The last of the paving stones are down, and future residents have already begun to sign leases.

After a few months of construction, the Hickory Street Lofts are finished, along with several other new apartment projects around Denton.

The mixed-use development features 22 one-bedroom apartments and six two-bedroom apartments, all loft-style, along with 2,475 square feet of retail space on the ground level of 311 E. Hickory St.

The downtown lofts, which are designed to have a “more urban feel,” have garnered a lot of interest, especially among Denton’s young professionals, said Brandon Martino, president of The Martino Group and one of the developers of the project, along with Lee Ramsey of Links Construction.

“There’s been a lot of interest, especially because we’re new down here,” Martino said.

The apartments range from 580 square feet to 1,250 square feet and feature details not typically found in apartments in the Denton community, such as hardwood floors, granite countertops, exposed ductwork and high ceilings, he said.

The developers overlooked no minor detail and included every amenity important to downtown living, such as having washers and dryers in the apartments, Ramsey said.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Lee Ramsey of Links Construction, left, stands with Brandon Martino of The Martino Group in front of the just-completed Hickory Street Lofts.  Leases are being signed and the last few details of the mixed-use development are being completed. Links Construction and The Martino Group were the project’s developers.

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“It was a priority for us to have everything right here, so people could stay downtown,” Ramsey said.

A portion of the retail space has already been leased to Weinberger’s Deli, which is the first franchised location of a Grapevine-based sandwich shop.

The deli — which is scheduled to open in October — will name several sandwiches off the 160-sandwich menu after local celebrities and bands, such as Frenchy Rheault, Pops Carter and Bowling for Soup, said Mike Wing, general manager and operator of the restaurant.

“We’re going to try and be a neighborhood deli,” Wing said.

With the A-train commuter rail station planned nearby, the mixed-use project is the kind of commercial and residential development Denton officials wanted to see downtown, said Linda Ratliff, the city’s economic development director.

She also said it fits well in the newly approved Downtown Implementation Plan.

The project’s developers “are ahead of the plan,” Ratliff said.

“This was a great project,” she said. “Because of their work downtown, soon Hickory Street will be the grand street we’re looking for.”

Along with the Hickory Street Lofts, The Martino Group and Links Construction have teamed up on other urban and loft-style apartment projects in Denton, including an apartment building located near Fry Street, at 1119 W. Hickory St., and an apartment building at 1512 N. Elm St.

The two apartment buildings are located near the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University, respectively.

Courtesy photo/Sarah Vaughn Photography

The Hickory Street Lofts feature one-bedroom apartments, shown, or two-bedroom apartments.

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Both apartments were finished this summer and have already started leasing to students and young professionals, the owners said.

While the Elm Street apartment building has a similar urban feel to the East Hickory Street building, the apartments located off West Hickory Street near the Fry Street area has a more industrial feel with open-style lofts, attached garages and exposed wood beams.

As Ramsey recently stood at the front door of a two-bedroom unit, he couldn’t help but point out the large black apartment number painted on the red door, as high and as wide as the door itself.

Achieving that sought-after “urban feel” is all about details like the numbers, he said.

“We wanted to do something different in Denton, and this is what we’re saying,” Ramsey said.

For more information on the buildings, contact The Martino Group at 940-382-5000 or visit www.themartinogroup.com.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.