Single-tenant, net leased (STNL) retail properties continue to be among the most highly sought-after real estate investments. This is particularly true in Colorado and California where supply and demand constraints have created sales with significant premiums. Investors are accustomed to paying low cap rates for single-tenant assets within California as these properties have historically traded for a significant premium in comparison to the rest of the nation. However, the premium associated with Colorado STNL retail properties is a fairly new phenomenon. This Colorado premium can be attributed to a considerable supply and demand imbalance. There are very few available STNL properties within Colorado, and substantial capital actively chases this product type. California-based 1031 exchange investors seeking higher yields and Colorado-based 1031 exchange investors selling multifamily properties at historic pricing (due to significant appreciation in rents and historically low cap rates) are spurring the increased demand. Colorado’s strong economy and recent population growth has also led to a lot of new development. This has impacted the quality of available properties, many of which are new construction with long-term leases. The median sold cap rate for a STNL retail property in Colorado was 6.02 percent in 2017. This represented a 38 basis …
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — HFF has arranged $7.7 million in financing for two apartment properties — Alvarado Place and Solar Vista, both located in Colorado Springs. The borrower is Radford Investment Properties. Brock Yaffe of HFF arranged two separate fixed-rate loans through the Freddie Mac Small Balance Loan program for the borrower. Proceeds from the loan for Alvarado Place refinanced a floating-rate loan the HFF team sourced for the borrower in 2016, while proceeds from the loan for Solar Vista were used to acquire the property. Located at 1465 Alvarado Drive, Alvarado Place features 99 units in a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments averaging 519 square feet. Solar Vista, located at 1535 S. Eighth St., features 28 apartments in a mix of one- and two-bedroom layouts averaging 563 square feet.
GOLDEN, COLO. — Confluence Cos. is set to break ground on a 107-unit residence hall for undergraduate students on land adjacent to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. A timeline for development has yet to be announced. Blaylock Van served as sole placement agent on $44.3 million in bond financing for the project. The financing provides staged funding during the construction period and is secured by a leasehold mortgage on the improvements. In this deal, the owner of the land parcel sold it to the state of Colorado on behalf of the Colorado School of Mines, then leased it back through a long-term ground lease and will commence construction this month on the residence hall.
Denver industrial assets are achieving record pricing as cap rates compress well below 5 percent for Class A product. As this is happening, developers are taking on hefty projects, signaling that Denver’s industrial real estate cycle is stretching its legs instead of winding down. Among the headlines: • Denver’s single largest investment transaction on record occurred in the first quarter of 2018. The Pauls Corporation sold 14 Class A, highly functional assets totaling 1.9 million square feet to Clarion Partners in the Airport submarket. • The largest speculative build of 701,900 square feet is underway by Majestic Realty. Prologis is building more than 500,000 square feet in the Central submarket, while Hyde Development kicked off the 1.8-million-square-foot 76 Commerce Center project in the “less than proven” I-76 Corridor. • Industrial land pricing has doubled in recent years to now double-digit pricing as triple-net asking lease rates approach $8 per square foot. Despite these impressive headlines, here are three reasons we expect further expansion in Denver’s industrial sector into 2019. Investor Preferences Align CBRE’s 2018 Americas Investor Intentions Survey revealed a dramatic increase in the popularity of industrial investments compared to years prior. Half of investors in the Americas are seeking …
DENVER — Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of an apartment building located at 1410 Poplar St. in Denver. An undisclosed buyer purchased the property for $4 million or approximately $190,000 per unit. Built in 1949, the building features 21 apartment units. Eric Veith of Pinnacle represented the buyer, while Matt Lewallen and Kevin Calame of Pinnacle represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
AURORA, COLO. — HFF has arranged $118.5 million in financing for The Forum Fitzsimons, a mixed-use residential and retail property located in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. The borrower is a joint venture between Catalina Development Co., The Pollin Group and Sightway Capital. Chris McColpin and Josh Simon of HFF arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan through a specialty finance company. Loan proceeds were used to replace the existing construction financing, which HFF arranged on behalf of the development team in 2015. Located at 13650 E. Colfax Ave., the four-story property features 397 apartments and 28,640 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Additionally, the property offers more than 15,000 square feet of amenities, including two resort-style pools and spas with outdoor fireplaces and grills; clubrooms with a theater and game room; a fitness facility with specialized yoga and cycling rooms; an internet café and business center; a dog washing facility and two bark parks; a bike shop; storage facilities; and a six-story gated parking structure.
DENVER — A joint venture between RedPeak Properties and Allstate Investments has sold 1600 Glenarm Place, a mixed-use, high-rise property located on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver. Northland Investment Corp. acquired the property, along with a 0.77-acre land parcel at 14th Street and Glenarm Place, for an undisclosed price. Constructed in 1967 as an office tower known as the Security Life Building, the property was converted into a multifamily property in 2006 by RedPeak Properties. The 31-story building features 333 apartments in studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and penthouse layouts, and 29,000 square feet of commercial space, including frontage along Denver’s 16th Street pedestrian mall. On-site amenities include an outdoor terrace with barbecue grills and fireplace, fitness center, demonstration kitchen, cyber lounge, conference room, movie theater, game room, resident library, reading room, valet parking, 24-hour concierge service and room service from Earl’s Restaurant on the property’s ground floor. Jordan Robbins, Jeff Haag and Anna Stevens of HFF represented the seller in the transaction.
An interesting metric was reached in the Denver multifamily market during the first quarter of 2018 — and that’s record absorption. The city already boasts accolades for quality of life, talks of strong in-migration and speculation of becoming the location for the second Amazon headquarters. After these, the most common topic of conversation for multifamily professionals is the unprecedented construction pipeline and just when will we hit an inflection point where the market won’t accept any more Class A, market-rate apartments. It seems we’re still not there. As of the first quarter of 2018, the trailing 12-month absorption was more than 10,000 units. That’s more units than what was completed in 2017 and the highest absorption on record. The result was metro-wide vacancy dipping year-over-year to 5.79 percent, limited concessions and metro-wide annual rent growth at 3.8 percent. Denver’s average rent now stands at $1,405 per unit and $1.62 per square foot. The Central Business District (CBD) experienced the most absorption this quarter, accounting for nearly 25 percent of total metro absorption. Annual rents also grew by 2.7 percent, leading the CBD to regain its title for most expensive rental submarket in Denver with rents per-unit averaging $1,835. But development …
WESTMINSTER, COLO. — Legend Investment Group (LIG), a division of Legend Partners, and Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors have arranged the sale of a retail strip center located at 13591 Huron St. in Westminster, a northwest suburb of Denver. An East Coast-based private investor acquired the property from Redlands, Calif.-based Mark Development for $3.2 million, or $603 per square foot. At the time of sale, the 5,389-square-foot property was fully occupied by Dunkin’ Donuts, Bank of America and Huron Liquor. Built in 2016, the retail center is situated on 1.1 acres within the Quail Crossing Commercial subdivision. LIG and Peter Peluso of Legend Partners represented the buyer in the deal, while Jeff Lefko, Bill Asher and Jeremy McChesney of Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors represented the seller.
Denver’s office market has been riding a wave of expansion, entering its ninth straight year of growth, with net absorption totaling 186,826 square feet in the first quarter of 2018. While vacancy ticked up — ending at 15.9 percent, up from 15.1 percent in the prior quarter and from 14.6 percent one year ago — it is expected to fall over the next several quarters as tenants continue to absorb space in both new and existing buildings. The Denver office market’s impressive expansion has lasted 33 consecutive quarters, resulting in a total of 9.7 million square feet of absorption, 7.4 million square feet of new deliveries and a 409-basis-point plunge in vacancy. The majority of the 9.7 million square feet absorbed between the first quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of 2018 occurred in three key submarkets. This included the Southeast Suburban (SES), Downtown and Northwest (NW) markets, which recorded 3.3 million, 2.9 million and 1.3 million square feet of absorption, respectively. The Downtown market ended the quarter with absorption of 214,317 square feet, and Class A median asking rates were up 39.5 percent from year-end 2009 to $39.76 per square foot. Asking rates in some of the newest …