The Denver City Council is expected to soon vote on a rezoning request for the construction of an 8-story car vending machine.
The project belongs to the Tempe-based Carvana Company, a growing used-car retailer, who wants to build a new facility on a 1.5-acre site at 4700 E. Evans Avenue.
The Carvana concept is both simple and revolutionary in the used car industry: a service allowing customers to purchase their vehicles of choice online, before retrieving them via an automated vehicle delivery system.
There are currently two dozen such Carvana facilities nationally, all multi-level, and housing pre-purchased vehicles waiting to be picked up by their new owners.
Launched in 2013, the company is thought to be the largest such car dealership of its kind in the country.
Measuring anywhere from roughly 175,000 square feet to more than 200,000 square feet, Carvana locations have seen an increase in the number of cars they handle, from just over 94,000 in 2018 to nearly 180,000 last year.
The new Denver location will reach a height of 75 feet, with the rezoning request taking the site from its current Industrial Mixed-Use to a proposed Suburban Mixed-Use.
The city’s Community Planning and Development department has recommended the rezoning request, which could be taken up by the city council next month.
If the project secures approval, work on the new Carvana outlet could begin later this year, with a rough late 2022 completion date.
By Garry Boulard
