In the 1970s, when Lower Downtown suddenly morphed from skid row into a place everyone wanted to be, there weren’t that many historic buildings left to transform into trendy lofts and brewpubs — maybe 20% of the original stock. The best of those remnants became projects like Edbrooke and Ice House Lofts; but when those were gone, LoDo developers had to get creative.

Broker Jenny Usaj can show you such a project on Mother’s Day — a “faux loft” that mimics the genuine lofts with their high window walls and exposed ductwork, but that has a bona fide Old West location. Palace Lofts by developer Ray Suppa, completed in 1998, was named for the Palace Variety Theatre at 15th and Blake — a “box house” with theater, casino and saloon that reportedly lured the likes of Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday.

Sports centric

Usaj says the Palace is now a place to get a lot of nicely finished space for the money, in a walkable location that splits the difference between Larimer Square, Union Station, Coors Field and Ball Arena, all within two-to-four blocks. Unit 4A is a single-bedroom/2-bath unit priced at $645,000, but delivers 1,373 finished feet, much of it rendered as entertaining area with floor-to-ceiling glass that overlooks Blake from a perch right above the corner.

“You can see the whole city skyline,” said Usaj, who has built a 40-person agency, a rarity of its size that hasn’t been absorbed by one of the mega-realty companies, by specializing in core city areas. She’s marketing this unit with its sports-centric setting as a spot to host pregame parties from an open kitchen and a sizable island-bar, all with LoDo views. Two parking spaces in the heated garage, she added, are the best situation in that district for someone with an F-150 or other high-top vehicle needing an unusually high door and bay.

Like many properties downtown, the Palace has a number of units on the market now at a moment the city and the Downtown Denver Partnership are working to further a resurgence of the restaurant scene following the pandemic shutdown, and when insurance costs have driven up HOA dues. Condos are a rare part of the housing market that saw a drop in median price over the last two years, and the unpredictability of HOA fees is a reason why.

But Usaj says that buyers, particularly ones coming to LoDo from older single-family areas aren’t getting a fair comparison of how HOA dues — currently $647 a month on this unit — weigh against fees that typical homeowners pay outside their mortgage.

Running numbers

“When you really pull out the bills, there are yard and maintenance costs, not to mention water, HVAC, sewer and trash. And you probably have a gym membership, and you may be paying for someone to keep an eye on the place when you travel,” Usaj added. “When you run the numbers, it isn’t that different.”

Usaj says loft properties also have a sense of neighborhood that might be surprising to arrivals from the ‘burbs. She’ll have 4A open Sunday, 11 to 1.

OPEN THIS SUNDAY:

WHERE:  1499 Blake Street #4A, Denver; from northbound I-25 take Auraria Parkway north 1.5-mi, past Speer Blvd., continue north on Blake to 15th Street, left one block.

SIZE: 1 bed/2 bath, 1,373 sq. ft., 2 parking spots  PRICE: $645,000 WEB:  UsajRealty.com OPEN: Sunday, May 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  AGENT:  Jenny Usaj, 970-514-8960