The building at 2243 Curtis St. sold for $1.15 million. (Courtesy NAI Shames Makovsky)
An architecture firm based in the high country is planting roots in Curtis Park.
Forum Phi, which was founded in Aspen in 2006, purchased its future Denver office at 2243 Curtis St. in late September for $1.15 million, about $375 per square foot.
The 3,063-square foot-building was constructed in 1931 as an auto repair facility, public records show. It is currently home to VareCo, a property management and investment firm. Forum Phi plans to move in once the business’ lease is up in the spring. The owner of VareCo, Terrance Doyle, sold the building; he purchased it in March 2021 for $840,000, records show. Ana Sandomire and Peter Knisely of NAI Shames Makovsky represented the seller.
Forum Phi, which will remain based in Aspen, expanded to Carbondale in 2018. But staffing in the mountains has been challenging.
“We were having challenges hiring people to move into this valley because the cost of living up here is that much worse than down in Denver,” said Ryan Walterscheid, a partner at the firm.
The space in Curtis Park will replace Forum Phi’s existing Denver office at 1514 Blake St., which the company leases.
“The ultimate goal is to build a team, a core, down there (in Denver) to support us in this valley,” said Ryan Lee, a partner at the firm. “But also to expand our work to the Denver market and Boulder area, both in residential and also in multifamily and affordable housing.”
Though the office will support expanded business opportunities, Walterscheid emphasized that the move is “probably focused more on our staff.” The company is interested in possibly adding on to the building.
“At a minimum it’d be nice to have a roof deck up there … housing is a huge deal. So even if we could get a couple of units above it at some point – but I think those are plans maybe a few years down the road still,” he said.
Forum Phi worked on this affordable-housing project in Aspen. (Courtesy Forum Phi)
Right now, Forum Phi has nine staffers based in Denver. Lee said the company expects to grow slowly, and doesn’t anticipate opening other offices along the Front Range.
“We have the opportunity to grow into that office; we’re not going to be moving the team there and all of a sudden every desk is full,” he said.
Forum Phi does a variety of projects and aims to stand out by providing both exterior and interior services.
“We go into any project, whether it is affordable housing (with) 10 units or a single-family home that’s extremely intimate. There is a large team behind that is supporting that project and making sure it’s executed to the full level – from architecture, interiors, we have planning staff here, we also do furnishings. So, we can do a full-service building for any client,” Lee said.
“It’s not just residential. I mean, we’ve done a few restaurants, couple boutique hotels. So if it’s, again the right client, the right opportunity, the right fit,” he said.
And despite completing projects as far away as Atlanta, the focus has and will continue to be on Colorado.
“I don’t think we’re trying to become a 300 multicity firm. Colorado is our home. This is where we live and we want to work. We do work across the nation and the world, but setting roots down in Denver is important to us,” Lee said.
The building at 2243 Curtis St. sold for $1.15 million. (Courtesy NAI Shames Makovsky)
An architecture firm based in the high country is planting roots in Curtis Park.
Forum Phi, which was founded in Aspen in 2006, purchased its future Denver office at 2243 Curtis St. in late September for $1.15 million, about $375 per square foot.
The 3,063-square foot-building was constructed in 1931 as an auto repair facility, public records show. It is currently home to VareCo, a property management and investment firm. Forum Phi plans to move in once the business’ lease is up in the spring. The owner of VareCo, Terrance Doyle, sold the building; he purchased it in March 2021 for $840,000, records show. Ana Sandomire and Peter Knisely of NAI Shames Makovsky represented the seller.
Forum Phi, which will remain based in Aspen, expanded to Carbondale in 2018. But staffing in the mountains has been challenging.
“We were having challenges hiring people to move into this valley because the cost of living up here is that much worse than down in Denver,” said Ryan Walterscheid, a partner at the firm.
The space in Curtis Park will replace Forum Phi’s existing Denver office at 1514 Blake St., which the company leases.
“The ultimate goal is to build a team, a core, down there (in Denver) to support us in this valley,” said Ryan Lee, a partner at the firm. “But also to expand our work to the Denver market and Boulder area, both in residential and also in multifamily and affordable housing.”
Though the office will support expanded business opportunities, Walterscheid emphasized that the move is “probably focused more on our staff.” The company is interested in possibly adding on to the building.
“At a minimum it’d be nice to have a roof deck up there … housing is a huge deal. So even if we could get a couple of units above it at some point – but I think those are plans maybe a few years down the road still,” he said.
Forum Phi worked on this affordable-housing project in Aspen. (Courtesy Forum Phi)
Right now, Forum Phi has nine staffers based in Denver. Lee said the company expects to grow slowly, and doesn’t anticipate opening other offices along the Front Range.
“We have the opportunity to grow into that office; we’re not going to be moving the team there and all of a sudden every desk is full,” he said.
Forum Phi does a variety of projects and aims to stand out by providing both exterior and interior services.
“We go into any project, whether it is affordable housing (with) 10 units or a single-family home that’s extremely intimate. There is a large team behind that is supporting that project and making sure it’s executed to the full level – from architecture, interiors, we have planning staff here, we also do furnishings. So, we can do a full-service building for any client,” Lee said.
“It’s not just residential. I mean, we’ve done a few restaurants, couple boutique hotels. So if it’s, again the right client, the right opportunity, the right fit,” he said.
And despite completing projects as far away as Atlanta, the focus has and will continue to be on Colorado.
“I don’t think we’re trying to become a 300 multicity firm. Colorado is our home. This is where we live and we want to work. We do work across the nation and the world, but setting roots down in Denver is important to us,” Lee said.
