Parkway, Uptown Village, Retreat at the Park (Denver, Aurora: apartments, renting)

[DenverLawGal]

Anyone live at any of these places?

We are getting ready to sell our house in Thornton and are a little worried about what we are going to get for our buck in downtown. We want amenities, pool, gym, and are willing to pay $1100. Can we get this?

Are the apartment buildings I listed not adviseable for a married couple in their 30s, no kids??

[steveindenver]

What are the addresses? Are you referring to the Uptown Village on 17th a few blocks from Broadway?

That is an interesting area with some good places to eat and drink as within walking distance, all of downtown easily accessible via the mall shuttle and a great local/daily grocer nearby.

[DenverLawGal]

steve: Sorry, I just assumed everyone would know where these places are. : )

Uptown Village is the one on 17th. We love that area, but the building itself is really run down, apartments are outdated. The appliances we saw were from the 70s. And I was right with my feelings, it's a very young tenant base, I mean 20 year olds. It just seemed to rundown and youngish for us. Especially considering what they are asking -- $1200 for a 800 sq. ft. apartment? sheesh. Oh and that doesn't include their $80 a month parking. We thought we'd hang on to one car since my DH travels to Aurora for work.

[DENVERBULLDOG]

If you like the Parkway, but not the "Denver Dorm" aspect, you might want to try the town homes located behind the apartment buildings. You get the same amenities but generally an older, more laid back crowd. They are all condos so you would need to find someone renting out their unit.

[DenverLawGal]

denverbulldog: Thanks! We did try to check out those townhomes, but no luck. I guess we are just really frustrated. Since we already own a good home with good equity, we think that maybe it's not a good time to sell and live in an apt., no matter how much we dislike the Thornton area.

[steveindenver]

If you like the uptown area (and I love it) you might to better to search on Craigs list for an existing Condo being rented out. I know of one that is on the high side ... 1500/mo with a 1 car garage on 16th ave near park but it is a fantastic location with 2 bedrooms and a study over two floors -- we rented it for 6 months while our new place was being completed.

[DenverLawGal]

I do love the uptown area. But I don't love the price. I guess we just don't want to do anything rash right now. The market is so bad. What you just described sounds like a great deal. But since we own, that is a major concern. Maybe it's just too much hassle. It's just that you see the food prices going up, the gas going up, the housing market crashing, yikes. We'll just sit tight for now.