After living in his condo for 23 years, 70-year-old Rod White thinks now is the time to make a change.
He and 15 other longtime owners of an aging building in Denver’s Goldsmith neighborhood are looking to capitalize on their proximity to the new T-REX light-rail lines. They are advertising their 40-year-old building and the acre parcel beneath it as a prime site for transit-oriented development.
If all goes as planned, each could walk away from the deal with more than $400,000, nearly four times as much as any one of them could get for an individual unit.
“We knew we could sell as a group and make more money,” said Pat Culver, head of the group’s homeowners association. If they can sell it quickly, while the housing market is soft, White feels confident they can find new homes while pocketing a good chunk of change.
Across the country, developments along transit lines are attracting handsome prices. According to a study by the Center for Transit-Oriented Development, more than 16 million households will want to live near transit by 2030, up from 6 million in 2000.
In metro Denver, 18 projects valued at nearly $680 million have been built or are under construction near stations along the southeast rail lines, according to the Regional Transportation District.
Land near transit stations can be valuable, as demonstrated by the heavy investments of Continuum Partners, Cherokee Investments and Koelbel and Co. in developments along T-REX.
But that doesn’t mean every site is desirable for transit-oriented development.
“When you buy an infill site, you have no idea what the city is going to require in terms of upgraded utilities and access,” said Buz Koelbel, president of Koelbel and Co. “There are a lot of issues that go into analyzing what a property is worth, and infill sites have a lot of circumstances you need to deal with.”
White, Culver and their neighbors, who live half a mile from the new Colorado light-rail station at Interstate 25 and East Evans Avenue, hope that Friday’s opening of the T-REX light-rail lines will create demand for developable parcels like theirs. They are asking $8 million for the building and would divide the sale price equally among the owners.
Selling the property collectively is a great idea, but it’s likely to be a tougher sell than they anticipate, said Marilee Utter. She thinks the asking price is too high, and the distance from the rail station is problematic.
“You have to have a special kind of developer who’s willing to hold the property for a long time,” said Utter, president of Citiventure Associates LLC, a Denver advisory and development firm that specializes in mixed-use and transit-oriented development.
“This is an interesting strategy because it’s so hard to get land. They could potentially benefit, but if they price it outrageously, nothing is going to happen.”
Successful transit-oriented developments are in desirable neighborhoods within walking distance of the station, she said.
“If those two things aren’t in place, they have to do an analysis of what it takes to get to that place,” Utter said.
“That’s the trick to TOD. It isn’t just about how physically far you are as the crow flies. It’s the place. The value comes from the neighborhood, not from the transit.”
Culver said he has had conversations with one developer who is interested in renovating the units into luxury condominiums. The building also could be razed and replaced by a high-rise, he said.
Selling the home she has lived in for the past 25 years won’t be easy for Buelah Lockhart, 86.
She has arthritis and macular degeneration, an eye disease that has left her unable to read or write, and has relied on neighbors for everything from taking her shopping to helping her pay bills.
“I just hate to think of moving,” she said. “I love it here, but I know that I’m going to need more care down the line.”
But for Helen Widdifield, also in her 80s, the promise of something new is almost invigorating. She has lived in the building since 1989 and loves her condo, but after the death of her son two years ago, she needs a change.
“I want to go from being beige to perhaps flamingo pink,” Widdifield said.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
