Getting your player ready...
“So, is this too good to be true?” Developer Darell Schmidt of Allanté Properties took that query from a caller last month, after she’d read about Highland Place, his mixed-use commercial-residential development scheduled to open late this fall, six blocks from ‘Restaurant Row’ at Highland Square.
“People tell me that they’re always looking for opportunities to diversify from stocks, but that they never find chances to get involved in real estate projects like this,” Schmidt said, as he showed off the building, topped out at three stories. Its ground-floor retail (all spaces pre-leased, save for a single corner-restaurant pad) and upper-level Class A apartments (they begin leasing in August from $900/month) are highly visible at W. 38th Avenue and Julian in Highlands. Schmidt uses smaller investors to back up his major lender financing, and is now searching for four or five final positions for Highland Place, in the $100,000 range. Schmidt says he responds to inquiries by providing information on the residential leasing market – particularly the heavy demand for studio and 1-bedroom apartments. (Highland Place is 80% designated for 1-bedroom and studio units, including a ‘micro-unit’ designed for a new-urban dweller who wants to be in a coveted neighborhood, but without needing a roommate.) “In the end, anybody wanting to invest in a project like this needs to check out the developer and making sure he’ll perform,” Schmidt says. “You need to find out if I’m worth underwriting.” Schmidt spends time with potential investors, orienting them to the project and his 30-year history as a developer, including large scale developments in Highlands Ranch and Douglas County. Allanté’s move into Highlands was precipitated two years ago, when Schmidt’s son Daren Schmidt, now part of the company, took Schmidt to dinner in LoHi and showed dad the happening scene there. Now Allanté is largely focused on Highlands’ sites and on ‘Millennial’ buyers who are being drawn to Highlands for the allure of its walkable dining. Highland Place is scheduled for 68 class-A apartments and 11,000 square feet of main-level retail; both components served by plenty of dedicated parking – a rare commodity around Highlands. The project, Schmidt says, is one of a very few that will come on line in Highlands this year. Kelly Greene and Blake Skinner of Legend Retail Group, doing the lease-up, are currently searching for “a chef-inspired restaurant” to take the projects’ prime window facing the corner of W. 38th Avenue and Julian Street, a block from where Panera Bread has opened (they’re at 720-529-2983). Meanwhile, in August Allanté will launch apartment leasing in the $900-$2,000/month range – including of some prime 2-bedroom units positioned in the corners of the building. Schmidt says one benefit to his smaller-investor strategy, which was made feasible by recent changes in SEC rules, is that he is continually being apprised of new city sites by potential sellers (Allanté is already involved in planning for projects at other urban locations). Allanté will also describe tax benefits of depreciation on fixed assets; as well as the rental market’s historic performance, particularly as a hedge against rising inflation. For information about Highland Place, call Darell Schmidt at 303-359-1210 or email Darell@AllanteProperties.com.
