The Gart family, a familiar name around town, is one of the mostaggressive Denver-based real estate companies boasting a portfolioof office, industrial and retail. But, says Mark Sidell, Gart Cos.president, WaterTower Lofts will be something special. "This isn'tlike buying some strip shopping center," he says. The 85,000-sfbuilding will be converted into 96 lofts, ranging in price from$150,000 to more than $600,000. The project will deliver in about14 months.

The company, with the Denver-based architectural andconstruction firm of Buchanan & Yonushewski LLC, will add afifth floor for penthouse units featuring 20- to 26-foot ceilingsand glass walls. All of the units will have thick brick walls andheavy timber beams. The second phase calls for 56 units in newconstruction plus a 236-space parking garage. Most of the unitswill be priced under $300,000, says Tom Gart, Gart Cos. chairman."We started on this project over nine months ago," Gart tellsGlobeSt.com. "It's like having a baby."

The project will get a boost next year when Interstate 25, themajor artery connecting Denver and southeast suburbs, will be tornup for an eight-year widening project to accommodate a light-railtransit system. "People are going to be sitting in all of thattraffic in I-25, and wondering why they're fighting all of thecongestion every day, when they can be living downtown, walking tobookstores, restaurants and sporting events," says Sidell.