Even in cities where downtowns are still suffering high vacancies following the pandemic, there are satellite areas close by that are doing much, much better. That’s the picture now three miles from downtown in Cherry Creek North, where Compass agents Kevin Garrett and Matt McNeill have a custom home on the market at $ 4.675 million.

That’s around $2 million less than the two agents sold a condo for this fall, just five blocks away on Steele Street in The Laurel. (It was one of two Laurel penthouses to sell in recent months, a second at a record $10.1 million.)

There are just around 250 condos in Cherry Creek North, at a moment when the lavish Waldorf Astoria Residences are coming out of the ground, two-thirds of their 37 units already pre-sold. So it’s no surprise, McNeill says, that single-family homes in Cherry Creek are in short supply.

Six homes over $3 million

“There are only six homes over above $3 million in all of Cherry Creek North,” he added.

Garrett’s and McNeill’s very contemporary custom listing at 301 Monroe Street is four blocks from the area’s restaurant row. Enduring favorites like Cherry Creek Grill and Cucina Colore now have to compete with new arrivals, including Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse (average ticket: $100 per person), which just opened at Third and York next door to Hillstone.

In those pricey surroundings, Garrett says this 6,446-square-foot design is a good match to buyers they see, wanting that very walkable location.

“It’s a total entertainment house,” Garrett added, pointing up the vast kitchen-dining-family space with a gallery feel, brightly lit by a window wall to the side yard and by clerestory windows a level above. Floors are honed granite, and the kitchen is by Bulthaup, a high-end brand with integrated appliances and sleek, modern styling.

There are two en-suite bedrooms on the main level, and a primary above that has a spa bath with an island double-vanity and a vast walk-in closet, 10 by 20 feet.

“It’s an iconic house that’s built like Fort Knox,” Garrett noted, adding that the slope of the building site gave the builder an opportunity to do a west-facing walkout level — rare in Cherry Creek. All levels open to a glass elevator, “the coolest I’ve ever seen in Cherry Creek,” he said.

Where will the buyer come from? Nearby, Garrett expects. Although Cherry Creek draws lots of national attention for its hotel brands and restaurants, the second-home market isn’t as noticeable now as it was three years ago.

Strong market for offices

Meanwhile, Garrett and McNeill, who have plenty of experience in Cherry Creek and in LoDo, say that the strong office market within the shopping district is adding to its residential value now.

Within two blocks of their offices on Columbine, transformative projects are underway including the Cherry Creek West redevelopment by East West Partners of the Bed-Bath-&-Beyond site, and the Cherry Lane apartment project by BMC Investments, where Sears and Crate & Barrel had been.

SHOWING BY APPOINTMENT:

WHERE:  301 Monroe Street, Denver; from E. First Ave. and University, head north on Josephine 2 blocks to E. Third Ave., turn east through the shopping district, then four more blocks to Monroe

SIZE: 5 bedroom/5 bath, 6,446 sq. ft.  PRICE: $4.675M   WEB:  MyDenverTeam.com  OPEN: By appointment.   AGENTS:  Kevin Garrett & Matt McNeill, 303.520.4040