One of the first large-scale condominium developments built in Denver in years will launch sales this week.
The cost of getting a slice of 12-story luxury tower across the street from Sloan’s Lake: Units in Lakehouse will start in the mid $400,000s and go up past the $1 million mark.
“We feel the condo market is strong,” NAVA Real Estate Development CEO Trevor Hines said Monday. “People are still moving to Colorado. They’re used to a certain standard of urban living and as Denver grows, there’s just not enough condos for everybody. We want to meet that demand.”
Denver-based NAVA plans to break ground in the fourth quarter on the 206-unit project, which at 17th and Raleigh streets anchors the northwest corner of Sloans, the seven-block redevelopment of the former St. Anthony Hospital campus.
An on-site sales center — equipped with a model kitchen and bathroom — will be open regular hours starting Friday. On Monday, crews were busy putting the finishing touches on the center, which sits on what will later become a public plaza in front of the tower.
“There’s a solid demographic of people who want this type of product — flexible, low-maintenance, beautiful, well-built, urban — but cannot find that product,” Hines said. “A lot of the interest we’ve had is from people who are paying a lot of money to live in apartments downtown, high-end apartments, but they’d rather own.”
Resident amenities at Lakehouse will include a 18,000-square-foot outdoor deck on the third level, with an urban farm, pool, hot tub, cabanas and gardens; and a “fitness lab” with state-of-the-art exercise equipment, yoga room, sauna and juice bar.
Finishes in the one and two-bedroom condos will be modern and natural — hardwood floors, Italian cabinetry, Kitchen Aid or Jenn-Air appliances, soaking tubs and stone and tile accents. Units will range in size from 675 square feet to 2,473 square feet, and just under half the one-bedroom condos will have a den.
Designed by Denver-based RNL and Houston’s Munoz + Albin, the project is also seeking WELL certification, a third-party building standard focused on health and wellness through “air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort and mind.”
About 70 percent of the building’s skin will be glass, Hines said.
“We’re going to sell fabulous views — lake to the north, mountains to the northwest through southwest and downtown to the east,” Hines said. “This location is pretty top notch for views.”
Of the 206 units, 13 will be street-level “row homes” along 17th and Stuart streets, buffering the primarily single-family residences to the west from the main 12-story tower at Raleigh Street.
That height has been a past source of neighborhood heartburn. A group of residents challenged the Denver City Council’s approval of a rezoning to allow 12 stories fronting Sloan’s Lake in court, but a judge sided with the city earlier this year.
As for the construction defect issues that have sidelined most large-scale condo development in Denver in recent years, NAVA president Brian Levitt said the company is taking the risks seriously and will not shy from making any necessary repairs.
“We’ve selected the best consultants in town and we’re really trying to build the best building we can and we’re going to document it to show we’ve done it right,” Levitt said.
That approach, however, comes at a cost reflected in the condos’ final price tag. “Being that conservative, there is an expense, but that’s how you do it,” Levitt said.
“It’s the expense of a belt and suspenders,” Hines said.
The Lakehouse sales center, 4202 W. 17th Ave., will be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday or by appointment starting Friday. The listing agent is Kentwood City Properties.