Condos on bill at Paris Hotel

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By Margaret Jackson

When Terrence Garrett heard rumblings two years ago that the Paris Hotel would be converted into condominiums, he rented an apartment there and moved in.

He is one of two existing tenants who will buy lofts in the renovated building at 2191 Arapahoe St. in the emerging southern edge of the Five Points neighborhood.

"I just feel like it's the oasis of Denver," said Garrett, 31, who manages Lotus Entertainment LLC and a Starbucks coffee shop. "It has a very eclectic feel, and it's a very unique property."

Constructed in 1891, the Victorian building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.

It was originally named the George Hamburger Block for its builder, a German saddler and harness maker. A residence hotel occupied its upper two floors. The ground floor held three commercial storefronts and had shotgun apartments in the rear.

In the early years, the commercial space housed a tailor, a cigar manufacturer and a brewery-supply business.

When Denver's downtown area began to boom in the 1970s, developers snapped up other properties nearby. The Paris Hotel was bought by speculators who anticipated that it would be razed for high-rise development.

The 1980s recession brought those plans to an abrupt halt.

Developer Rick Borman bought the building and adjacent lots in 1988 from Bank Western, which had repossessed it after its former owners defaulted.

The bank financed Borman's purchase and provided a construction loan to restore the crumbling building, which had become a haven for drug users. Borman, who now lives in France, turned the the old hotel into apartments, where restaurateur and community philanthropist "Daddy" Bruce Randolph once lived.

The building is undergoing its second renovation, as Borman replaces the old carpet and upgrades appliances and finishes in all 17 three-level units. The lofts range from 587 square feet to 840 square feet and will sell for $161,000 to $235,000.

Borman first offered the condos to building tenants, who were paying an average of $800 a month for the units.

Two wrote contracts, as have another two new buyers, and interest in the remaining units is high, said Alyssa Jahns, an agent with Kentwood City Properties who is marketing the condos.

Most recently, the ground- floor space has housed restaurants that took advantage of a lush interior courtyard garden. Among them were the fondly remembered La Coupole Cafe and Tiramasu, where Jahns had her wedding-rehearsal dinner.

The Buenos Aires Grill opened Tuesday in that space.