Room Service: Your Apartment Building Is Also a Club at X Denver

Room Service is a new series that takes a look at apartment complexes and other housing options. Our first installment was on the Art Studios; keep reading for our second:

What: X Denver, apartments attached to a members-only club.

Where: X Denver 1-Union Station is located at 3100 Inca Street. X Denver 2-Five Points is located at 2130 Arapahoe Street.

Cost: From $1,081 per month for a furnished co-living unit to $5,860 for an unfurnished two-bedroom.

Management: The X Company.

The buildings: X Denver’s first location opened in 2021, and its second launched this year. Both are completely new construction projects. The concept is to combine apartments and club spaces into one building. People can pay $175 per month to access the pool, gym and meeting areas. For those who live there, club amenities are included in the rent.

“X is an unconventional social club,” the company’s website says. “It's your new network, workspace, yoga studio, and neighborhood bar. Sign a lease and it's your home base too.”

The space is leased by the bed rather than the room, with both buildings having what's called “co-living” units — where people can rent a room connected to a common area shared by one to three people instead of an entire unit by themselves.
X Denver 1 has 813 beds in a ten-story building that was built in 2021.

Madison Bursich, leasing consultant for the living space, says the timing meant more people were working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic and craving a space where they could work somewhere that wasn’t their bedroom but also didn’t require a commute. Both X Denver locations provide that, with multiple workspaces located throughout the buildings, including conference rooms.

X Denver 2 — built this year with 651 beds — has a podcast studio that residents and club members can use and reserve. Fewer than twenty people currently live in the building. Since it's newer, it’s slightly more expensive than X Denver 1. Upgraded amenities include soft-close drawers and smart appliances that connect to apps and can even help build a grocery list.

“It’s a city within a building,” says Heather Erickson, area manager for the X Company, about the project's intention.

Both buildings come with their own restaurants and coffee shops that can only be accessed by members or residents. Bursich says the bar at X Denver 1 makes one of the best espresso martinis in town.

“Our restaurant and bar is not up and running yet, but I think in the next couple of months, once we get a little bit more occupancy, everything should be rolling in here,” says Christopher Morris, leasing manager for X Denver 2.

The buildings have what are called “social stairs”: Imagine an auditorium, but on a smaller scale. At X Denver 1, they’re outdoors and lead up to the pool deck. At X Denver 2, they’re indoors near the in-building coffee shop.

X Denver 1 has a heated pool, a tanning pool that’s just a few inches deep and a hot tub. X Denver 2 has a pool and indoor hot tub with accordion doors that open up to connect the indoor space with the outside area. Both have spacious decks with plenty of patio furniture.

“I always like to compare it to kind of a boutique hotel,” Morris says of the X Denver 2 pool deck. "I always feel like it's like a W hotel or something fun, something fancy.”

While the buildings and properties are managed by the X Company, club memberships are managed by an outside service, so Erickson says she doesn't have an exact count on the number of club members.

Members and residents get access to exclusive events for free, including wine tastings, cocktail-making classes and pitch nights in the style of the TV show Shark Tank. Bursich says there are events most days of the week, and the company regularly hosts concerts on its pool deck.

“We do work with a lot of local artists,” she says. “We had Big Gigantic here the other day before their concert at Red Rocks, so it was a lot of fun just to get them started.”
Residents and club members get a certain number of guests they can bring to each event, which are always free for those who pay rent or dues. Membership also gives access to expansive gym spaces with fitness classes and high-tech equipment. Both buildings have huge studios for yoga and other group activities. Bursich emphasizes the plethora of outlets throughout the space at X Denver 1; no one will go without a place to plug in a charger.

X Denver 2 also has retail and restaurant space on the bottom level of the 22-story building that the company is working on filling. Morris says that eventually, the rooftop will be made into another amenity space.

Everything on the properties is carried out through the X Denver app, called "The X Life." The goal is that people will be able to use the app to access club spaces at both Denver buildings and the X Company property in Phoenix, Arizona, if they travel there.

As far as access goes, residents of one building can use and enter common spaces of the other X buildings — as can members. “Since we haven't fully gotten occupied here, there are a lot more events going on at our other building right now,” Morris says. “Our residents that have moved in here have started utilizing those events over there, too.”
The inside scoop: While X Denver offers studios and one-bedroom apartments, it also has plenty of co-living spaces too. Erickson says these can be great for people who are new to town and need to make friends or want to live in downtown Denver but can't afford to without roommates.

“Some people may not have two other roommates to come in with,” she explains. “And there's great spaces within the building to also meet other people with all the amenity spaces. You're going to meet people who are maybe club members who don't live here and also people who live here.”

Instead of footing the bill for an entire unit, prices are lower in co-living spaces because people are just paying for one room and a bathroom, while also getting access to the living room and kitchen areas.

Furnished units come with the basics, including a television, a TV stand, a sofa, dining table and chairs, a bed frame, a mattress and a nightstand.

This helps reduce the cost of moving in, Erickson points out — and there are even pots, pans, glassware, plates, dishes and silverware already in the unit.

“The whole sales pitch, if you will, is you can bring your food, bring your linens, and then you're ready to go,” Morris says.

Each room has a different price, depending on its amenities. For example, “masters” have extra closet space, built in storage and room for a desk.

At X Denver 2, some units feature exposed concrete beams, which are another upgrade. “Each bedroom will have its own pros and cons,” Morris says. “For example, this is my favorite because of the windows and the view, right? It would carry a heavier premium than one that didn't look at the mountains or the city or maybe had smaller windows, but that bedroom might have a larger closet or a little bit more floor space in the room itself.”

While the buildings have a mix of every unit type, Morris says X Denver 2 has more studios — with them making up between 30 and 40 percent of its unit mix. The model units are curated by local muralist Pat Milbery, who also painted all the murals in the common spaces of both buildings and did an interactive mural experience at X Denver 2.

Though the apartments seem to cater to young professionals, Morris says that’s not the only people who will live there. “It's really going to be a huge variety,” he says. “We have everything from studios on up to four bedrooms. We could rent by the bedroom or the entire unit, so it appeals to a wide range of audiences.”

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