Cycling: Cruise, new Denver development, features free bikes, bike-themed artwork

Big photos below.

Add this to the growing list of signs that Denver is becoming more of a bike city: A local developer is now promoting a new apartment building as a bike-themed project. That means free bikes for tenants, bike-themed artwork in the interior, bike storage and even a bike repair room. And the motivation behind Dan Scheutz's project is pretty simple: This guy really likes bikes.

The project, called Cruise, is the brainchild of Schuetz, a project manager with the Nichols Partnership, a real estate developer based in Denver.

Courtesy of Dan Schuetz

Exterior of 1899 Gaylord Street

The site in City Park West, at 1899 Gaylord Street, was formerly a University of Denver building that sat vacant for several years before the Nichols Partnership bought it.

Schuetz was biking by the site when he had the idea for a conversion.

"I was literally riding down the street.... It was a little bit blighted...and it was for sale," he says. "It's not a great building for an office building, but it's a fantastic neighborhood to live in."

The building featured a unique structure, with bay windows that created natural separations for apartments, he recalls.

Construction began about a year ago and he is now pre-leasing the building's apartments -- 61 total, including a mix of studio spaces and one-bedrooms.

"I like to ride my bicycle everywhere. I'm a bicycle nut," says Schuetz, 38. "I like all aspects of cycling...and I figured I could incorporate bikes into the project. I wanted to make it a place that might appeal to cyclists."

That's why everyone who signs a lease will get a free cruiser bike, he says.

Continue to read more about the Cruise development.