Kentwood agent Libby Levinson-Katz will be serving turkey for 11 Thursday, but she has a Black Friday special to show that sits beside LoDo’s Millennium Bridge — a 3-bedroom loft that’s priced just $100,000 more than it last sold for in 2017.

That was after the iconic footbridge was finished that now links downtown to Riverfront Park. The span brought a wave of loft and townhome projects to Riverfront, where dwellers were suddenly walking distance from Coors Field and dozens of restaurants arriving around Union Station.

Now, Downtown makes for a perfect Black Friday special — struggling to come back from the pandemic and the problems it brought into the core city. The bad news, Levinson said, is that some of those are still visible, leaving LoDo long on inventory of its trademark lofts — a year’s worth. But there’s good news, as well.

Employees returning

Some 250 feet over the bridge, the city’s newly rehabbed 16^th Street reaches 18 blocks across a downtown that’s anxious to return to its glory days, when everybody wanted to be close to restaurants, bars, and sports. Companies are urging employees back to work, and tech firm Ibotta has announced it will headquarter its operations with a 10-year lease at 16^th and Market, designed for 500 employees.

That’s just six blocks from where Promenade Lofts has its own third-level entry onto the footbridge, meaning residents can walk east into LoDo without climbing a step.

“It’s a great unit,” Levinson said of Number 311, built as a 2-bedroom but then modified to create a non-conforming office, as well. That still leaves an 18-foot primary with a walk-in closet, a large second bedroom, and a wide living area that’s open to the kitchen, 20-by-23 feet, with a separate dining room adjacent.

The living room has a view of the bridge and DaVita’s headquarters, and opens onto one of two decks that look down onto the train tracks beneath. “The trains have to slow down in downtown, they’re not noisy,” Levinson added, noting that her seller says they prompt nostalgic yearnings to know where they’ve been, where they’re going.

Airbnb use

That urban view resonates with a faux-loft interior with concrete walls, exposed ductwork, and a high level of trim. The latter, tricked out using Restoration Hardware, was specifically to make this attractive for Airbnb use. Can a buyer offer up space for a weekend rental in any condo or loft downtown? Absolutely not, says Levinson, noting that Promenade Lofts is one of only four downtown buildings with HOAs allowing short-term rental (you still need a license from the city).

“That’s a huge selling feature,” she said.

The price for 1,607 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths, and a covered parking space is $735,000, compared to $634,000 back in 2017.

“It’s a screaming deal,” Levinson said. “I don’t know why it hasn’t sold.”

The seller, she adds, would love to see it disappear before year-end and is offering a 3% co-op.

With parking, security, and concierge services, the HOA is $984 a month. “HOAs across the city have increased,” Levinson added; but she notes the price-per-foot is one of the two lowest in Riverfront.

Will Denver’s downtown recover its allure?

“It’s a temporary lull,” Levinson said, noting how much dining is open now around Union Station. “It’s going to come back.”

AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING:

WHERE: 2100 16^th Street, Unit 311, Denver; from Auraria Pkwy head north into downtown (becomes Market Street), two blocks to 15th Street, turn left, proceed west six blocks to Little Raven Street, turn right one block.

SIZE: 3 bedrooms/2 baths, 1,607 square feet. 

PRICE: $735,000 

WEB: 210016^th311.com 

OPEN: Showing by appointment.  

AGENT: Libby Levinson-Katz, 720-935-0412