Room Service: Wilder Apartments Bring Luxury to West Colfax, Sort Of

Welcome to the Wilder installment of Room Service, a series that steps inside apartment complexes and other housing options. Our first installment was on the Art Studios, a mega-development on West Colfax.

What: Wilder, a 196-unit apartment building

Where: 1521 Hooker Street, right off Colfax Avenue.

Cost: Studios start at $1,700 and can cost up to $2,000. One-bedroom units start at $2,200 and can increase to $3,000 if they have a den. Two-bedroom apartments start at $2,700 and can rise to $3,700.

Management: Greystar (which is currently facing two lawsuits over property mismanagement and charging illegal fees.)

The building: Wilder is the latest apartment project by the Max Collaborative development firm, which is behind the canyon-cut RiNo building One River North and Aurora’s first rooftop pool at the Broadleaf near the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Situated on West Colfax right past Interstate 25, the building is massive at nine stories and almost 200 units. According to Ryan Bartizal, senior director of the Max Collaborative, the building’s archways and rounded edges are a nod to the Art Deco architectural style.

“The curves are such a unique artistic play,” Bartizal says.

The project has been in development since 2020 and broke ground in 2022.

“We really wanted to make sure we did our diligence in offering a product that would be well received,” Bartizal says. “We're experts at finding a site and really feeling out the community, feeling out what it needs and what's going to be successful.”

Bartizal says community elements of the design were driven by downtown Denver to the east and the mountains to the west, as well as the “wellness and creative” side of west Denver, although he did not specify what characteristics of the area made Max Collaborative focus on those attributes.

West Colfax has the potential to boom, Bartizal says, so building something that might accommodate those looking for a higher-end product as the area evolves was important for Max Collaborative. Wilder is open for leasing now, and the final touches will be completed by March. There are seven residents currently.

The first floor of the building has townhome/loft-style units, the second floor is the parking garage, and floors three through nine are more traditional apartments. The parking garage offers electric vehicle charging spots at $200 per month, while other spots range from $75 and up.

The inside scoop: Wilder’s nod to the arts continues inside, where Max Collaborative worked with art consultancy NINE dot ARTS to curate 400 pieces of art, including pieces from Denver artists such as Libby Barbee, Jamie Gray and Remington Robinson.

Each floor has a theme. The first floor is landmark-themed, the third floor showcases the land and sea, the fourth floor is music and art themed, the fifth floor has an “alive in nature” theme, the sixth floor is dedicated to flora and fauna, the seventh floor represents adventure, the eighth floor has a wide-open spaces theme, and the ninth-floor collection is called “looking up.”

“My favorite part of the building is the art offerings that we've incorporated into the design,” Bartizal says. “That is a very unique aspect of Wilder that really appeals to the general area. This boutique, niche renter that appreciates the creative side of West Colfax. …We just wanted to do something unique that wasn't really seen before.”

However, the collection doesn’t live up to the billing right now. Though there were many cool prints and Wilder representatives say there are canvas paintings and other mediums, the art collection is mostly just a series of photographs grouped together to fit the theme of each floor. More is supposed to be added, but the work as is definitely doesn’t break the boundaries of what would be expected in a luxury building. Other amenities related to the wellness theme include a pet-washing room and conference room that residents can use free of charge. The gym is open 24 hours and has a built-in yoga space. Plus, residents can rent cruiser bikes and electric bikes from the building.

The lounge area on the ninth floor offers cozy booths, floor-to-ceiling windows, a wine cooler and a warming drawer for food.

Every unit comes with electric appliances and in-unit laundry, though the machines looked fairly small. The units have built-in cabinetry with lighting that automatically turns on when doors are opened and closed, which is a great feature since large closets aren’t part of every unit.

There are two rooftop deck areas with grills, seating and great views. Additionally, a majority of the two-bedroom units come with balconies, according to assistant community manager Joan Smith.

“The views that you get from that area are unique, and I didn't necessarily appreciate them until we really looked into where we were located,” Bartizal says.
The building has views of the State Capitol building, Denver skyline and mountain ranges due to its height and location; you can literally see inside Empower Field at Mile High. However, that location also might make going outside to enjoy those views not so serene, as the building is situated right by Interstate 25.

While construction isn’t permanent, the stretch of Colfax where the building sits is undergoing extensive construction work at the moment, and an affordable housing development is being built across the street.

The rooftop living space is on the west side of the building away from the Interstate, so once construction projects wrap up, the area has potential. However, the plunge pool is almost hilariously small.
Though the hot tub is heated year-round, a huge perk, it’s easy to imagine tough competition to get into the pool on busy summer days when it’s hard to snag a spot at a normal-sized pool, much less one that is barely bigger than a hot tub. Especially when considering the boutique, high-level renters the building wants to attract.

“They live Wilder,” Bartizal says of the possible future residents. “They're the outdoorsy type that appreciates the creative and artistic side of themselves and that West Colfax type of flair. It all just plays into the name and I think it suits the building perfectly.”