We've been talking about so many fun filled events over the past few months. Many include tasty beverages, decadent food, delicious treats.
Every wonder what excess of these things can do to the human body? Or how those spin classes, 10K runs, or other events boost the strength and endurance of your body. Well Denver, the exhibit that shows you exactly what your body is made of is back at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here are some details from their website...
It's not too late.
With the home buyer tax credits of $6,500 and $8,000 scheduled to expire at the end of next month there is still enough time left to take advantage of these great opportunities on your new Denver Condo or Denver Loft residences. And it's even easier to find great values on lofts in Downtown Denver. We have seen some of the most incredible prices per square foot at some of the most popular loft buildings downtown. Resales at the Glass House with it's swimming pool, fitness center, and 23 stories of glass walls located in the heart of Riverfront Park has some incredible values. In fact resales in the Glass House start in the low to mid $200's and opportunities exist to close in time to take the additional tax incentive.
If you are more interested in the Lohi, Highlands, Sloans Lake or other areas growing rapidly there are many condos and homes at incredibly affordable prices. Or if you are interested in being more downtown there are condos and lofts in Ball Park, Lodo, Capitol Hill, and the many other neighborhoods that would be available to close by the scheduled tax credit deadline. And of course new buildings like SPIRE and ONE Lincoln are working aggressively on their pricing on developer inventory.
If you aren't familiar with the details of the tax incentive here are some important highlights..
The important thing to note is that the qualification for the first time home buyer credit is only to be under contract by the end of April. You don't need to close until June 30th (but we'd prefer not to cut it too close). It gives us time to explore the many wonderful Denver condo and loft listings available and step through to closing prior to June 30th.
Many of our clients have taken advantage of these incentives and the wonderful interest rates currently available to create affordable mortgage payments instead of costly rent. We thought it was a good time to remind folks that time is slowly moving towards the upcoming expiration of these benefits. If you were (or are now) planning to take advantage of this incentive or simply want to learn more please contact New Era Realty. This is just a friendly reminder and we hope to talk to you soon.
Happy St. Patricks Day. There are two wonderful ways to celebrate this holiday downtown. The first, Keg's and Eggs. starts bright and early at 7 am with Green Beer and eggs at Lodos downtown. It's a tradition of celebration and there are a great number of pubs, bars and restaurants providing entertaining and fun spots for Downtown Denver condo and loft residents to celebrate but we thought we would highlight two of the more celebrated locations.
The first starts.. now... at 7 am (whew, we aren't sure we are ready to start that early). Apparently folks were camped out all night waiting to get into this free event.
Wednesday, March 17th
LoDo's Bar and Grille
7am doors - 21+
Free!!!
Or wait until 11 AM for a tradition at the Irish Snug...
Open at 11 am with special limited menu all day. The celebration takes place inside and on the patio at the Irish Snug, Under the Snug and in the Main Tent. The site offers maximum room to enjoy the music, dance and celebration (over 7,000 square feet!) in complete comfort. No more waiting in lines and crowded conditions! Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebrations at the Irish Snug. We've got Irish Stepdancing and solo and band pipers throughout the day in the Atlantic Room, with new access to the outside tent via stairs directly north of the bar area!
We have been watching SPIRE and keeping all of our clients posted from pre launch, through the reservation process, into contracts and now we see signs that closings may be on the horizon. In the past two weeks the SPIRE team has moved onsite from their office located next to the convention center into one of the retails spaces on the first floor. Along with this both Penny Parker in the Denver Post and SPIRE have announced 4 of the initial retails tenants. This is a pretty big deal. In new mixed use development projects (or old ones) the retail tenants are just like amenities in the building. SPIRE has a pool, hot tubs, fitness center, movie theater, club lounge, sports zone, front desk and more. Whatever goes into that first floor space is almost like an amenity as well.
So far SPIRE has announced a dry cleaner (Revolution Cleaners), a car share program (Connect by Hertz), a sandwich shop (Snarf's - you may know them from Boulder), and a coffee shop (Ninety Plus Coffee's first retail shop). Ah, the pieces are flowing together. And it looks like the target is the typical cornerstone businesses people living downtown like to have. No more traveling across town to pick up or drop off dry cleaning... it will be right in the building. Hungry? No worries, there's a sandwich and salad shop right in the building. If you are a car optional person living and working downtown there is an easy spot to grab a car for a few hours on the ground floor. Or our favorite scenario would be the convenience of having your friends or family stay with you in one of the SPIRE guest suites and rent a car in the building to give you the ability to pamper your visitors without playing housekeeper and chauffeur. They are close, but not too close and at the end of the night you can each retire to your own homes. SPIRE was offering (and probably still is) 50 free hours of this car share service to folks who bought a one bedroom with no parking or a two bedroom with only one parking spot. And of course no downtown experience would be complete without a convenient spot to grab that essential morning cup of coffee or a place to curl up with your favorite book and a cup of hot tea. Whether it's winter time and you are staying warm from the cold or grabbing a bagel and some caffeine after your morning run coffee shops are a favorite in building amenity.
There are still more retail announcements remaining. The one that holds the most anticipation is the larger corner space lending itself to a high end restaurant and bar. Steak, Sushi, Italian, or whatever the choice whatever takes this space will be a new downtown Denver condo and loft residents hot spot. Who will it be? We haven't heard any rumors lately so sorry that we can't answer that question but we will keep you posted.
The sales team is onsite, the retailers have been announced and should hopefully be beginning their tenant improvements, now SPIRE is talking about possible closings just around the corner. If you are interested in learning more about SPIRE and would like us to schedule a personal tour of their building and the available one, two and three bedroom condos please give New Era Realty a call.
Regards!
Do you have something green to wear? It's time for the 48th annual Denver St. Patrick's Day Parade.
St. Patrick's day has a special significance for Denver Residents. It's the time of year when the weather is getting warmer. Downtown Denver Condo and Loft residents are shifting from their indoor treadmill runs to fill up the paths on the Cherry Creek or Central Platte Valley Trails, and outdoor patios start filling up. And of course there is the green beer, the parade, the floats, and the laughter.
Here are some bullet details about this years event.
Is something happening in Riverfront park and with the beginning of the Union Station Neighborhood project. YES!
The above image was taken from the 8th floor of the Glass House in Riverfront Park (you know, where the swimming pool, fire pit and club lounge are). This picture was taken of the brand new 18th street pedestrian bridge that extends to create an easy access point into what will be the new Union Station Neighborhood. The bridge is a little behind in opening but it takes awhile to get all those beautiful paver stones in place along the walkways on the Union Station side.
What you see in the background is the Rockies home field. And this image brings up why our clients who are interested in Riverfront Park are so excited.... they just got a short cut to their downtown fun. Riverfront Park is in the fortunate position of being right on the edge of downtown. Residents there enjoy the peace and quiet of Commons Park, access into the LoHi neighborhood, and the junction of the many running and biking paths through Downtown Denver. Residents also enjoy a short (and now much shorter) walk to all the amenities of Downtown Denver including an incredibly short walk to Coors Field for those upcoming summer Baseball games enjoying the blue sky days of Denver's incredible weather.
Why highlight a bridge? Because it is just one more example of how great the Downtown Denver infrastructure is for enjoying pedestrian friendly access to all things Downtown. And for those in Riverfront Park... which includes the Glass House, the Delgany, Park Place, Promenade Lofts, Creekside Lofts and Flats, Riverfront Tower, The Brownstones, Flourmill, ONE Riverfront and the Park at ONE Riverfront it means your backyard (or front yard depending on which way you face) just got better.
The bridge is open. Give us a call and we can give you a tour of not only the bridge but all the great condos and lofts available in Riverfront Park. And just wait until we show you what those ground movers working on the Union Station Neighborhood side are up to.
And go Rockies... it's almost time for that opening season game.
It's always a Party with the Denver Film Society and for those downtown condo and loft Film lovers the Awards are a great event and celebration. But then again we always find reasons to celebrate living Downtown in Denver. Here are the details from their website.
Party with Oscar®
Presented by Moet Chandon
Happening: Sunday, March 07, 5:00 PM
Duration: 180 Minutes
Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art <!--
Ticket Code: ZOOF45VP-->
Walk the red carpet and revel in the Oscar® night experience at one of Denver’s most unique gallery spaces. Featuring prime viewing screens throughout four floors of contemporary art, you and your friends can enjoy gourmet food, snazzy drinks and an amazing rooftop view of the Denver skyline. With all the excitement of a Hollywood night right in here Denver, you won’t want to miss it!
WHERE Museum of Contemporary Art (1485 Delgany St.) ~ One of the city’s unique exhibit spaces as well as architectural offerings.
WHEN 5:00 PM (DOORS OPEN) & 6:00 PM (TELECAST BEGINS)
WHAT WALK THE RED CARPET ~ Make an entrance in style!
BALLOT PRIZES ~ You pick correctly and could walk away a winner!
COCKTAIL RECEPTION & DINNER ~ Enjoy cocktails, a buffet or an elegant, seated dinner!
ACADEMY AWARDS® BROADCAST ~ Join in the excitement watching the 82nd Annual Academy Awards® via a live feed!
SILENT AUCTION ~ Bid on exciting and unique items!
We are always watching the real estate market and 2010 seems to be off to an exciting start. Everyone seems to think Denver is leading the country as one of the strongest real estate markets especially the downtown condo and loft market. So we weren't extremely surprised to read about all the activity happening in January in a Denver Business Journal article about a purchase of $2.5 million worth of condos in the Flour Mill Lofts. The Flour Mill building is a wonderful development and the entire Central Platte Valley including Riverfront Park has been a favorite here at New Era Real Estate and with our clients. Reading through the article we saw a reflection of what we have been feeling in the market.... opportunity.
Buyers have such a great opportunity to purchase downtown Denver lofts and condos at incredible values. With interest rates at the lowest we have seen and the home buyer credit ending soon it seems that a lot of activity has been sparked. We have seen some very interesting trends for buyers. New development projects such as SPIRE, ONE Lincoln, or the many others we work with every day are offering their own seller incentives and we negotiate on behalf of our clients for the best selection of residences and the best prices. With all the amenities that are available in these new developments many clients prefer the lifestyles they provide regardless of their square footage. We enjoy working with our first time home buyers who get to enjoy the swimming pools, fitness centers, sports rooms and other amenities at lower HOA fees based upon their smaller square footage basis. We see folks trimming down their square footage as they move downtown, decreasing their monthly expenses, and enjoying all the amenities that a penthouse owner enjoys. Although we do admit those Penthouse units are amazing and we will be there to walk through these Flour Mill residences if that opportunity becomes available down the road (And we will share photos of course).
So as we read the news about these active development projects downtown it highlights the true opportunities out there today. Call us to learn more about our favorite developments, residences, and opportunities.
Cheers from everyone at New Era Realty
That's right, it's that time of the year again when Denver's Downtown and surrounding restaurants open their doors for Denver Restaurant Week... except this year it's restaurant weeks.
For two weeks the price of a meal for two people will be $52.80. The menu's vary from restaurant to restaurant but you can see all the details at the Denver.org website.
The Denver Post and the Union Station Neighborhood Company have been publishing many details this week in an indication that it may be time for construction to start on this exciting Denver neighborhood. Here is an excerpt from a USNC release...
"As master developer, USNC is required to purchase and develop five real estate sites on the Union Station property between now and 2013. Last fall we began design on the first two buildings – four and five story mixed use buildings that will flank the historic station building.
Approximately ten days ago we announced that IMA Financial Group has committed to be the anchor tenant for the first of these buildings. IMA will occupy nearly all of the office space in a five story, 100,000 square foot building to be constructed between the historic station building and the Ice House at approximately 18th and Wynkoop Sts. USNC expects to close on this first parcel within the next 30 days. A second much larger headquarters office tenant is also close to making a decision to locate within the Union Station neighborhood. We expect an announcement of their decision shortly. While the tenant is still evaluating multiple sites, we believe they will select a site within the tax increment district that helps finance the transportation hub and that all the revenue generated by this new building will contribute to supporting the Union Station transportation project financing structure."
If you aren't familiar with the term mixed use it means.. well.. mixed use. It's a wonderful thing in terms of Urban Planning and for residents of downtown Denver Condos and lofts. The uses that are mixed could be office, retail or residential. It's the idea that instead of having a building or an area with just residential or just retail you mix it all up for a fantastic combination. The residents get the enjoyment of walking out their front door to enjoy restaurants, shops, and more. Office workers get the same benefit as they enjoy their lunch or their after work happy hours. It creates an energy and flow that is part of the magic of downtown condo and loft living.
And it's starting at the Union Station Neighborhood site. From these press releases it looks like the office component will take the stage first in establishing some initial blocks and parcels. Landing a new office tenant involves a number of "carrots". There is the location, the price, and the amenities... which usually translates into some impressive restaurants, bars and shops. And in this case a huge component will be the benefit of sitting at one of the biggest transportation hubs in Denver. When you think of all the hundreds and thousands of people that will pass through the Union Station Neighborhood transportation hub in the future you can see why it might be extremely attractive for business owners.
If you are following this train (no pun intended) of thought this transportation and foot traffic benefit should draw some incredible restaurants and bars to the area. All of these new office workers, existing downtown Denver light rail users, and local downtown condo residents will fill up the booths, tables, and bar seats to enjoy wonderful meals, drinks, and laughter together. We can't wait to see what superstar restaurants step up to the plate to take these cornerstone first spots.
And of course.. the residential. In this mixed plan through the next decade will be a number of great residential offerings right in the middle of the magic. Nothing on the horizon as of yet and these initial plans didn't mention much in the way of residential but you know we will have our eyes peeled. Somewhere in these first five buildings we might expect to see some penthouse style residences gracing the top floor, or at least the residential side of the equation would love to see that. Or perhaps some of those top floors will be occupied by these tenants or an incredible sky view restaurant. We will have to wait to see.
So while we don't have any more details for you than what the Union Station Company has released we wanted to make sure to share the news with you. Keep posted here and we will let you know whenever something new and exciting happens and our views. Till more comes out here is a link to a slide show of the proposed design.
More questions? Please feel free to contact us about this area or any Downtown Denver Condo or Loft development.