You don’t need a million dollars to live in downtown Denver, although there are multimillion-dollar properties in the city’s core. Woven in among the flashy penthouses and lofts are a fair number of affordable condos and apartments.
“A lot of people have the misperception that downtown housing is only for those who can buy an expensive loft in LoDo,” said Kate Peterson, Housing Program Manager for the Downtown Denver Partnership. “In fact, 20 percent of the units downtown are classified as affordable housing.”
As recently as 10 years ago, people didn’t think of downtown as a place to live, Peterson said.
“They worked here, and then they went home,” she said.
Now, the average downtown resident is 41 and an empty- nester, a young professional or a second-home owner.
“The housing market downtown is strong, with 2,500 planned units coming to fruition in the next 18 months,” Peterson said. “We’re ready to meet (the demand) and turn Denver into the 24-hour community it has strived to be for a number of years.”
Some samples of downtown housing options, from moderate to downright lavish, follow.
If you’re renting
For less than $1,000 a month there are apartments along the 16th Street Mall, near Coors Field and in Uptown.
A one-bedroom, one- bath, 475- to 660-square-foot unit at the Rio Grande Lofts, for example, runs $590 to $850 a month. Rio Grande units, at 16th and Stout streets, have turn-of-the-century architecture and views of the Denver skyline and the mountains. Tenants are close to light rail, sporting venues, restaurants and the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
The Broadway Plaza Lofts, under construction at 2330 Broadway in the Ballpark neighborhood, will run $700 to $1,000 a month. Amenities include free covered parking, a workout facility and a ninth- story multimedia room.
Bump that amount to between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, and you’ll find larger and more elaborate spaces in the same neighborhoods.
In Uptown, for example, a one-bedroom, one-bathroom unit at Tower on the Park rents for $1,250 a month. The unit, at 1950 Logan St., is on the fifth floor and has hardwood floors and granite countertops.
The Post Uptown Square apartment community, 530 E. 20th Ave., has one-bedroom, one-bath units from $900 to $1,125 a month. The community combines portions of the old St. Luke’s Hospital building, which has been transformed into loft-style apartment homes, with brand-new one- and two-bedroom apartments above ground-level shops and services.
Premier Lofts, 220 Market St., has rental units from $700 a month to $3,600 a month. Amenities include a landscaped courtyard with water wall, 9-foot ceilings and wine racks in every kitchen.
Opening its doors in October at 16th and Glenarm streets, 1600 Glenarm will have 333 urban apartments running from $950 a month to $3,000 a month. Heralded as “boutique high-rise living,” the 31-story building is directly across from the Denver Pavilions. It features a 24-hour concierge/doorman, a parking garage, wood floors, fireplaces, balconies and slab granite in the kitchen and bath.
The Ballpark Lofts, two blocks from Coors Field at 24th and Blake streets, run $850 to $2,500 a month. Amenities include a community courtyard and pool.
Wanting to buy?
High-end residences have grabbed all the headlines in recent years, but it is possible to buy units that qualify as “affordable.” About $150,000 will buy a one-bedroom, one-bath unit in Brooks Towers, 1020 15th St., that has a private balcony and city views.
Slide your price range to between $150,000 and $350,000, and you’ll find a number of choices, many in the Ballpark Neighborhood.
The Fire Clay Lofts, 3101-3265 Blake St., for example, has units from $150,000 to $265,000. The lofts are in an original turn-of-the-century warehouse building featuring exposed brick, original steel structural beams and an interior courtyard atrium.
Also in the vicinity of Coors Field, 2500 Walnut Lofts sell for $250,000 to $350,000. The 39 residential and two commercial units are in the renovated Benjamin Moore Building.
Condos in that price range also are available at Monarch Mills, 1475 Delgany St. (for about $237,000), Zocalo Condos at West 22nd Avenue and Decatur Street (from $200,000 to the mid-$300,000s) and Denver Square Condominiums, 1024 E. 17th Ave. ($275,000 to $419,000).
If money is (almost) no object, you can choose from single-family homes as well as luxury high-rises.
The elegant, 4,279-square- foot Queen Anne mansion on Pennsylvania Street, with its nine bedrooms and five bathrooms, can be had for $1 million.
For $1.5 million, you can find a two-story, two-bedroom, three-bath penthouse with marble floors and views of downtown.
The Prospect Place community in the Central Platte Valley near Coors Field has properties that top out at more than $1 million, although it also includes units that sell for as little as $158,000.
Riverfront Park, 15th and Little Raven streets, has properties that range from $230,000 to $2.6 million.
