While our company was founded on the premise of developing properties that have a positive impact on its residents and surrounding community, no one could have predicted the prescient nature of the decisions made when Lakehouse – a 12-story, 196-unit community in Denver’s Sloan’s Lake neighborhood and pilot project for the WELL Building Standard – opened in March 2020.
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The IWBI recently released a case study about NAVA’s Lakehouse to demonstrate how an organization can utilize WELL to reach their health and well-being goals.
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Colorado’s first WELL-Certified residential community showed 36 statistically significant physical, social and emotional benefits of wellness-focused design and operations
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NAVA Real Estate Development Promotes David Amedick to Senior Vice President of Construction
NAVA Real Estate Development, a Denver-based real estate development and investment firm known for its socially minded and sustainable approach, announced the leadership promotion of David Amedick from vice president of construction to senior vice president of construction.
“David brings immense value to the team with his strong industry relations and over 30 years of experience,” said Brian Levitt, co-founder and president of NAVA. “Having this level of construction expertise on our development team is invaluable as we pursue new opportunities in this market. We are confident that in this expanded leadership capacity, David will continue to find new ways to advance our offerings and help us continue to raise the bar for distinctive, healthy projects that provide dual economic and social returns.”
In his new role, Amedick will continue to oversee the management of NAVA’s development projects, building cross-functional teams, providing direction and leadership and overseeing the final design, budget, contract negotiations, construction and project delivery.
Recent studies show a clear connection between investing in people-centric health strategies and enhanced business performance, increased asset value and higher financial returns.
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Cleveland-based real estate developer The Max Collaborative and Denver-based real estate developer and investment firm NAVA Real Estate Development (NAVA) recently broke ground on Wilder, a ground-up 196-unit apartment building at 1521 Hooker Street, located just one mile west of downtown Denver at the edge of the Sloan’s Lake and West Colfax neighborhoods. Saunders Construction is serving as the general contractor.
“We’re proud to be part of an important revival for Denver’s West Colfax neighborhood, where millions of square feet of mixed-use development are currently planned or under construction,” said Kevin Ratner, co-founder and chief development officer of The Max Collaborative. “We’re also excited to be working with NAVA on this project, given their deep experience in the market and reputation for delivering forward-thinking residential communities.”
Wilder sits at the doorstep of much-anticipated planned future redevelopments that will help to bridge the gap between West Colfax and downtown Denver, including The River Mile, which encompasses the redevelopment of land around the South Platte River into a 15-million-square-foot mixed use neighborhood.
© David Lauer Photography
DENVER (May 10, 2022) – NAVA Real Estate Development (NAVA), a Denver-based development company focused on improving communities through quality design and healthy programming, is thrilled to announce that its Lakehouse community is now sold out. Since its debut in the spring of 2020, Lakehouse has consistently attracted buyers seeking seamless access to Denver’s Sloan’s Lake and an unrivaled connection to nature, culture and health-focused amenities. The community averaged nine sales per month during the past 12 months.
Lakehouse is the first project in Colorado, and one of the first residential projects in the world, to achieve WELL Gold Certification under the WELL Building Standard — a science-backed program that puts wellness at the forefront of design to enrich the living experience. Lakehouse achieved this prestigious designation for its commitment to measurably demonstrating its work towards promoting residents’ health across the WELL v1 program’s seven key performance areas: air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort and mind. The community was awarded full WELL Certification at the Gold level in October 2021.
“With Lakehouse, we set out to raise the bar for what it means to live well, and thanks to an incredible team of partners who were willing to push themselves to craft healthier, more meaningful spaces for our residents, we’ve done just that,” said Brian Levitt, president and co-founder of NAVA Real Estate Development. “Our hope is that this project is just the beginning. We believe everyone deserves a healthy place to live, and we look forward to bringing the knowledge gained on this project to bear on a variety of new developments in the future.”
The lakefront community blends unique architecture, modern comfort and sustainable design features with extensive wellness-focused amenities. In addition to MERV-13 building air filtration, the use of natural and durable building materials and floor-to-ceiling windows that maximize natural daylight, Lakehouse residents have access to an array of services and experiences hand-selected to promote their overall well-being. From a full-time Wellness Concierge that elevates the resident experience through community events and programming to an organic urban farm on the expansive 26,000 square foot terrace overlooking the lake, Lakehouse brings a level of intentionality to supporting a healthy lifestyle.
Lakehouse was conceived by international architects Stantec and Muñoz + Albin. GH Phipps Construction Companies managed construction of the 540,000-square-foot mixed-use development and TRIO, a Denver-based design and visual merchandising firm, led design for the common amenity areas. Local art consulting and curating firm NINE dot ARTS curated memorable art experiences throughout the property, including several custom pieces from local and international artists. The residences were listed exclusively by Dee Chirafisi, Kevin Garrett and Matt McNeill of Kentwood City Properties and Karen Klein.
About Lakehouse
Lakehouse is a new 12-story mixed-use community in Denver’s Sloan’s Lake neighborhood that sits at the intersection of high-design and wellness. It is the first project in Colorado — and one of the first residential developments in the world — to be WELL Certified™ at the Gold Level under the WELL Building Standard. Conceived by international architects Stantec and Muñoz + Albin, the 196-residence community overlooking Sloan’s Lake Park blends modern comfort and sustainable design to offer a lifestyle never before experienced in Colorado. In 2021, Lakehouse was named “Innovative Development of the Year” at the NAIOP Colorado’s Annual Awards of Achievement and “Best Health & Wellness Design Solution” at the PCBC Gold Nugget Awards. For more about Lakehouse, please visit https://lakehouse17.com.
About NAVA Real Estate Development
NAVA Real Estate Development (“NAVA”) is a real estate investment and development company founded in 2013 by Trevor Hines and Denver resident Brian Levitt. NAVA strives to develop architecturally significant buildings in prime locations that blend quality, function, and design. The name NAVA comes from a Hebrew word meaning “beautiful”, and NAVA is committed to creating developments that shape communities and are sensitive to their environments. The firm is positioned as an agile and innovative group to identify strategic opportunities and execute with precision. NAVA is proud to work with the best technology, resources, and teams to ensure the greatest economic, social, and environmental success, for our investments and our partners.
NAVA is a Certified B-Corp and part of a global movement to redefine success in business by voluntarily meeting higher standards of transparency, accountability and performance. We are one of over 4,000 Certified B Corporations who compete not just to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world. For more about NAVA, please visit www.navareal.com.
Erin Rovalo was playing in a forest of cedar and Douglas fir near Tacoma, Washington, when she came upon a tree that changed her life.
“I have this very vivid memory from my childhood,” she says, “of finding one particular cedar tree that had these long branches that went all the way to the ground.” She and her friends found an opening in the dense greenery and discovered they could squeeze their way through. It was like a hidden door to a mysterious world under the tree’s canopy. The space smelled of “rich-soil earth” and was illuminated by sunlight filtered through the leaves, making patterns on the ground. Being there sparked Rovalo’s sense of wonder and imagination.
Rovalo, who’s vice president of the community department at the International Living Future Institute, is an expert in biomimicry, which looks to nature’s forms and processes to solve design challenges like reducing energy and water consumption, preserving ecosystems, and managing waste. In addition to sustainability, Rovalo is passionate about the psychological element of design inspired by nature. She believes indoor spaces can emulate the cedar tree she treasured — a place of beauty, refuge, and serenity.
“I remember in that moment really feeling like nature can almost be like a room or like a building,” says Rovalo. “Here I am 30 years later trying to make buildings more like nature.”
Bringing nature indoors could go a long way toward improving the country’s physical and mental health. Socio-economic factors like increased urbanization, indoor work, and inequities in access to green space lead Americans to spend 87 percent of their time in buildings, despite the fact research demonstrates that time spent in natural settings can reduce stress and improve physical and mental well-being. The outdoors has also become increasingly inaccessible because of climate change events such as wildfires, extreme temperatures, and storms. While the barriers to being outside must be addressed, social and natural scientists say that making our homes and offices look and feel more like nature can provide some of the benefits of actually being there. And with the right design, the indoors can be a place of refuge and resilience, too.
The number of multifamily buildings pursuing health and wellness certifications such as the WELL Building Standard and Fitwel has skyrocketed during the pandemic, but owners and operators aren’t seeking them out just because it’s the right thing to do.
The ROI for multifamily developers that put in the effort and expense to get their properties certified has yet to be quantified, but some say they’re seeing payback in terms of faster lease-up and sales, higher retention rates and positive public relations.
“It’s not just that we’re demanding higher rent when residents first move in, but they’re also more likely to stay,” Anna Malhari, COO of Veris Residential, a Jersey City, N.J.-based REIT that achieved WELL certification for its entire portfolio last year, said she expects the certification to help retain current residents and attract future renters.
The WELL Building Standard is modeled after LEED certification, but focuses on the physical, emotional and mental health of people inside buildings. Fitwel is a healthy building standard created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and General Services Administration.
Malhari said pursuing WELL certification was a natural step for the company because Veris’ properties already met most of its requirements.
“Certification itself didn’t mean any significant capital outlay for us,” she said. “It wasn’t as much of a question of whether we wanted to spend the money to do it or whether we would ever get it back. We just wanted to showcase all these things we’d been doing already.”
NAVA Real Estate Development (NAVA)’s Lakehouse project has received full WELL Building Certification at the Gold level from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). This prestigious designation acknowledges NAVA’s efforts to advance health and well-being through Lakehouse’s building design and resident programming. This distinction was awarded through IWBI’s WELL Building Standard™ (WELL), a globally recognized, science-backed program that puts wellness at the forefront of design in order to enrich the residential living experience.
Set along the waterfront in Denver’s vibrant Sloan’s Lake neighborhood, Lakehouse has envisioned a completely new way of living where wellness is integrated into every element of design to optimize the health and well-being of its residents. The 196-unit community features move-in-ready condominiums, rowhomes and penthouses, 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, as well as an innovative collection of health-focused amenities, including an organic urban farm, 70-foot lakefront lap pool, cutting-edge Fitness Lab, sports and creative workshops and more. Less than three miles from Downtown Denver, Lakehouse is the first residential project in Colorado to achieve Certification under the WELL Building Standard and was also recently named the state’s “Innovative Development of the Year” by NAIOP.
“It’s an honor to receive this recognition from the International WELL Building Institute and we are grateful to our partners for their support of this pioneering project,” said Brian Levitt, President and Co-Founder of NAVA Real Estate Development. “From the beginning, our intention was to create a groundbreaking residential building with a specific focus on how architecture, engineering, design and amenities can better support human health and wellness. The air we breathe, the materials we use in our homes, where we source our food from, how we move our bodies were all considerations we took into account as the design team worked to apply modern research and reinvent the concept of multi-family living. Lakehouse was already ahead of its time and with the pandemic, its design proved to be even more prescient.”
Created through seven years of rigorous research and development working with leading physicians, scientists, and industry professionals, the WELL Building Standard is a performance-based certification system that marries best practices in design and construction with evidence-based scientific research. Lakehouse earned the distinction based on seven categories of building performance — Air, Water, Light, Nourishment, Fitness, Comfort and Mind —and achieved a Gold level rating.
Lakehouse’s design infused wellness into its engineering, architecture, programming and services at every level — earning the project its WELL Certified™ Gold designation. The lakefront community blends unique architecture, modern comfort and sustainable design features with extensive wellness-focused amenities. In addition to MERV-13 building air filtration, the use of natural and durable building materials and floor-to-ceiling windows that maximize natural daylight, Lakehouse residents have access to:
The WELL Building Standard is grounded in a body of evidence-based research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend approximately 90% of our time, and the health and well-being impacts on the people inside these buildings. To achieve WELL Certification by IWBI, NAVA’s Lakehouse underwent rigorous testing and a final evaluation carried out by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), which is the third-party certification body for WELL, to ensure it met all WELL Certified Gold standards.
This certification is a significant step forward for Lakehouse’s developer, NAVA Real Estate Development (NAVA), and furthers the company’s goal of innovative placemaking.