Luxury Monroe Pointe condos still available

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published June 4, 2008 at 6 p.m.

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

Photo by Photos By Javier Manzano / The Rocky

Stuart Rifkin, left, and his brother, Bruce Rifkin, stand in one of the west-facing apartments at the new Monroe Pointe condos.

Monroe Pointe opens today, offering unobstructed views of the mountains from its site in the Cherry Creek area, blocks from the mall. Units are priced from $350,000 to nearly $2 million.

The biggest obstacle hindering sales at Monroe Pointe is the misconception that all the units have been sold, the developers said Wednesday.

The six-story, 69-unit luxury unit condominium tower officially celebrates its opening today in Cherry Creek, even though the first buyers began moving into it in February.

"There's a misconception out on the street that we're sold out," said Bruce Rifkin, who co-developed the $64.5 million building at 333 S. Monroe St., less than a half- mile from the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

One reason is because pre- sales, especially for the large, west-facing penthouse units, were so brisk at first that many in the real estate industry thought all the units had been snapped up, said Rifkin, a principal of Monroe Street Development.

About half the units have been sold. The average price per square foot is $490.

"The other big misconception is that we only have super-expensive units for sale," said Bruce's brother and partner, attorney Stuart Rifkin. "But we have units priced from $350,000 to close to $2 million."

"It's hard to say who our competition is," Bruce Rifkin said. "For this type of unit in this price range, we're pretty much it."

NorthCreek condos in Cherry Creek North start at $1 million, he said. A smaller condo project at 57 Garfield St., is probably Monroe Pointe's closest competition, said Scott Boyer of RE/MAX of Cherry Creek.

"Monroe Pointe is kind of its own, unique little market," Boyer said. "And it's brand-spanking new."

The buyers have come mostly from larger homes in Cherry Creek North, the Denver Country Club and Hilltop.

"Some of these people have already downsized once and are downsizing again," Stuart Rifkin said.

About 10 percent of the buyers have their main homes in the mountains. The Rifkins also had international buyers from Venezuela and South Africa.

Young couples - often with one person working downtown and the other in the Denver Tech Center - are looking at units, he said.

One of the buyers is Art Seiden, a longtime broker at Fuller and Co. He moved into a 1,935-square- foot unit facing southwest in February,after selling his 5,600-square-foot home in Greenwood Village.

"I like that sort of edgy architecture (designed by the Davis Partnership Architects)," Seiden said. "But No. 1 is that it is Cherry Creek. I have splendid views of the mountains and parks."

The project was built by Swinerton Inc. and is being listed by Perry & Co.

rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5207

Featured

• Legislature Blog

  

  Read live updates from the opening of the 2009 legislative session.

• Rocky multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Who's next?

  

  Complete coverage of the Broncos' search for a new coach.

• Rocky year in photos

  

  View an audio slide show of staff selections from 2008.

• Winter Escapes

  

  Your insider’s guide to the copious joys of the coolest season.

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  Open Mic: Two-man advantage with Avs

• Shanahan's career

  

  See photos from Mike Shanahan's career as Broncos coach.

• 12 days of Drew

  

  Look back at the year that has been with Drew Litton.

• A dream fulfilled

  

  A Rocky Mountain News and MediaStorm production