Developer Buzz Geller plans to start marketing his 34-story Bell Tower condominiums this year, following a city board's unanimous approval of the building Thursday.

Geller said that he already has four investors from Asia interested in buying the units, and four other potential investors, whom he thinks are from South America for the 33-unit project. In addition, he and partner David Paderski likely will buy units. Last November, the Lower Downtown Design Review Board rejected the building as too massive, and Geller was planning "option two" to shrink the building to eight stories and spread it across the majority of the site at Speer Boulevard and Walnut (Market) Street overlooking Cherry Creek.

Instead, Geller took the board's suggestion and reduced its mass by 18 percent, cutting its estimated value to $250 million from $300 million. Shrinking the building also presents "extreme challenges" because the elevator shafts and stairwells cannot be shrunk, Geller said.

"You put it through the hot water wash" and shrunk its mass, board member Arthur "Tee" Cowperthwaite told Geller.

"I think this is a better-looking building" than the previous designs, Geller said.

Joe Poli, the only board member to vote in favor of it last fall, described the skinnier design as "phenomenal architecture."

During the meeting, architect Ned Kirschbaum of Fentress Architects, which is designing the building, placed models of the skinnier tower and the original building on a display of downtown to show how it would look in relation to other buildings. It also showed how the new building would impact Denver's downtown skyline.

Two residents of the nearby Larimer Place building spoke against the Bell Tower. Some of the units will exceed the maximum size of 7,500 square feet required for the building, opponent Cathy Krendl said. But city planner Tyler Gibbs said the average size of 7,314 square feet is in keeping with the spirit and intent of the guideline.