By Rich Laden, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Aug. 5--Some things don't change when it comes to developing housing.
Find a location where people want to live, offer quality housing and amenities they're willing to buy and set prices that are affordable for the consumers being targeted.
It's a formula that's worked for decades in neighborhoods across the Pikes Peak region.
Now it's playing out in downtown Colorado Springs as increasing numbers of loft and condominium projects take shape.
But downtown's loft developers have an additional challenge: finding buyers who will pay top dollar for a loft or condo that's often smaller than a home in the suburbs -- and likewise doesn't have a two-car garage, redwood deck and back yard.
The result is that downtown developers market more than just a catchy name. They must promote ambiance -- whether in an older building or one designed to look old -- and trendy urban lifestyles. Don't drive to a mall a few miles away, they say, when you can walk to a store or restaurant down the block.
'We try to be as much to as many people as we can, showing them the benefits of living close to downtown,' said developer Earl Robertson, who's finishing the Poet Lofts building southeast of Rio Grande Street and Nevada Avenue, on downtown's southern edge.
Robertson bills his building -- 14 residential lofts on two upper floors and seven business units on the main floor -- as the first newly constructed loft project in the city. Most people think of lofts as old warehouses converted into residential living, with high ceilings, large windows and exposed brick walls.
Robertson's project, however, defies that definition, although he still believes his Poet Lofts building will live up to a buyer's image of loft living.
'I don't know what Webster defines lofts as, but I think it's more of a term that is being used for urban style housing units,' Robertson said.
In his mind, Robertson said, he's marketing a location a few blocks from downtown's core, with loft-like amenities. Poet Lofts' brick exterior and west-side turret give the appearance of a building that's been around for years instead of one that will open this week.
And the building's residential units will have open ceilings and exposed sprinkler systems and ducts -- fitting the definition that some people have of loft living.
Dan Robertson, who's no relation to Earl, said there's room for several downtown housing types and all help promote downtown. But age helps make a true loft project, he said, and that's part of what he markets.
He's already converted the upper floors of two buildings into lofts: the 102-year-old former Gart sporting goods building at 106 N. Tejon St. and another building at 115 N. Tejon St., which was built in 1929. He recently bought the Giddings Building at 101 N. Tejon, built in 1903, for conversion into lofts over the next few years.
'I think your typical loft-buyer prefers to have something that's old,' Dan Robertson said.
'People like the whole concept of living in a building that's 100 years old, that still has a lot of character to it, yet is brought up to date with current amenities, heating and central air, all new windows and plumbing.'
Besides age and character, Dan Robertson said, he also markets amenities. Upgraded bathrooms are one feature, and buyers also help design their units.
Like Earl Robertson, Dan Robertson said being near downtown attractions and activities is a key selling point -- especially since his buildings are along the busy Tejon Street retail corridor.
The former Medalion West building, southeast of Wahsatch Avenue and Kiowa Street, is farther away on downtown's eastern edge. Still, developer Randy Case is counting on downtown's allure to attract buyers to the building he's now remodeling.
The first units of his project, CityWalk Downtown, will be available in a few months. It will have 86 units, most which will be condos. However, six of the units will extend over two floors, giving those buyers the ability to enjoy loft-like living.
Case recognizes his building is slightly removed from downtown's core. And yet, given his marketing scheme, he sees that as a plus.
'They're adjacent to all the downtown amenities and activities, and yet they don't have to live with it 24 hours a day if they choose not to,' he said.
Originally, Case planned to call his project the Kiowa Lofts -- tapping the mindset of people who want true loft-living. Now, he's changed the name to CityWalk Downtown.
Why? Again, it's a marketing decision. CityWalk Downtown defines the project better.
'We will be marketing those as condominiums and lofts,' Case said. 'Whatever people want to call them at the end of the day is their choice. We're catering to a downtown use.'
POET LOFTS:
Southeast of Rio Grande Street and Nevada Avenue and south of downtown's core.
Proposed by Colorado Springs developer Earl Robertson.
Fourteen residential units ranging from 1,560 to 3,200 square feet and selling for $300,000 to $700,000, and seven commercial spaces.
Building to open this week; two units reserved, none sold.
The city's Urban Renewal Authority chose Robertson to redevelop 58 acres south of downtown; the Poet Lofts building will be the first new commercial or residential construction on the site. Robertson envisions apartments, townhomes, restaurants, shops and office space in a traditional neighborhood setting, where residents can stroll to a restaurant or walk to downtown businesses a few blocks away.
DANIELS LOFT BUILDING, Carriage House Lofts and Giddings Building
Daniels Loft 106 N. Tejon St.; Carriage House Lofts, 115 N. Tejon St.; Giddings Building, 101 N. Tejon St.
All three loft projects proposed by Colorado Springs developer Dan Robertson.
Daniels Loft: Six residential lofts on two floors, with ground-floor commercial space. Residential lofts range from 1,225 to 2,550 square feet and are priced at $260,000 to $550,000; all six sold.
Carriage House Lofts: Five residential lofts and ground-floor commercial space.
Residential lofts range from 1,100 to nearly 1,440 square feet and priced at $220,000 to $350,000; all five sold.
Giddings Building: 10 to 15 residential lofts, with ground-floor commercial space. Size of residential lofts will depend on how many are built, while prices will range from $350,000 to $500,000. Two reserved, none sold.
Robertson sees all three projects as catering to residents who want to be front and center when it comes to downtown living -- being able to walk out their doors and onto the busy Tejon Street retail strip.
CITYWALK DOWNTOWN:
Southeast of Wahsatch Avenue and Kiowa Street and on downtown's east edge. Proposed by Colorado Springs businessmen Randy Case and Ray Marshall.
Eighty-six residential units -- 80 condominiums and six lofts -- range from 525 to 2,000 square feet and sell for $89,000 to $375,000. Renovation project now under way.
Case and Marshall are remodeling the former Medalion West retirement center, hoping to attract buyers who want access to downtown activities and venues, without living right on top of them.
28 MONUMENT PLACE:
On Monument Street just west of Cascade
Avenue and on downtown's north edge. Proposed by Colorado Springs home builder Classic Cos.
Original plans called for construction of a 10-story, 44-unit residential loft building next to Monument Valley Park.
Project now on hold, after the city Planning
Commission balked. Classic is redesigning the project, likely reducing its height. Size and cost of units to be determined.
SOURCE: Gazette Research
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(c) 2002, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
