Stepping outside a Cherry Creek bar with his guests Wednesday evening, Ryan Shear took a moment to address the reason for the occasion.

“Don’t have empathy for me, but it’s not easy being a developer,” said Shear, managing partner at Property Markets Group, a Miami, Florida-based development firm.

Earlier that day, Shears’ firm had broken ground on a 5-story Waldorf Astoria condo project a few blocks away. The 37-unit building is going up at 185 Steele St. and is expected to be completed in early 2028.

The building will have units for sale starting just north of $2 million, with penthouses topping $10 million. Hilton will manage the property upon completion, as it does for all Waldorf Astoria projects, named for the original hotel in New York City. There are similar projects from Atlant

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