When architect Matt Davis designed a new home for his family in the Sunnyside neighborhood, he converted an overgrown site into a modern architectural home that incorporated and preserved a locust tree.
Although the tree stood near the front of the lot in the ideal spot for the building footprint, Davis decided to keep it and focus the home’s design around it.
“This decision gave the home a unique presence from the street,” Davis said.
“The tree not only became a celebrated feature of the design, but it also helped soften the scale of the home, allowing it to sit comfortably among the smaller bungalows in the neighborhood.”
To help the tree survive, Davis worked with an arborist and designed a shallow foundation to minimize disturbing the root system. The house at 2627 W. 40th Ave, affectionately known as Locust House, was constructed in 2018.
“We are many years into this and hope it’s through the riskiest period,” he said.
Davis, the principal architect and owner of Davis Urban, a Denver-based design studio known for urban infill projects, typically focuses on architectural design but builds about a home a year, either for company employees like Locust House or as spec houses.
Now, he’s selling Locust House for $3.1 million, a potential record for the Sunnyside neighborhood.
The most expensive home in the neighborhood, 4609 Decatur St., sold twice for over $2 million. Constructed in 2022, it sold for $2.6 million in July of that year and again for $2.2 million in August 2024.
In addition to building around the tree, Davis said he intentionally respected the neighborhood’s architectural style, choosing brick as the primary exterior finish and complementing with custom steel elements and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The 5,600-square-foot home includes seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, two two-car garages, and a two-story ADU. The ADU comprises a ground-level studio suite, and the upper-level unit has two bedrooms. The home’s parklike courtyard includes a glass-tiled pool and hot tub and mature landscaping.
Davis designed the home to provide a strong indoor-outdoor connection with abundant natural light in every room, without sacrificing privacy.
He said the family, which has lived in North Denver since buying its first home there in 1999, was drawn to the location because of its walkability and proximity to restaurants and Locavore, their favorite local grocery store. Plus, there was the potential of the large parcel, which realtor Jorgen Jensen with Fantastic Frank Colorado calls a triple lot.
The family loves their home, and while Davis finds it hard to leave, it’s the right time, with one daughter in college and the other starting her senior year in high school.
“We’re entering a new chapter and likely won’t need as much space in the years ahead. We also have another project in the works–restoring a historic home with some modern twists, not far from here,” he said.
“One thing’s certain: we’ll be staying in North Denver.”
Davis and Jensen anticipate the home serving a family or a young couple ready to start a family.
The flexibility of the home’s ADU could also make it ideal for multi-generational living.
“Initially, I underestimated the value of the ADU,” Davis said. “I was excited to build it but didn’t fully appreciate how much flexibility it would offer us.”
The family used it as a home for his niece while she attended the University of Denver, and later, it became a long-term home for a close friend and his daughter. The oversized garage has been used as an art studio, welding and fabrication shop, and for camper van storage.
“Having the ADU has been incredibly practical,” Davis said. “And it’s meant a lot to have someone we trust on-site when we travel.”
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