By Mark Samuelson

The wide, well appointed, modestly priced townhomes opening at Chroma on Larimer are just a few blocks from Coors Field and its orbiting bars and clubs…and around the corner from the RiNo art gallery scene. The first buyers here (10 homes are left) have come from the art/design world…but when the Blake Street crowd gets a load of these big units, that could change.

Sales agent Chris Behrens shows off a 1,722-foot townhome opening on Larimer Street a few blocks from Coors Field. It has a private 2-car garage and rooftop deck.

The first two Chroma units–each with a street-level “live-work” space–sold to gallery owners (Plus Gallery, in the neighborhood since 2001, is relocating here)…and another went to a buyer who designs sportswear. But downtown Realtors, who had a sneak preview at a party last week, are telling the developer that the size and pricing of these homes…each “deeded” to own the ground below and a private 2-car garage…are re-shaping prices for the surrounding area.

“We’ve priced these to get people to act now,” developer Charlie Woolley of St. Charles Town Company told me during a walk-thru of one model you’ll tour: 1,722 square feet, with big entertaining area, plus a 500-foot rooftop deck looking toward the ballpark, with the mountains cresting the skyline; and a private 2-car garage beneath.

Woolley, who first laid eyes on Larimer in 1966 and lived in Curtis Park in the 1980s as he was building his company, recalls there was an art scene here decades ago–driven out as values on Larimer climbed. That was before the loft boom started…with Silver State Lofts, Ballpark, Clocktower, and St. Charles’ own Benjamin Moore Lofts, arriving right around the corner from where Chroma has now opened.

“This neighborhood still has the grit of the old LoDo, with some funky factories mixed with new bars,” Woolley added. His sales agent Chris Behrens says that for ball fans, the proximity of Coors makes a great match with the design of these plans. “Your friends are going to be able to park here (no meters), walk to the game, and do the night scene afterward.” If they’re crashing your place after that, you’ll find new breakfast spots in surrounding blocks for the morning after.

But what should really catch your attention are the sizes and finishes at the price: slab granite, Euro-style cabinets, great baths, and spaces that are wide and high as well as deep.
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