The Upton Residences in downtown Denver is on track to deliver 461 condos by early 2026 and marks the city’s largest condo project since the Spire came online with 496 units in 2009. In between, came The Coloradan, which delivered 334 condos at Union Station in 2019.
Aside from those, and a few smaller luxury projects, metro Denver hasn’t seen much new condo construction, which developers attribute to a highly litigious environment over construction defects in Colorado. In theory, in such a new condo-starved market, selling out the Upton Residences should be a slam dunk, but will it be?
The Spire faced delays after two of its lenders went under. It didn’t finish up until after the housing market crashed and the Great Recession was underway. That hurt sales for a long time.
And it remains uncertain about what kind of market Upton will face when it does deliver. After years of tight supply across the metro area, active listings are starting to surge, which could result in a tougher sales market.
A year ago in June, there were 6,070 listings on the market in metro Denver, and this June there were 10,214, a 68.2% increase, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Looking at just attached housing, the townhomes and condos that the Upton will compete against, the supply has risen 81.7% and sales are down 31% over the past year.
The 80202 ZIP code, home to Denver’s biggest condo towers, reported the slowest rate of price appreciation in the post-pandemic period of any part of the metro area. If there is a supply shortage, it hasn’t shown up in the numbers.
Amacon, Upton’s Canadian developer, isn’t taking any chance and is marketing the project hard, including building a complete two-bedroom condo model in its Sales Gallery, which occupies a former 7-11 store on 1800 Welton St. next to the construction site.
The model has all the appliances and finishes, including a wrap showing the views from a deck on the 11th floor. As cranes lift materials to workers on the raw and rising floors of the two towers, interested buyers can peek at what the finished product inside Denver’s largest condo project in 15 years will look like.
And they are showing up. West + Main, the exclusive sales representative for the Upton, is collecting the names of interested buyers, but won’t accept deposits until the fall, and contracts likely won’t get signed until next year.
“In Canada, we have pre-sales up to five years out. Denver buyers like to buy closer to completion,” said Stephanie Babineau, vice president of marketing and sales at Amacon during a tour.
The hesitancy has a history behind it. Denver has seen here today and gone tomorrow condo developers not delivering on their promises.
But in its 55 years, Amacon has built thousands of condos, a housing staple in Canada’s largest cities. Depressed condo construction has opened a window of opportunity in Denver, which marks the company’s first residential foray outside of Canada, the company has argued.
A 930-unit project called Voya in Mississauga outside Toronto serves as a template for the two-tower design of the Upton Residences. And compared to the 6,000 condos Amacon is selling at its 30-acre Parkside Village development, also in Mississauga, Upton is a relatively small project.
Entering the Denver market comes with a learning curve on local preferences, however, such as a desire for pocket doors that slide into the wall and walk-in closets, Babineau said.
Amacon will focus on filling up the south tower, at 38 stories, first before moving on to the 32-story north tower, she said.
The development will have about 500 parking spaces, more than one per unit, and about 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, including a restaurant and a coffee shop.
Besides the storefronts, the lower floors will be dedicated to parking. The 9th floor will be where the two towers become distinct from the platform and where the action happens.
Each tower will have its own front desk or lobby area and between them will be an outdoor deck with a swimming pool, hot tubs, lounge chairs and grilling area. Inside, a social lounge, fireplace, fitness room and other amenities are planned, including a rentable chef’s kitchen for those looking to entertain.
One, two, and three-bedroom condos will fill the higher floors, each with their own outdoor decks. Three penthouse levels will cap the two towers. The smallest condo offered, called urban one-bedroom, will come in at 530 square feet with prices starting in the low $400,000 range. Prices are still being set for the larger units.
The condos will feature quartz countertops, Italian-designed cabinets, luxury vinyl tile flooring, soaker bathtubs and premium appliances. Keeping things simple, Amacon is offering two monochromatic design packages, an Uptown package with white oak and lighter tones and the Downtown package with more light grays.
Babineau said the design palettes reflect what is trending in larger U.S. cities and yes, oak is making a comeback, at least white oak and warmer variations. The window shades will all be white to avoid creating a menagerie of colors visible to pedestrians looking up or highrise office workers looking out.
Although $400,000 plus may seem a lot for a 530-square-foot foot home, the median price of a condo/townhome that sold in June in metro Denver was $410,000 according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
So far, some distinct groups are showing interest in the project, Babineau said.
Upton has drawn the attention of first-time buyers, especially younger professionals looking to own rather than rent an apartment in the 80202 ZIP code, where 70% of housing units are rentals.
Older adults now in the suburbs whose kids have moved out or who are in retirement and who want an urban lifestyle are another group taking a look.
Some people are considering the condos as second residences, a place to land in Denver, and they come from all over. They could be business people who frequent the city or mountain resort residents looking for a Front Range landing spot.
Grant and Mary Ellis,visiting from Santa Fe, were touring the Upton model on Wednesday. They said they had no intention of leaving New Mexico, but the starting prices at Upton had them entertaining adding a second residence in Denver.
That would allow them to visit friends more often and take in the cultural scene and head up to the mountains, Mary Ellis said.
“You can’t build a house for that much in Santa Fe,” said Grant Ellis.
Read more at DenverPost.com
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