A rendering of the planned condo building. (Courtesy Points West Design Works)
Two longtime friends with experience in the homebuilding sector are teaming up to develop a four-story condominium project in Cherry Creek.
Frank Penn and Dave Bracht, both 57, plan to build the 15-unit project at 325 and 329 Detroit St., two parcels they already own that add up to 0.29 acres. They recently asked the city to rezone the site.
“There’s really a lack of for-sale residential down in Cherry Creek,” Penn said. “It seems like a great opportunity to provide options for the people that are working nearby.”
Frank Penn, left, and David Bracht
Penn, who lives locally, previously owned Global Telecom, which he described as a “homebuilding-related technology company” that dealt with low-voltage wiring. He sold the company nine years ago, he said, and has since worked on smaller building projects such as accessory dwelling units and duplexes.
Bracht lives in Tennessee, but has lived in the Denver area off and on for significant periods since 1997. He recently started a job with Ashton Woods Homes and has previously worked for homebuilding giants Lennar, Oakwood Homes and Richmond American. He said a recent job with the homebuilding division of Southern Land Co., which is more known for its multifamily development, gave him exposure to that segment of the market.
Bracht said he and Penn are “best friends” who have known each other since the 1990s, and this is the first project they’re pursuing together.
The Detroit Street site is currently home to two buildings that are residential in appearance, but used for office space, Penn said. He purchased the northern property for $1.2 million in 2016, records show, and got to know his neighbors to the south, who said they’d reach out when they were ready to sell. He and Bracht bought that lot last fall for $2.8 million.
“This has been the vision since I purchased the property,” Penn said of the condo project.
Bracht said the project also evolved from the two saying it would be great to live next to each other one day. They’re considering each taking one of the units in the building.
“Nothing in real estate is a sure thing. But Cherry Creek is something special to both of us,” Bracht said. “If you have the means, why would you want to live anywhere else than Cherry Creek?”
Points West Design Works designed the building, and Penn said the firm ensured that “every unit has a special amenity, whether it’s the view, the size and privacy afforded the unit, or the configuration and lay out.”
The development plans still need to be approved by the city, as does the rezoning. The northern parcel is already zoned for up to five stories, and Penn said the pair felt they had support from the neighborhood to seek that height for the entire site. But he said they opted to pursue four-story zoning after interactions with city staff suggested five “might be a little bit of a battle.”
The rezoning application will first be considered by Denver’s Planning Board, and ultimately the City Council must approve it. No hearing dates had been scheduled as of press time.
The rezoning request is one of two pending for a Cherry Creek condo project. Development firm Property Markets Group has submitted the other, asking for up to eight stories for its planned Waldorf Astoria project along 2nd Avenue, about four blocks from the pair’s site.
A rendering of the planned condo building. (Courtesy Points West Design Works)
Two longtime friends with experience in the homebuilding sector are teaming up to develop a four-story condominium project in Cherry Creek.
Frank Penn and Dave Bracht, both 57, plan to build the 15-unit project at 325 and 329 Detroit St., two parcels they already own that add up to 0.29 acres. They recently asked the city to rezone the site.
“There’s really a lack of for-sale residential down in Cherry Creek,” Penn said. “It seems like a great opportunity to provide options for the people that are working nearby.”
Frank Penn, left, and David Bracht
Penn, who lives locally, previously owned Global Telecom, which he described as a “homebuilding-related technology company” that dealt with low-voltage wiring. He sold the company nine years ago, he said, and has since worked on smaller building projects such as accessory dwelling units and duplexes.
Bracht lives in Tennessee, but has lived in the Denver area off and on for significant periods since 1997. He recently started a job with Ashton Woods Homes and has previously worked for homebuilding giants Lennar, Oakwood Homes and Richmond American. He said a recent job with the homebuilding division of Southern Land Co., which is more known for its multifamily development, gave him exposure to that segment of the market.
Bracht said he and Penn are “best friends” who have known each other since the 1990s, and this is the first project they’re pursuing together.
The Detroit Street site is currently home to two buildings that are residential in appearance, but used for office space, Penn said. He purchased the northern property for $1.2 million in 2016, records show, and got to know his neighbors to the south, who said they’d reach out when they were ready to sell. He and Bracht bought that lot last fall for $2.8 million.
“This has been the vision since I purchased the property,” Penn said of the condo project.
Bracht said the project also evolved from the two saying it would be great to live next to each other one day. They’re considering each taking one of the units in the building.
“Nothing in real estate is a sure thing. But Cherry Creek is something special to both of us,” Bracht said. “If you have the means, why would you want to live anywhere else than Cherry Creek?”
Points West Design Works designed the building, and Penn said the firm ensured that “every unit has a special amenity, whether it’s the view, the size and privacy afforded the unit, or the configuration and lay out.”
The development plans still need to be approved by the city, as does the rezoning. The northern parcel is already zoned for up to five stories, and Penn said the pair felt they had support from the neighborhood to seek that height for the entire site. But he said they opted to pursue four-story zoning after interactions with city staff suggested five “might be a little bit of a battle.”
The rezoning application will first be considered by Denver’s Planning Board, and ultimately the City Council must approve it. No hearing dates had been scheduled as of press time.
The rezoning request is one of two pending for a Cherry Creek condo project. Development firm Property Markets Group has submitted the other, asking for up to eight stories for its planned Waldorf Astoria project along 2nd Avenue, about four blocks from the pair’s site.
