With more than 200 in attendance, Mayor Mike Johnston honored the best in architecture and design during the 2025 Mayor’s Design Awards ceremony on April 9 at the Studio Loft of the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
The mayor presented awards to 12 winners in nine categories and recognized nine honorable mentions, selected from 27 official nominees. The evening concluded with the presentation of the first-ever People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by the public and was awarded to Populus.
Full list of 2025 Mayor’s Design Awards nominees, honorable mentions and winners:
Category: Adaptive Reuse
Projects that repurpose, modernize or refresh existing structures into new uses.
- York Street Yards, 3821-3893 Steele Street – Winner
- The Amp, 1580 Logan Street – Honorable Mention
- BurnDown, 476 S. Broadway – Honorable Mention
Category: Affordability – Existing Buildings
Renovations and adaptations of existing buildings for the purpose of income-restricted housing.
- Mosaic Community Campus, 7150 Montview Boulevard – Winner
- Pancratia Hall Lofts, 3144 W. Frances Walsh Place – Winner
Category: Affordability – New Construction
New buildings constructed for the purpose of income-restricted housing.
- Nest56 @Denargo Market, 2700 Wewatta Way – Winner
- The Burrell, 3575 Chestnut Place
- Thrive, 2660 W. Holden Place – Honorable Mention
Category: Community and Culture
Projects that promote uses that foster community building and Denver’s cultural vibrancy.
- City Heights Residence Hall, 1191 Larimer Street – Winner
- “A House of Prayer for All People” Project at Montview Church, 1980 Dahlia Street – Honorable Mention
- Buell Public Media Center, 2101 Arapahoe Street – Honorable Mention
- Tears-McFarlane House and Secret Garden Bar & Café, 1290 N. Williams Street – Winner
- Urban Peak Mothership, 1630 S. Acoma Street
Category: Economic Development – Large Scale
Market-rate development for residential, commercial or a mix of uses at a large scale.
- The Ayden, 4228 Kalamath Street – Winner
- One Seven at Belleview Station, 4882 S. Newport Street
- Paradigm River North, 3400 Walnut Street – Honorable Mention
Category: Economic Development – Small Scale
Market-rate development for residential, commercial or a mix of uses at a small scale.
- Bruce Randolph Avenue Residences, 3631 Bruce Randolph Avenue – Winner
- Tejon Micros, 3282 N. Tejon Street
Category: Innovation
Projects that push the envelope on sustainability, wellness and/or overall design quality.
- Populus, 240 14th Street – Winner – The People’s Choice
- 200 Clayton Office/Mixed-use, 200 Clayton Street
- Lakehouse, 4200 W. 17th Avenue – Honorable Mention
Category: Open Space, Street Activation and Placemaking
Projects that improve public and shared spaces.
- 9+CO, 9th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard – Winner
- Brighton Boulevard Redevelopment, Brighton Boulevard from 29th Avenue to 44th Avenue – Winner
- Parkway Cow, 4700 E. 6th Avenue Parkway – Honorable Mention
Category: Preservation
Projects that focus on preserving, renovating and adaptively reusing structures with historic, architectural and/or cultural significance.
- The Sudler, 1576 N. Sherman Street – Winner
- BOSS.architecture, 3300 E. 17th Avenue
- Centennial House at Ninth Street Historic Park, 1050 9th Street – Honorable Mention
Since 2005, the Mayor’s Design Awards have honored projects throughout the city for excellence in architecture, urban design and placemaking. The awards are presented to Denver homeowners, business owners, nonprofits, artists, and others for their creative contributions to the public realm. Winners can range from community placemaking projects to adaptive reuse of historic structures to single-family residences to major mixed-use downtown buildings. Each brings something special to Denver’s unique visual fabric and speaks to our collective commitment to building healthy, sustainable communities.
