A row of buildings in Denver’s Speer neighborhood and a shopping center along Colorado Boulevard are set to be cleared this spring to make way for two new apartment complexes in Denver.

The Dinerstein Companies is planning 178 units near Seventh Avenue and Grant Street and another 350 units near Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. Demolition for the two projects could take place as early as this month with construction likely starting sometime this summer, said Josh Vasbinder, a partner at TDC.

TDC acquired the Criterion Shopping Center that used to house Amish Furniture Gallery at 2154 S. Colorado Blvd. last summer. The Houston-based developer wants to clear the space, as well as two adjacent homes on Ash Street, to build a five-story apartment building, Vasbinder said.

“We feel this area of the Colorado Boulevard corridor is underserved,” he said. The area is near the Colorado Station served by RTD’s E, F and H lines and has seen less residential development than other areas of the city.

TDC also has taken over plans for a 10-story building slated for the southeast corner of Seventh Avenue and Grant Street, just west of Trader Joe’s. The proposed building could include 4,300 square feet of commercial space geared toward restaurants or other food uses on the ground floor and replace a handful of structures on the corner.

TDC paid $10.5 million for the properties along Grant Street and is proposing a structure with eight stories above ground and two and a half below for parking.

The area is ideal due to its walkability and proximity to downtown Denver, Cherry Creek and the Cherry Creek Trail, Vasbinder said.

The two projects are TDC’s first projects in Denver. The company still needs to get approval to start building but hopes to complete both projects in 2019.

Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at agarcia@denverite.com or twitter.com/adriandgarcia.

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