Dan Huml wants to go from Formula One to frozen dessert.
The head of Magnetic Capital, which developed the new F1 Arcade in RiNo, is eyeing the Museum of Ice Cream as another big-city concept to bring to Denver.
The attraction is not a traditional museum but instead offers unlimited ice cream and desserts in a series of Instagram-friendly and pink-heavy “playscapes,” including what it calls a sprinkle pool, according to its website.
It operates in Boston, Chicago, New York, Miami and Singapore, according to its website. Locations are in the works in Las Vegas and Orlando.
Huml told Denver’s Downtown Development Authority, a city affiliate that has $570 million in bond dollars to spend on revitalizing downtown, that the MOIC has signed a letter of intent to lease 1523-1525 Market St. for 15 years.
Huml bought the 1523 Market building in 2019. The 1525 Market building is owned by Urban Frontier, a fellow Denver real estate firm.
Urban Frontier, led by Garrett Baum, would go in with Huml’s Magnetic Capital to redevelop the buildings for the MOIC, per the application to the DDA, which was obtained by BusinessDen after being partially redacted by the city.
In an October application, Huml and Baum said the project would cost $25 million. They asked the DDA to chip in $7.6 million toward that, and indicated that the remaining financing was already secured. Most DDA funding announced to date has come as loans.
“MOIC will serve as a permanent, year-round immersive attraction that blends art, retail, and food service to drive tourism and foot traffic downtown,” the pair said.
They said that Huml’s building has been vacant for more than seven years and that Baum’s building is partially occupied but has struggled “primarily due to the configuration of the ground floor stairwell at the entrance of the building.”
Huml, Baum and the MOIC did not respond to requests for comment.
The MOIC first opened as a pop-up in New York in 2016 and expanded to other cities as a temporary attraction before opening permanent locations, including a New York flagship in 2019. Ticket prices there vary by date and time but are often in the $40 to $60 range, according to the attraction’s website. There’s also a more expensive VIP ticket option.
The LoDo location would have a cafe and retail space that would be accessible to nonticket holders, Huml and Baum’s application states.
In their bid for DDA dollars, Huml and Baum said the MOIC could help city leaders in their bid to make downtown family-friendly. But the spot isn’t just for kids. Existing locations also serve alcohol, and the MOIC’s website encourages guests to “reconnect with your inner child.”
Huml and Baum touted that the attraction becomes “one of the most Instagrammed attractions in every city it enters.”
The DDA board, which has approved $166 million in spending since July, has yet to discuss the Museum of Ice Cream in a public meeting.
Huml paid $2.8 million for the 11,100-square-foot building at 1523 Market in April 2019, records show. The Chicago native has done a host of local projects since moving to Denver less than a decade ago.
In RiNo, in addition to developing F1 Arcade, he is also behind the Federales restaurant building at 2901 Larimer St., the now-closed Sonder hotel at 3354 Larimer St. and the Brewdog building at 3950 Wynkoop St. He and Magnetic Capital managing partner Chris Carroll are also wrapping up an office building in Cherry Creek.
Baum bought the 8,400-square-foot 1525 Market building for $2.4 million in 2021, records show. He also owns several adjacent buildings that wouldn’t be part of the project. Baum founded his firm Urban Frontier with Bill Branyan in 2005, according to the company’s website.
Read more from our partner, BusinessDen.
Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.