One of the biggest trends in today's real estate market is the desire for amenities. Many people grew up gathering around a community pool, going to the movie theater in the neighborhood, and spending time watching your favorite team on the big screen in a multi media room. Many grew up in the suburbs where homes usually had the square footage for using extra rooms for home gyms, media rooms, and of course guest rooms. Long ago the idea of moving downtown meant giving up these amenities because square footage was scarce. Not anymore.

Many years ago developers started to change the design of residential towers downtown. New buildings were designed to duplicate all the amenities that one might want in that large square footage home in the suburbs. The developers began adding pools to replace the backyard or neighborhood pool, fitness centers to replace the home gym, full theater rooms to replace the basement multi media room, and guest suites so you didn't feel the need to buy an additional bedroom for those holiday visitors.

Can you guess which two building have done this the best in the downtown Denver condo and loft high rise market? Yes, again Glass House and SPIRE are among the best of the best. So let's do a comparison of the two... although we do want to add that the Four Seasons will have some great amenities as well especially if your target is room service and other hotel style features.

Let's start with Glass House. Glass House in Riverfront Park offers it's residents...

  • 24 hour, 7 day a week front desk
  • 8th floor lounge
  • 8th floor media room
  • 8th floor large pool with lap lanes
  • 8th floor fire pit
  • 8th floor gas Bar-B-Q outside
  • 8th floor business center computers
  • 1-2 floors fitness center with 2 fitness classrooms
  • SPIRE in the heart of Downtown Denver offers it's residents
  • 24 hour 7 day a week front desk
  • 9th floor reflective pool and splash pool
  • 9th floor two outdoor hot tub spas
  • 10th floor movie theater room
  • 9th floor sports zone lounge with flat screen tvs and pool table
  • 9th floor fitness center with yoga floor
  • 9th floor fire pit
  • 9th floor gas bar-b-ques
  • 10th floor business center computers
  • 10th floor lounge for booking owner events
  • 42nd floor sky club lounge with wine lockers (for sky club residents only)
  • Guest suites for owners to reserve for their visitors

The trend in real estate of adding amenities really puts these projects at the top of the list. Glass House and SPIRE are some of the most attractive buildings for our clients because of how much they offer their residents. Often the biggest reason we hear for people moving to the two spectacular downtown buildings is because their current building offers no amenities or very limited amenities for almost the same HOA fees and they want to improve their lifestyle. Of course Glass House and SPIRE can do this because they have hundreds of residents to share the HOA fees to keep them manageable while smaller buildings would have a tough time carrying the cost burden of such features.

It's almost always a choice of a better lifestyle. People are choosing to wake up in the morning and go get in their morning workout without leaving the building. They want to live downtown and host a superbowl party or screen their favorite movie for friends. They want to entertain for friends before a night out on the town or offer a guest suite to visitors in for the weekend (then they are staying close... but sharing a bathroom). Whether it's the ability to relax by a pool in the heat of a Denver summer or jump in a hot tub during a typical Denver snowstorm these buildings offer all the benefits of living downtown and all the amenities of a large home.

Now it's our turn to ask for your vote. Which list of amenities sounds the best to you? The best way to know for sure is to take a tour of both so please give us a call anytime to schedule your own private tour of Glass House and/or SPIRE at 303.991.9878 or 800.392.1950.