"We're really excited to own what we consider the two premier sites in the two best submarkets in the metro area, Downtown and Cherry Creek," Zoellner tells GlobeSt.com. RedPeak, built in 1987, is comprised of a 15-story building and a nine-story building. The purchase also includes an adjacent site where he can build a 14-story building, although Zoellner says he has no immediate plans to construct a third building. Rents in the penthouse units at the Seasons can run as high as $3,000 per month.

RedPeak bought the Seasons from New York City-based Preotle, Lane & Associates Ltd. The sales price for the buildings, which total 357,556 sf, is equal to about $210 per sf and about $170,842 per units.

Jeff Hawks, who represented Preotle, Lane & Associates, with fellow Apartment Realty Advisors Doug Andrews, says that RedPeak made an excellent deal. "It would cost at least $100,000 more per unit to replace these buildings," Hawks says. "They were built in an era when you used the type of high-quality building materials that you could never afford today. And because so many new rules and regulations have been put in place since the Seasons was built, you could never construct it on that site today. It is truly irreplaceable."

Hawks says he considers it the only apartment community in Cherry Creek. "You might be able to find a little building with three or four rental units, but I consider this the only true apartment building in Cherry Creek," Hawks tells GlobeSt.com. "And I would say until we had the recent round of high-quality buildings, such as 4550 Cherry Creek and a few others, this was arguably the nicest and most high quality building in the metro area."

The Seasons is now only about 70% occupied, although Hawks says the main reason for that is that because it was for sale, many people expected the building would be converted into condominiums. No one wanted to rent an apartment if they thought the unit would be sold as an apartment in three months, he says.

Zoellner adds that also the Seasons hasn't been marketed aggressively since it went on the market during the past year. Also, he tells GlobeSt.com that the entire rental market has suffered since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Not only has the economy suffered, which reduces the number of renters, but mortgage rates were so low, and with the proliferation of so many no-down payment programs it became extremely easy for people to move from apartments and buy homes. But Zoellner says that he thinks the big wave of people leaving apartments for homes is now a thing of the past.

He says he thinks both his Downtown and Cherry Creek properties are ideal for business people moving to Denver from out-of-state who want to rent before buying a home. Also, they should appeal to out-of-state auditors who are examining a local company's books for an extended period of time. In addition, he expects people who own homes in the mountains, but come to Denver on a regular basis for sporting events, plays or shopping, will find them attractive.

Zoellner says that ultimately the units in the Seasons will be converted into condos, but not anytime soon. For the foreseeable future, he says he plans to keep them as rental units. He says he will be investing a substantial amount of money into the Seasons to restore them to their former stature as the best buildings in the metro area.