''Wow,'' says Steve Blank, a veteran RE/MAX broker when GlobeSt.com told him about the auction. ''I don't think there's been an auction in central Denver like this since '86-87.''

In the first project, 15 newly renovated one-bedroom/one-bath condominiums will be auctioned at 1629 Clarkson St., across from the luxury Swallow Hill project under construction in Uptown.

Five of the units will be sold absolute regardless of price The suggested opening bid is $30,000.

In the other project, two, two-bedroom, one-bath units at 1365 Columbine St. will be sold absolute, regardless of price. They are the only unsold units in the 40-unit 1629 Clarkson Street Condominiums in Congress Park.

''The auction sales process was chosen by the developers of these condominiumresidences as a method to accelerate the sale of these units,'' says Jim MacDonnell, executive managing director of Sheldon Good's Denver office. ''The developer of the 1629 Clarkson Street Condominiums wants to kick off the sales of these newly renovated condominiums, and has chosen a very aggressive method of doing so by guaranteeing that five units will sell no matter what the high bid. The developer of the Avila Park Condominiums is using the auction program with the same absolute strategy, so that he can close-out these last remaining units and get on with other business.''

The auction will be held at the Denver Marriott Hotel Southeast at Interstate 25 and Hampden.