If you build a fancy mixed-use project in downtown Napa in a tough economic climate, will the restaurateurs, retailers, offices and residential condo buyers come?

The Riverfront, a $72 million project finishing up construction on Main Street, is about to find out.

With the opening planned for early spring, the project is mounting a multi-pronged sales and leasing effort.

When the first 10 of 50 condos went up for sale in mid-September, they were snapped up at prices ranging from $695,000 to $1.67 million by customers who put down reservation deposits.

A second batch of five condos priced from $575,000 to $1.15 million were offered at a sales event last Thursday. No reservations to buy were made, but the sales team identified a pool of enthusiastic prospective buyers, Michael Carreno, president of the sale company, the Reiser Group, said Friday.

Those who made reservations to buy in September were mostly familiar with the project, representing a “pent-up demand,” Carreno said.

Last Thursday’s crowd of 50 interested buyers had curiosity, but now need to learn more about living on the river, he said. Private tours will be scheduled, he said.

The Riverfront needs commitments for the new batch of five condos before it releases additional units for sale, Carreno said.

Office and retail leasing, at some of the highest rates in downtown history, is going slowly. Morgan Stanley has committed to leasing 8,000 square feet of the project’s 30,000 square feet of office. No tenants have yet been signed for 40,000 square feet of first-floor retail.

Were the developer/owner, Channel Properties, willing to accept just any store or restaurant, the project would likely be fully leased by now, Craig Semmelmeyer of Main Street Property Services said last week.

“The ownership won’t let this become a mall. They won’t let it become ordinary,” Semmelmeyer said. “They’re demanding that we bring in unique restaurants and retailers. They want this to be something truly special.”

Semmelmeyer said he is negotiating to lease 15,000 square feet to three restaurants, including a prestige anchor who would take 10,000 square feet.

It’s crucial to the project’s success that the first tenants be the right tenants, making the Riverfront a compelling destination for tourists and residents, he said.

Semmelmeyer cited the patience of Harry Price, the developer of Napa Mill next-door, who has slowly developed his property with compatible tenants.

Napa Mill is a success because of all the deals that Price didn’t do, he said.

Semmelmeyer acknowledged that today’s economic situation is “unfortunate,” with retailers nationally folding or pulling back on expansion plans. “We’re in a softened market,” he said.

Semmelmeyer professed to be upbeat. “The doom and gloom is for ordinary, not the special. The special is thriving,” he said.

Downtown Napa is in better shape for a new project to succeed than most places, he said. “It helps us tremendously to see La Toque be very successful (in the Westin Verasa hotel). It helps us to have Taylor’s Refresher with lines out the door.”

Once an anchor restaurant is signed, Semmelmeyer said the other retail pieces would fall into place. He has rejected leases for smaller spaces until he knows what the requirements of the main tenants will be, he said.

Semmelmeyer predicted that office space, which is being leased by Channel Properties, would begin moving as the project comes closer to completion.

The owners and their representatives organized a press tour last week as some 150 construction workers swarmed over the four-story project to complete the interior.

The exterior is largely buttoned down and cannot be hurt by wet weather, said Ryan Parlett, who works in real estate development for Channel Properties.

The first 10 condos went to mostly older buyers who are opting for something that never existed before — an urban wine country lifestyle, Parlett said.

Downtown’s restaurants, cultural attractions and now the beautified riverfront appeal to affluent buyers who don’t want to be always dependent on their cars, he said.

Living in the Riverfront’s upscale condos will put residents in the center of the action, Parlett said. “You’ll smell Celadon, you’ll smell Angele,” he said of two upwind restaurants.