Each unit will sell between $200 per sf and $250 per sf, the low end of new urban construction in Denver. Units likely will range in 1,500 sf to 1,600 sf in size, for a price tag of $300,000 to $400,000 each.
The project will be designed by a fledgling architectural firm in the neighborhood, In Sutu Design, for a reduced fee. And architect Cathy Bellem is acting as the developer for no fee.
The apartment building would have been out-of-scale in the neighborhood of stately Victorian single-family homes and row houses, Bellem tells GlobeSt.com.
Wayne Thrash, another neighbor and a private psychiatric nursing specialist, says the neighbors aren't motivated by money. ''If we can make a little bit more money than we would on a CD rate, I'll be happy,'' Thrash says.
Brad Segal, principal of the Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates, isn't involved with the project. However, PUMA consults on urban projects in the Denver area and across the country. He says what the Curtis Park group is doing is fairly unique and is taking on the role that is often served by community development groups.
But Segal says that this is a true, grass-roots movement. He sees the potential for other neighbors who don't like a nearby development to pool their resources and expertise together to build something more to their liking.
Ultimately, that could be more rewarding that taking the traditional route of protesting infill developments, he tells GlobeSt.com. On the other hand, the neighborhood is losing 22 units of more affordable rental units for four more expensive townhomes.
''Whether the community is better off with four or 22 units, I don't know, but it seems to be a community is better off when the homeowners are happy,'' Segal tells GlobeSt.com. ''To me, this is a case where neighbors are determining their own future and destiny, and that is something that should be encouraged.''
Indeed, Bellam says many of the members of the neighborhood want to find other similar development opportunities in Curtis Park.
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