Funding to the tune of $2.7 million has been secured for a project that will see the conversion of a historic mixed office and retail structure in downtown Denver into a marketplace for small businesses.
Located at 1554 California Street, the McClintock Building was completed in 1911 and has been praised by architectural historians for its exterior Gothic Revival details.
According to an essay published by the group History Colorado, the building is an “early 20th century example of the application of lavish terra cotta ornamentation to a brick commercial building.”
The structure features accolades above the second story windows, and cartouches above the windows on the third floor. Designed by well-known architects Robert Willison and Montana Fallis, the building has for years housed a wide variety of businesses, including doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, beauty salons, and watch repair shops.
In more recent years, the McClintock Building has featured a ground floor Starbucks and a T.J. Maxx outlet.
Now the Denver Downtown Development Authority has announced it is awarding $2.7 million to transform the McClintock structure into what will be an 18,000-square-foot marketplace for small businesses.
The McClintock project is being spearheaded by an entity called Green Spaces Market, which is devoted to providing affordable business space for local artists, non-profits, and small businesses.
As envisioned, the building will additionally host clothing store and art gallery space, as well as a mix of food and beverage offerings.
The funding is a part of an overall $100 million that the DDA Authority is investing in ten separate projects, all with the goal of revitalizing business in the Mile High City’s core downtown.
In announcing the development awards, Doug Tisdale, chairman of the board of the DDA, remarked: “Our priority is to help bring projects to life that will deliver thousands of people back to downtown and create new energy for the people who live, work, and play in Denver.”
August 1, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of City of Denver
