A Denver real estate development firm is proposing to build a large condominium project in Arapahoe Square in downtown Denver that focuses on sustainability and offers a more attainable price tag.
Ubuntu Partners Real Estate is under contract for a parking lot at 838 Park Avenue West and submitted a conceptual site plan to the city for a 22-story, 314-unit condominium project. A conceptual site plan is the earliest stage of the city’s site development plan review process and final projects tend to change before crews break ground.
The plans submitted on Monday show that the development would feature ground level retail with four stories of above-grade parking garage on levels two through five with about 278 parking spaces. The 280,000-square-foot building would feature two towers, each 18 stories high.
Karina Christensen, co-founder of Ubuntu, told Denver Business Journal that many of the new apartment developments going up nearby didn’t feel connected to the neighborhood, where she also happens to live.
“We want to build something that helps define the neighborhood that’s not like any other development,” she said.
To accomplish that, the design has to be sustainable. The firm is aiming for net- zero energy units, which would mean smaller utility bills for tenants. But Christensen also wants to promote a more sustainable project for the city as a whole — a housing project where people don’t need cars.
That’s why there are only 278 spots for the 314 proposed units, Christensen said. A block of those parking spaces will also be designated for car-share platforms. The project will be marketed to working professionals in downtown Denver who want to walk to work or utilize public transit, she added.
To fill those spots, the one- and two-bedroom condo units need an "attainable" asking price, Christensen said. Her firm is shooting for units to range from $365,000 up to $575,000, which is the maximum amount allowed under an FHA loan.
More condo projects are going up in Denver following a 2017 bill that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed that made it more difficult for associations of condominium owners to file multi-million-dollar construct-defect lawsuits. Before the legislation, construction defect laws stymied much of new condo development.
The Coloradan, a 334-unit, 19-story building in the Union Station neighborhood, started closing on units in March and is now nearly filled.
In 2016, Oyster International, a development company led by Denver architect Brian Higgins, purchased the 0.29-acre lot at the corner of Champa Street and Park Avenue West for $1.58 million. Christensen said her firm is under contract to purchase that lot, with a closing slated for this fall.
Southeast of the proposed development are a number of new apartment buildings, including Radiant Apartments, a 329-unit building that started leasing to residents in June. Six blocks around Welton, 21st, and California streets, and Park Avenue West feature more than 1,200 rental units.
The project is proposed to go up in Arapahoe Square — a district in downtown Denver that was identified in the 2007 Downtown Area Plan as ripe for
development. The district is situated between the Central Business District and the lower-density neighborhoods in Curtis Park and Five Points. Arapahoe Square was primarily used in the 1970s and 1980s as parking for downtown’s commercial core, especially between Park Avenue, Welton Street and Broadway. Many of those lots remain today, but community stakeholders have been working to bring more development to that part of town.
One of the more anticipated redevelopment projects in Arapahoe Square is Greyhound’s longtime bus station at 1055 19th St. The prime piece of real estate takes up an entire city block and comes with generous zoning that allows developers to build up 40 stories for residential, commercial, civic and entertainment uses.
Ubuntu is working with an architect in Barcelona, along with Denver-based Oz Architecture on the condominium project. Christensen said her firm wants to do more condo projects. albeit not as big as the Arapahoe Square development, in overlooked Denver neighborhoods.
Andrew Dodson
Reporter
Denver Business Journal