Quote:
Originally Posted by awholeparade
Yeah, at $600/sf, not downtown, it better at least look good.
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So you're telling me that the exterior appeal for higher-end condos/apartments is likely to be much nicer than for more affordable or barely affordable projects? What a concept.
Quote:
Originally Posted by transistor
This may be the first alexan that I've actually liked. The massing is nice and this would fit in well in that area.
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I agree this rendering is better than some of the others.
I'll give a totally amateur's defense of Alexans bcuz why not?
Going back (only) a couple of years when this current run of Alexans has been announced the only one that has been completed (iirc) is the Alexan Sloan's Lake.
HERE's a so-so photo of the completed project and
HERE's the same view TCR rendering. We have two buildings which straddle a street and include some nice retail. Notice they are (only) five stories and most of the balconies are recessed while the corner unit/balconies have a unique look/appeal. Overall the street level appeal is very good.
(All renderings below come via
Denver Infill)
The next building likely to be finished is the Alexan Uptown. Couple of things: this project is (so far) the most pedestrian and it's 12 stories tall which in comparison to 5 stories makes a BIG difference in massing impact, especially if you're looking at a building photo as opposed to walking along the sidewalk.

You can see from the
rendering how they at least tried to break up the exterior lines, both horizontally and vertically. At least from the rendering it has a bit of a funky appeal and if you like funky like
I like funky then it's at least interesting. Also notice how most of the balconies jut out - I always think that's a bit funky but not in a good way.
Moving right along we have the
Alexan Cherry Creek. Here we have an eight story building (so not as big as 12 stories). This Alexan has a much more refined look. Only the 1st and 8th floors provide a visual vertical change. The six stories in between provide a visually consistent look. The recessed balconies (which I much prefer) give some horizontal relief but it's more subtle and elegant as opposed to when the building juts out along the way. Here, the corner treatment instead of a (mostly) recessed balcony like with Sloan's Lake is finished with windows on each side - very nice.
Moving next to Alexan West Highlands you can see renderings
HERE and
HERE. Obviously one view shows only four stories while the other shows five stories. This project breaks up the vertical lines similar to Alexan Cherry Creek in that the 1st and top floor provide a visual difference from those in between, with two stories on one side and three stories on the other side. Interestingly with this project the balconies are mostly recessed but do jut out some. It's not as clean as with Alexan Cherry Creek but interesting and not bad at all.
Moving to
Alexan LoHi, we see yet another twist on a similar theme. Here we find virtually no break in the vertical look while the balconies are essentially recessed but do extend out a little bit.
While there are similar themes, clearly not all Alexans look alike.