 17th Street stood partially vanant, and was nearing a 50% vacancy rate in 2002.[5] This ended on September 30, 2002, when architectural, engineering and construction management firm Carter & Burgess signed a deal to lease 86,000 square feet (8,000 m2) of office space.[5] This deal was one of largest office transactions in Denver in 2006.[5]

While the upper 22 floors of the building contain office space, the lowest 20 floors of 707 17th Street contain the Denver Marriott City Center, which contains 613 guest rooms and suites.[2][6] As the building consists of both commercial and hotel space, it is classified as a mixed use skyscraper;[1] it is the tallest such building in Denver.[7]

707 17th Street has a somewhat unique "setfront" design, rather than the usual setback found in other Denver skyscrapers such as 1801 California Street.[6] The building bulges out and becomes wider at its 15th floor, and this widening is described as a "setfront".[6] The narrower region at the bottom of the building is home to the Marriott hotel, whereas the upper, wider floors contain most of the commercial space.[6] The building's façade is composed of black glass, and it is an example of international-style "black box" architecture.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "MCI Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=139. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "707 17th Street". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=121368. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  3. ^ "1801 California Street". Emporis.com. http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=1801californiastreet-denver-co-usa. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  4. ^ "Verizon acquires MCI". Mobile Tech News. Web Market, Inc.. 2005-02-14. http://www.mobiletechnews.com/info/2005/02/14/114442.html. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  5. ^ a b c d Johansen, Erin (2002-10-11). "86,000 square feet taken off the market at MCI building". Denver Business Journal. American City Business Journals, Inc.. http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2002/10/14/story5.html. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  6. ^ a b c d "The tallest buildings in Colorado". DenverSkyscrapers.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20080328112625/http://www.denverskyscrapers.com/tallbuildings_downtown_507_714.html. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 
  7. ^ "Denver Skyscrapers". SkyscraperPage.com. http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?searchID=37952748. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 

External links

Preceded by
555 17th Street
Tallest Building in Denver
1981—1983
159m
Succeeded by
1801 California Street