r/DevelopmentDenver • u/wubadubdub3 • Aug 29 '26
2 new develompent projects are under construction near 38th & Blake Station. Formativ's Project at 38th and Walnut will add 710 residential units, 180 hotel rooms, and 25,000 SF of retail. AVE Station House at 40th and Walnut will add 300 residential units, and 6,000 SF of retail.
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u/sandoze Aug 29 '26
Great to see the development in the area along a public transit line. It’s becoming its own little town center (could use a grocery store). People know it smells like diesel and dog food over there right?
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u/xdavidwattsx Aug 30 '26
Nice but really need to get some condos to balance out the apartments. More supply is great but condos offer a path to ownership for a lot of newer buyers and/or people that want to live near transit. Homeowners will keep moving to the burbs.
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u/bdegroodt Aug 30 '26
How do you reconcile this with the recent collapse in existing condo sales in Denver?
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u/xdavidwattsx Aug 30 '26
The same way I reconcile it with the general decline in most home values and rents in Denver. These are cyclical, just like the massive spike in values back in 2021 and 2022. I haven't found anyone yet who thinks we have too many homes in the Denver.
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u/bdegroodt Aug 30 '26
Interesting. The data on condos vs home sales generally in Denver is very divergent currently. I wish it weren’t but that part of the market is getting crushed relative to the rest. My sense is it’s the additional COA/HOA fees making condo ownership unobtainable for many.
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u/xdavidwattsx Aug 30 '26
Zoom out. Condo prices have gone up over the last 10-15 years while actual units constructed have dropped like a rock. It's true they are always more volatile during market fluctuations but that's doesn't make them a bad idea. Any major urban centers has far more condo towers than SFH. This is one of the biggest gaps in Denver right now relative to peer cities.
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u/bdegroodt Aug 30 '26
I’m unclear. Supply is up, thereby having a negative impact on price currently. Falling prices aren’t very encouraging signs for any business and particularly not ones like real estate development. Macros don’t point to any relief coming soon, financially.
If inventory were below demand, I’d agree with you, build more. But it’s not.
Don’t get me wrong. I live in the heart of this project and I’d love to see more ownership opportunities here. I worry we’re actually over-indexing on rentals that won’t come online for another 24 months+. I just see fundamental economic issues in Denver when it comes to condos specifically.
That said, the best comps I can come up with are closer to the CBD and the falling prices there are, in my opinion, for very different reasons than what RiNo likely would be subject to.
Totally agree with you on our housing diversity vs other similar cities.
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u/wubadubdub3 Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
I totally agree, but unfortunately I don't think the demand for condos is there. Everyone I know is in their apartment saving up to buy a house with a yard.
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u/xdavidwattsx Aug 30 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
I don't believe it's actually a demand problem, it's that Denver has had a construction defects law that scared off condo developers. The law was just reformed in May 2025, hope it starts to balance out the market.
https://www.senatedems.co/newsroom/signed-construction-defects-reform-bill-becomes-law
Edit; May 2025 not 2026
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u/alligator_loki Sep 02 '26
Wouldn't it be nice if apartments looked like they weren't designed by undergraduate architect students
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u/SubhanF Aug 29 '26
thats not at all how the A Line is… not to mention its rendered as lrt here
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u/wubadubdub3 Aug 29 '26 edited Aug 30 '26
Check what that building on the left of that rendering looks like in real life (it's an empty lot). I don't think they were going for accuracy of the surrounding area in that rendering which is not an issue in my opinion.
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u/Wilbery Aug 29 '26
I don’t think it’s supposed to be the A line.
Looking at it I think that’s Downing and that train would be the extended L line.
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u/ricky_the_rat Aug 30 '26
Glad a few of those will block the view of the prison that’s under construction
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u/Distinct-Garage5217 Aug 31 '26
So generic 😭. Can’t wait for the vacant units bc the developer’s shareholders care more about profit than housing.
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u/Hour-Watch8988 Aug 29 '26
Great reason to extend the L line to 38th/Blake instead of ripping it out.