PRESS RELEASE

REVIVAL: MODERN LOFTS CONVERTED
FROM REFRIGERATED WAREHOUSE
DENVER, COLORADO :: March 3rd 2005

On the original site of the Town of Montclair's City Hall is a 1956 warehouse which developer Joe Payton of Pioneer Capital Development is converting to 15 finish-yourself lofts. This rapidly appreciating historic Montclair neighborhood is at the doorstep of the East Denver Lowry and Stapleton redevelopments.

Great rooftop views and 16,500 square feet of mid-century architecture made this distinctive warehouse in a historic neighborhood an ideal candidate for loft conversion.

The 1930's brick bungalows, old-growth hardwoods, neighborhood parks and churches and wide boulevards belie the difficulty this historic neighborhood has had capturing the appreciation other historic Denver neighborhoods have enjoyed. Other neighborhoods, closer in to the city core re-gentrified years ago, but the Montclair neighborhood was not given an opportunity for rebirth until the adjacent Lowry Air Force Base and Stapleton Airports closed and began redevelopment into America's largest infill suburb.

Payton isn't afraid to leave the beaten path in search of the next opportunity. He moved to a small Texas town in 2001 to redevelop an entire city block of homes, and continues to be open to opportunities other developers are closed to. "With all my models and research, I'd like to say this is a science." says Payton "But it is a large part art." He says that the deciding factor in proceeding with Oneida was that after all the indicators said go, he had to search inside to ask if it just felt right. It did.

The warehouse's distinctive 1950's exterior and large lot met critical criteria in Payton's development model. He shies away from big-building small-lot scenarios that isolate residents, and from building the stucco boxes prevalent among developer product in Denver today.

The real puzzle was the building itself, which was an assemblage of three phases built over two decades. Careful architectural planning and extensive engineering along with a sizable structural steel budget opened the interior spaces and allowed large window openings to be retrofit into the masonry walls. Payton found a modern revivalist architecture firm in Denver called SHoP Architects and started speaking the same language right away. Explains Payton: "Design went well after SHoP came on board." "The product of their efforts resulted in 15 unique well planned lofts." "We have no bad unit here."

Kitchens are better than most developers are providing with upgraded cabinetry, stainless appliances and concrete bar tops. Bathrooms feature 36" tubs, stone tile surrounds and double shower heads. But the remaining finishes are minimal. The only doors are bathroom, closet and furnace room doors, and there are not many of them.But they are nice slab Birch, with brushed nickel hardware. The lofts' open floor plans with concrete floors and exposed joists reveal the finish-yourself message Payton promotes as the reason his lofts are priced so competitively. At $229/sf they are $100/sf cheaper than comparable downtown property.

"Homeowners can drywall, decorate, and finish floors themselves." says Payton. For the developer, these finishes are expensive, and are often torn out and replaced with finishes more to the owner's liking.

Payton's goal in redesigning the exterior was to innovate along the buildings original International Style architectural lines. Built in 1956 as a frozen warehouse for Foster's Frosty Foods, the distinctive building was redesigned in 1976 by Fred Mikawa Associates of Denver, and features long horizontal lines bisected by a soaring vertical wing of red grouted red brick. In his redevelopment, Payton added soaring inverted columns and tapering canopies that feel more like the building has sprouted wings than anything tacked on. Payton used anodized aluminum frames glazed with green glass in refitting the band of second-story windows. To maximize natural light, he cut in large overhead garage doors with glass panels at the entrances.

In keeping with the International Style of architecture, Payton added a separate flat roofed garage bank, then included landscape barriers between surface parking and unit entrances to damper car noise and shield headlight glare.

In designing the site, Payton's vision was to create community while balancing private space. About half of the units face the North loading dock converted to courtyard. And half the units face the parking and garage area to the South. He accomplished further privacy by building private patios and entrances for each unit, while enticing neighbors into the open with a community fire pit, benches, and a swing lounge set within lush landscaping.

To balance the masonry and metal feel of the building, Payton wrapped the site in a horizontal plank wood fence, and designed two custom Japanese gates as entrances to the garden courtyard and parking area.

"I affect the things that are hard to change after a condominium community takes control of the project." says Payton. The exterior and community spaces are planned, designed and finished while the interiors are open to individual expression.

For specifics, maps, 3-D renderings and Joseph Payton's story of how he came to this vision, please visit the project web site at www.OneidaLofts.com, or phone Joseph at 303-300-4464.

The Oneida Lofts are still available at pre-sale pricing and are listed with John Ludwig at Kentwood City Properties.
John can be reached at 303-601-1792.

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