Whew, last weekend was busy.  With more than 300+ visitors to our SPIRE Summer Open House event it was an exciting weekend of building tours, free yoga classes, and free Jamba Juice.  Word of mouth about the many benefits of SPIRE must be spreading and we want to thank everyone who stopped by.  We also want to apologize.  It was such an incredible turnout that at about 3:00 pm we ran out of Jamba Juice.  We know some of you missed out on those delicious smoothies and we’d like to make it up to you. The first 100 people to stop by our Sales Center this weekend will receive a certificate for a free Classic Jamba Juice with a free boost.

Our team will also be available to take you on a tour of SPIRE and its many amenities that are part of focus on Healthy High Rise Living.  With two pools, two spas, fitness center, yoga floor and zen garden, SPIRE provides great facilities for our residents to enjoy.   With our great walkability (Walkscore of 100 out of 100) SPIRE is a “Walkers Paradise”.  The score is based upon SPIRE’s easy access to public transportation, shuttles, bike and walking paths, and the many entertainment and dining options within a few blocks.  In the heart of Downtown Denver and the Theater District our location offers residents the best of that our wonderful city of Denver has to offer.  So if you are out on a bike ride this weekend, checking out an exhibit or performance downtown, taking in an afternoon yoga class, or just window shopping downtown, please feel free to stop by our sales center at 891 14th street in the base of the building.  

Thank you and we wish everyone a wonderful weekend.  Here are some other weekend events you may want to check out while you are in the Neighborhood of SPIRE.

• Join the Denver Art Museum the final Friday of August for Untutled #32. With the King Tut exhibition in town, Untitled takes on ancient gold bling and all things Egyptian.
• Root Down Cooking Demos:  A journey into local cuisine at the Denver Public Library.
• Come join hundreds of your yogi friends every Sunday, 4 p.m. May 30 – Sep. 19 at Denver’s City Park for yoga, live music, socializing and FUN!)
• Comedy at the Bovine Metropolis at 8:00 pm Saturday with Left Right TIM.  Coming all the way from Boulder, Left Right TIM (LRT to those in the know) is made up entirely of University of Colorado students and alumni.

Cheers!

Join us for Free Yoga at SPIRE

We wrote earlier this week about healthy high rise living at SPIRE.  That idea resonated with many of our homeowners and friends here in Denver.  As we all try to eat a little healthier, exercise a little more, and look for ways to improve our lifestyle all of us at SPIRE thought we would offer an event to help out.

SPIRE will host two FREE yoga classes from 12 – 1pm and 3 – 4pm on Sunday, August 22nd. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced yogi, all levels will enjoy this class led by Jillian Wendt, yoga instructor from Samadhi Center. Bring a friend and your mat, but please RSVP as space is limited. Keep your energy going by rejuvenating with a delicious smoothie from Jamba Juice, tour our model residences and learn more about healthy high-rise living at SPIRE. If you can’t make it to our yoga class, don’t worry – SPIRE is hosting an all day Open House event.

What: SPIRE Summer Open House Yoga Class, Model Tours and Refreshments
When: Sunday, August 22nd from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: SPIRE 891 14th Street, Denver, CO 80202
RSVP: 720.457.7550 or james.blood@spiredenver.com

If you can’t attend our SPIRE Summer Open House but would like to learn more about SPIRE residences or schedule a private tour of the building please contact our sales center at 720-457-7550.

Have a wonderful day and let us know what style of yoga Denver loves to practice!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

View the invite for this event here.  If you would like to be added to our email list for more SPIRE updates and events please email us at james.blood@spiredenver.com

Denver is an amazingly healthy city.  It could be the 300+ days of sunshine.  It could be our wonderful climate and each of our gorgeous four seasons.  It could be the many biking and running trails throughout the city or our Rocky Mountain backyard.

It might be all of the above.

Whatever the cause, Denver is consistently ranked as one of the healthiest cities in the U.S. and all of us at SPIRE thought that was pretty special.  Embracing healthy living was a core value for SPIRE.  That drove the creation of the spacious fitness center, the multiple spas and pools, the yoga floor and the Zen garden.  It was important that homeowners in SPIRE could find both fitness and wellness features for their Denver lifestyle.   SPIRE homeowners might relax with a run on the treadmill, a early morning yoga class, some weight training on state-of-the-art fitness machines, or a simple soak at the end of the day. Healthy living at SPIRE is easy.

After considering the amenities in the building, our SPIRE design team looked at the lifestyle that continues after you walk out the front door.  The location of SPIRE was selected for its proximity to the light rail, the 16th Street shuttle, and the Cherry Creek bike and running paths.  The website “Walk Score” gave our address of 891 14th Street a perfect 100 out of 100 for walkability and named SPIRE a “Walkers Paradise”.  Need the occasional bike or car as well???  No worries.    If your healthy lifestyle plan is to live car optional, SPIRE is here to help.  SPIRE residents enjoy free memberships to both Bcycle and Connect by Hertz.

SPIRE Perfect 100 Walkscore August 16th 2010

Congratulations Denver, on continually being ranked as one of the most healthy cities to live in.  We like the idea of healthy living so much we made it part of the SPIRE design.  To learn more about healthy high rise living at SPIRE or our LEED® design elements, please contact our sales team at 720-457-7550.

Sustainable and Attainable….. that was one of the first descriptions used for SPIRE.  Attainable referred to the attractive pricing for condo residences in the heart of downtown Denver.  Sustainable referred to the fact that SPIRE was designed and built pursuing the United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED® criteria.  For a building to qualify for LEED® certification, a certain number of points must be earned in various categories within the scope of sustainable design.   It’s something everyone working on SPIRE felt was important and more importantly,  it’s something our homeowners valued.   With such things as air quality, daylight access, materials, location, and operating efficiency for utilities involved, it’s a pretty important part of a home.  For many of our residents, living in a sustainable building is on the “must have” list when selecting a home.

All of us at SPIRE would like to thank  everyone who contributed to this achievement.  We were  fortunate to have such an incredible team of design, architecture, and construction experts to make this goal a reality.

To learn more about SPIRE or to tour any of our residences, please contact our sales center at 720-457-97550.  Cheers and here is a copy of the official release.

SPIRE ACHIEVES LEED® CERTIFICATION
High-rise provides sustainably designed high-performance condominium homes in Downtown Denver

DENVER (June 23, 2010) – RNL today announced SPIRE’s attainment of the LEED-NC Certified designation, as verified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  Developed by The Nichols Partnership, Inc. and built by JE Dunn Construction Company, SPIRE is a dynamic new urban community showcasing sustainable high-performance homes and a 41-story residential lifestyle overlooking both the Rocky Mountains and Downtown Denver.

Even in times of acute national focus on sustainability only a handful of multifamily projects in the United States have been able to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification, considered as the platinum standard in green construction and design.  In addition, SPIRE is one of the largest LEED Certified condominium towers in the country, and the only LEED certified condo high rise in Colorado.  RNL served as the LEED administrator for the project, providing tremendous commitment to and investment in designing and building a high-performance building.

Doug Spuler, AIA, LEED AP, RNL, principal and project director for SPIRE congratulated the team, saying, “The Nichols Partnership embraced the LEED registration process and truly understood the benefits of providing a modern, sustainable option for Downtown residents.”

With 496 sustainably-designed condominium homes in an urban location, SPIRE introduces natural daylight, enhanced indoor air quality, energy saving design, potable water use reduction, inclusion of regionally harvested and recycled content materials, innovative transportation solutions and 100% utilization of  electricity from renewable energy sources to make SPIRE not only an amazing addition to the Denver skyline but a unique opportunity to own a high performance home and live a sustainable lifestyle.

LEED metrics are focused on energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. Some of SPIRE’s sustainable features include:
·         Over 90% of all regularly occupied spaces provide direct line of sight views and access to daylight
·         100% Green Power, renewable energy contract to provide renewable electricity for the building
·         61.4% reduction in potable water consumption from a calculated baseline by using native plants, drip irrigation and moisture sensors
·         26.5% reduction in potable water use due to utilization of reduced-flow lavatory, kitchen sink faucets and shower heads, dual flush toilets, and waterless urinals
·         Improved Indoor Environmental Quality through enhanced air filtration, low-emitting materials for paint, coatings and carpets
·         Commitment to recycling with a dedicated single stream recycling chute located on all occupied floors
·         Transportation options that augment a 97/100 walk score (one of the highest scores in Denver) include 180+ bike racks, motor scooter and motorcycle parking, discounts on Low Emission Vehicle Parking spaces, Connect by Hertz car sharing service located in the ground and adjacency to RTD light rail and the city’s B-Cycle program

“Building a high-performance LEED home at any price point is a challenge and a huge accomplishment.   What is so unique about SPIRE is the fact that we are able to deliver a high-performance LEED certified home at an attainable price point in one of the most compelling locations that Denver has to offer,” states Christopher Crosby, LEED® AP, Executive Vice President, The Nichols Partnership, Inc.  “Our commitment to high-performance LEED design and construction and the successful sales that we have thus far achieved is one of the silver linings of the current housing market… our hope is that pursuit of LEED certification for multi-family projects will be as commonplace as it is for commercial buildings today and that LEED certification will be a key differentiator for the residential marketplace in the future.”

At 470 feet tall, SPIRE’s modernism and subtle art deco influences conclude in a celebratory, articulated crown forming a distinctive and identifiable addition to the Denver skyline.  The building features a 33-story residential tower atop an eight-story parking podium with ground floor retail, culminating in just under a million square feet.

For more information about SPIRE, please visit www.spiredenver.com.

There are many reasons why our new homeowners selected SPIRE:  the spectacular views, the construction, the many amenities, and of course the location in the heart of Downtown Denver.

But an interesting trend that goes along with the Downtown location is the attractive lifestyle of living in a car optional building.  With easy access to light rail, the 16th Street shuttle, the Cherry Creek bike paths, and the recently added citywide B-cycle program,  living at SPIRE allows freedom from traffic and long commutes for many of our residents.  For many of our new homeowners this new lifestyle was one of their decisions to live downtown and at SPIRE.

Supporting a pedestrian friendly and car optional lifestyle was one of the fundamentals involved in selecting the site location for SPIRE.  It is also the reason SPIRE hosts Denver’s first  Connect by Hertz location as one of our ground floor tenants.  Connect by Hertz offers SPIRE residents (and our neighbors) easy and flexible access to an automobile for the car optional lifestyle with plans that allow for hourly usage of their fleet of cars.

It’s a new way of life across the country (and the globe as they have locations overseas as well) as an alternative to owning a car.  With great success in other cities,  this approach removes the burdens, both financial and maintenance, of owning a car while leaving all the benefits.  One of our car optional residents may walk, pedal, or ride the light rail for almost every daily trip or night out on the town.  But for those trips where a car is necessary, there’s an easy option right at the foot of your building.  And as the Connect by Hertz website points out,  it is also a very environmentally friendly option:

Less vehicle congestion

Every Connect by Hertz car on the road eliminates up to 14 personal vehicles, reducing the overall number of cars on the roads. And wouldn’t a traffic jam-free city be so much more pleasant?

Fewer harmful emissions

Fewer cars on the road means fewer CO₂ emissions clogging up the air. In the U.S., Connect by Hertz cars are all EPA SmartWay certified. This ensures fewer air pollutants and greenhouse gases are emitted.

Lower energy consumption

With Connect by Hertz, you use the cars only when you need them. This means less fuel on fewer trips, so it’s far more energy efficient.

Of course car sharing is only one option.  B-cycle, the wonderful bike sharing program that launched in Denver this year also has a station right outside the front door of SPIRE.  B-cycle has stations across Denver,  and our city is the first large scale municipal bike sharing system in the United States.  You may have seen one of the early B-cycle bikes on display in our sales center in last year as we were eagerly supporting their launch.   The reasons to use B-cycle are many as they mention on their website…

Bike sharing makes it economical and convenient to use bikes for trips that are too far to walk but too short to drive. As a member, you can use a B-cycle to run an errand, grab lunch, travel from the bus stop to your office, or just get some fresh air.

Bike Sharing, Car Sharing… we want to make sure to mention we of course also have parking.  SPIRE also offers plenty of parking spaces including priority parking for those residents with low emission vehicles, motorcycle and scooter spaces, and bicycle racks to accommodate all forms of transportation.  Schedule a visit today or contact us at 720-457-7550 to learn more about SPIRE and our many environmentally friendly design features within our LEED® Registration.   Learn more about SPIRE today.

SPIRE Grand Open House

You are invited to join all of us here at SPIRE for our Grand Open House Event.

This Saturday and Sunday we are opening the doors of SPIRE with music, food, and of course the opportunity to see and tour SPIRE’s 42 story tower including the many amenities and designer floor plans.

We’ll also be introducing special grand opening pricing, credits and financing offers.  So come be inSPIREd and learn more about this limited opportunity to own Denver’s best for less.

SATURDAY + SUNDAY
JUNE 26 + 27

GRAND OPEN HOUSE EVENT
14TH & CHAMPA: 12-5 PM

MODEL TOURS + LIVE MUSIC
EATS + PRIZES

RSVP NOW TO THERESA MARTIN (theresa.martin@spiredenver.com)

Photo Credit to Elegant Images and Photographs

SPIRE is bustling with activity.  New SPIRE homeowners have moved in and are enjoying their new downtown Denver lifestyle and the many SPIRE amenities.  What’s their favorite amenity… is it the fitness center, pools, hot tubs, theater room, or perhaps simply the location and views?  We decided to ask our new homeowners.

Welcome to the first of our homeowner interviews.  We are proud to introduce you to SPIRE resident Jim Deak.  Not only is Jim one of our first homeowners but he shared with us that he is getting married this coming weekend and may be “the first couple officially starting their lives together at SPIRE”.  Congratulations Jim and Kristen!

Here is our interview with Jim.

What first attracted you to SPIRE?

Maintenance free living in the downtown Denver environment.  I was also taken by the views, premier location and amenities the building has to offer.

When you were evaluating your different options for condos in Denver, what factors helped you determine that SPIRE was your #1 pick?

The location- centrally located near the theatre district, the 16th St Mall Shuttle, and an RTD Light Rail Stop.  The proximity to 100′s of restaurants, sports facilities and unique shopping opportunities.  There are other upscale living opportunities in downtown Denver, but they couldn’t compete with this building’s location, amenities and value.  As a licensed Real Estate agent, my sense for value and location led me back to SPIRE after comparing it to other downtown options.

Which residence/floor plan did you select for your home and why?

We chose the Arapahoe- it’s a 2br floorplan that offers a fantastic west facing view of Invesco field, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop.  That’s the west view- looking to the east we see the “Christmas Tree” building, the Colorful Clock Tower, and the lights of downtown living.

Do you have a favorite amenity within the building?

The 2 outdoor hot tubs have been doing wonders on my senses- I mean sore back.  More seriously, the Box Office is the best home theater I have ever experienced short of IMAX movies.

When did you move in to SPIRE?

As soon as possible!  April 28th was the date.  The porter staff was a nice added benefit holding doors open and just helping insure a smooth move.

As a SPIRE homeowner, can you share some of the best things about living at SPIRE and in the heart of Denver?

5 minute walk to the Buell Theater and the 16th St Shuttle.   RTD light rail and B-Cycle is at your doorstep.  Walk or B-Cycle to any downtown work site.  The outdoor pool, hot tubs, box office and the rest of 2 floors of amenities that can’t be found anywhere else.  Did I mention the stunning city and mountain views?

Do you have any recommendations for new homeowners to SPIRE (restaurants, events, things to do)?

Buy now, before prices rise further!  Little India is a weekly stop for take out or the lunch buffet.  Ride the B-Cycle to REI for coffee and some weekend trip supplies.  Take a run or bike ride along the South Platte River paths.

Any thoughts on the growth and development that is happening in Downtown Denver?

The 14th St Redevelopment project is going to be exiting to watch as it continues to build on SPIRE’s location and its proximity to great restaurants, sporting events and theater.

Thanks Jim !
To learn more about residences at SPIRE or to schedule a tour of our building please contact our sales center at 720.457.7550.

I’m not talking about just a little busy… the sales team at SPIRE was swamped with folks stopping in to tour the building.

Maybe it was the beautiful weather, maybe it was the fact that SPIRE is now home to many wonderful residents who are sharing rave reviews about the pool, the fitness center, the views, or maybe it was the terrific article that appeared in the Denver Post this past weekend.   Now that residents have been living in SPIRE for several weeks, we have some great testimonials about their new SPIRE lifestyles to share.    For those folks who visited the sales center before the building was completed, this was an incredible opportunity to go from viewing a scale model to actually walking through the fitness center, pool deck, club lounge, sports zone, sky club, and of course floorplans that are now a reality.

And that’s just what a huge percentage of Denver did this past weekend, keeping our sales team busy sharing the great features of the building with the many visiting groups.  If you missed this weekend, feel free to stop our sales center or call 720.457.7550 to schedule your own exclusive tour.

Thanks to everyone who stopped in and we hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Look for more homeowner news here as well.

1. May 28-30th – “The Downtown Denver Arts Festival is dedicated to supporting and showcasing Colorado visual artists. Downtown Denver Arts Festival holds its annual premier event each Memorial Day Weekend at the Denver Pavilions. The fine art exhibition features over 135 of Colorado’s finest visual artists with over 150,000 people expected to attend.  The Arts Festival is open to all Colorado Artists.  
2. All weekend long and beyond, you can enjoy the Body Works And The Science of the Heart Exhibit at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  “BODY WORLDS & The Story of the Heart, an all-new exhibition, reveals—through the lenses of anatomy, cardiology, psychology and culture—how the heart nourishes, regulates and sustains life.”
3. May 29th and May 30th – Colorado Rockies vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Take in a ball game on a beautiful Memorial Day Weekend and enjoy the sunshine at Coors Field.
4. Sunday, May 30th – JAX Fish House Crab Boil.  This one needs to be booked at least 48 hours in advance so don’t wait until the last minute if you want to spend Sunday enjoying one of the best outdoor patios downtown.  Memorial Day Weekend is a perfect time for a Crab Boil, and those from the East Coast can vouch that on a sunny summer day it’s one of the true delights you can enjoy with friends getting about as messy as possible.  Old Bay anyone?
5. Monday, May 31st – The Bolder Boulder:  Not only is this one of the most famous Colorado running events…. it doesn’t require a car drive.    The beauty of living downtown is that RTD has prepared for this event for city dwellers.  Just hop on the light rail down to Market Street station (or walk) and take a bus up to Boulder with other runners.  This avoids traffic and you can relax after your 10K run all the way home.  Known for the many bands, belly dancers, and other sights on the run itself, it is a Colorado favorite.
6. May 29th, 30th, and 31st – Old South Gaylord Street Event.   Visit Old South Gaylord Street for their 31st year of a family-oriented street festival with lots of different hand-made crafts, food and entertainment for ALL ages. Visit their site for more information.

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.   So there is one other event for this Memorial Day weekend list that is very special.  The  Denver Memorial Day Parade will be held on May 29th at 10:00 AM.  Here is a link for more information.

Whatever you choose to do this upcoming holiday weekend we hope you have a wonderful, fun and safe weekend.  See you around SPIRE.