When Joe and Kathy Silva made the down payment on their condo at One Lincoln Park three years ago, they didn’t foresee the economic collapse that would send them to four banks to get a loan to close on their unit.
The Silvas, who have near-perfect credit scores and earn six figures each, were among the lucky few able to move into the first residential high-rise to be constructed downtown in decades.
“I think it’s amazing,” Joe Silva said. “It’s such a dramatic lifestyle change.”
The project’s visionary, Erik Osborn, is facing criminal charges and has since stepped down from his management position. But, Silva said, that probably has nothing to do with the fact that fewer than half of the units are sold.
“I think what’s put a cloud over the project is the economy,” Silva said. “The economy, the mortgage crisis, the subprime notes have caused way more damage to the building than anything Erik could have done.”
One Lincoln Park had 145 of its 180 units under contract before the market went into a tailspin and buyers weren’t able to secure loans to close on their units. Today, about 63 of the units have people living in them and another 10 units are expected to close soon.
The project is now being managed by Breckenridge Brewery president Ed Cerkovnik, who bought Osborn’s interest in the project. Sales and marketing are being handled by Peter Kudla of Metropolitan Homes.
The sales center, currently in a model unit in the building, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. A new welcome center is being built in retail space on the project site, at East 20th Avenue and Lincoln Street, that will replace the existing sales center.
“We are very proud how One Lincoln Park has added additional beauty to the magnificent downtown Denver skyline,” said investor Tom Manoogian, a radio personality known as “Lou from Littleton.” “The breathtaking views from the resident balconies are second to none.”
Designing the building to fit on a 25,000-square-foot triangular lot was a challenge for architecture firm Buchanan Yonushewski Group LLC.
“It’s one of the sites where the city grids resolve,” said Brad Buchanan, a principal of the firm. “The design is an outgrowth of the resolution of the geometry of the city grid and all the different view corridors.”
Osborn’s legal quagmire is a sore spot with the current owners, but they remain proud of the building.
“We can’t undo Erik’s association, but we’ve moved beyond that,” said Doug Moreland, an investor and an auto-dealership owner known as “Dealin’ Doug.” “You can’t watch everybody. I put my money and my trust and confidence in him, and he let me down, but I am not disappointed in the project.”
