By Mark Samuelson

If you’re looking at downtown condos to get something affordable that will qualify for the federal first-time buyer tax credit, there’s something else you ought to look at today: A townhome project, newly completed with green energy features, a six-block walk from downtown, where the very most expensive design is only $349,000.

Newly completed townhome models at Traverse, 25th and Champa Streets in Curtis Park, are priced from $324,900 to $349,000. Modular construction kept energy performance high, and costs well below other downtown projects.

“You can get a condo for less, but for a downtown townhome, there just aren’t any,” says builder Scott Ray, who showed me his models at Traverse, 25th and Champa in Curtis Park, three blocks from Light Rail. Real townhomes…as in, more room than a condo will deliver at this price (from $324,900), plus a 2-car garage. more »

By Mark Samuelson

Every downtown project comes with a soaring rendering; but you’ll see one today in the theater district that looks every bit as dramatic in real life as the artwork…maybe more so…at very reachable prices.

Developer Randy Nichols is flanked by Executive Vice President Chris Crosby (left) and Sales Director Andy Hines, from the deck of a 30th floor condo like one modeled in Spire’s virtual tour center.

Everybody has been talking about SPIRE from the moment Realtors were treated to a lavish preview in the Colorado Convention Center, across the street from where the blue-lighted tower heads skyward. Forty-two stories…eye-catching terraced architecture…496 units, 130 of them already reserved as of this weekend…showcased from a virtual displays and strikingly realistic model homes that preview what the real views will look like at terraces above the city. more »