The corner of 17th and Blake streets in downtown Denver has been quieter than usual lately.
For years, those heading to nearby Union Station would often pass by a group of seniors sitting on benches and soaking up the Denver sun. They were residents of the building right on the corner — until the building’s owner moved everyone out by this January.
Now that owner — Denver-based Senior Housing Options — is looking to sell the 62-unit building at 1514 17th St.
Dorit Fischer, a broker with NAI Shames Makovsky who is marketing it with colleague Hayden Hirschfeld, said the asking price is $2.5 million.
“It’s really a gorgeous asset,” Fischer said. “You look at the exterior of this building, it’s really wonderful. It needs a lot of love inside, to be honest, but it will be great to see it in its next life.”
Fischer said the building has some accessibility issues inside, such as a step up in each of the bathrooms, making it noncompliant with ADA standards. The total cost of addressing that and other needed interior work amounts to between $10 million and $12 million, she said.
Long before it was housing, the building erected in 1882 was known as the Barth Hotel. It was the longest-running hotel in Denver when it was sold to Senior Housing Options in 1981, which converted it into an assisted living facility. The nonprofit operates other Colorado facilities in Denver, Longmont, Cortez and Parachute, serving over 300 seniors.
Senior Housing Options wrote in a blog post on its website that the decision to move residents out this winter was due to “safety concerns” related to the structure’s condition. The organization still maintains an office on the first floor.
The property’s residences are income-restricted until 2080, according to the listing. That makes another nonprofit or income-restricted apartment operator a natural buyer.
The building is a city landmark, a status that effectively prevents demolition and requires that exterior changes be approved by a city commission.
The Union Station building underwent a $1 million renovation in 2005, and still has its original windows, tin pressed ceilings, steel columns and an oak mezzanine, according to LoDo’s neighborhood association.
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