BOULDER, COLO. – Walnut Business Center, a 113,594-square-foot industrial/flex property in Boulder, has received $6.5 million in permanent financing. The center is located at 3201-3297 Walnut Street, 3220-3240 Prairie Ave. and 1925-1965 33rd Street. The eight-tenant center is fully leased. Financing was arranged by Steve Bye and Brian Fisher of NorthMarq Capital’s Denver office through the firm’s correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
BROOMFIELD, COLO. – The 51-unit Villagio Senior Living has broken ground in Broomfield. The memory care continuum community is located at 5866 West 120th Ave. Common-area amenities include 24-hour care, a gourmet dining experience and community programs. The new community is expected to open next fall. The community will be designed by Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh and built by Pinkard Construction. It is being developed by Blackwood Development and Choice Capital Partners.
DENVER – Boulder Tech Center, a 169,596-square-foot flex/research and development campus in Boulder County, has received an $8-million loan. The four-building campus is located at 6400 and 6450 Dry Creek Parkway and 6325 and 6450 Monarch Parkway. The non-recourse, 10-year loan features an interest rate of 3.7 percent and a 25-year amortization schedule. It was arranged by Stephen P. Bye of NorthMarq Capital’s Denver regional office.
DENVER – Lee & Associates has opened an office in Denver. The new outpost is located at 1610 Wynkoop Street. The office will be headed up by John R. Bitzer, who will act as managing broker. He will be joined by principals JR Bitzer and Ron Webert. Bitzer is a 30-year industry veteran. He founded Bitzer Real Estate Partners in 1995. This is Lee’s 51st office. The firm also recently opened an office in Cleveland as part of its regional and national office expansion strategy.
SHERIDAN, COLO. – Oxford-Santa Fe Business Park, a 190,000-square-foot industrial property in Sheridan, has received $10.5 million in acquisition financing. The park is located at 1800 & 1880 W. Oxford Ave. and 4111-4251 S. Natches Court. Oxford-Santa Fe was built between 1983 and 1985. It is currently 96 percent leased, with 44 tenants. Financing was arranged by Steve Bye and Conor McCahill of NorthMarq Capital’s Denver regional office.
Construction of apartment buildings is leading the Denver metro area’s building boom, with more than 19,000 units starting construction in 2012 and 2013 that are expected to be delivered this year. This is the most apartments this market has added in such a short period of time in more than 40 years. This construction boom follows a stretch where we saw little multifamily development, which created a short-term need to catch up with current population growth demands. Some perceive this level of development as overbuilding, though recent population growth statistics may indicate otherwise. The Downtown Denver area is particularly hot for apartment developers, with about 4,000 units under construction. The majority of this work is being done around the Denver Union Station transit station. The activity is being fueled by the region’s population growth, which averaged 1.7 percent per year between 2007 and 2012, maintaining a stable expansion rate through most of the recent recession and recovery, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. The organization projects population growth — mostly attributed to strong net migration — will moderate slightly to 1.6 percent this year, which is more robust than the projected U.S. growth rate of less than 1 …
Despite the continuing economic uncertainty, the Denver market is maintaining its status as a major thriving city with respect to all aspects of growth from commercial real estate sectors. This growth is clearly apparent by all the cranes in operation as you drive down Interstate 25—the main arterial highway that runs north and south bound through the entire state. Though 1.2 million square feet of retail was built in 2013 – and 197,000 square feet was delivered in the first quarter of 2014 – most of the current cranes are working on medical, office and multifamily developments. With all the national retailers setting their sights on the Denver market, there is a definite lack of A-grade retail centers that have availability. B-grade product is now being thoroughly analyzed as the next best option. Several of the national and regional tenants are in bidding wars against each other for the remaining A- and B-grade sites. The challenge of the development process is the growing cost of land and construction, which ultimately drives the rates up, thus limiting a huge pool of potential tenants. The Denver retail market in the first quarter of 2014 experienced a positive net absorption of 820,357 square …
Fueled by an increase in population and job growth, Denver’s robust housing market and the constant influx of young professionals to the region has attracted some attention. Both new and existing retailers and investors are now looking to either penetrate or expand within this ever-growing market. Metro Denver added a total of 37,300 jobs last year. This was an increase of 2.7 percent from 2011, according to the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. The region’s growth rate has consistently outpaced the national rate in every decade since the 1930s. By 2020, the region’s population is expected to increase from 2.9 million today to more than 3.2 million. Retailers are definitely taking note. Cabela’s, a Nebraska-based outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, has two stores under construction that should be completed in the third quarter of this year. These will represented Cabela’s second and third Colorado locations. The chain already has a Grand Junction outpost. THF Realty also recently completed the 147,806-square-foot Walmart in the Lakeside Shopping Center redevelopment area. Metro Denver has seen quite a few Walmart Neighborhood Markets pop up throughout the region recently. Also new to the Denver market is Trader Joe’s. The California-based specialty grocer plans …
After emerging from the downturn, Denver’s industrial market is well and truly back on its feet. As options for large, Class A industrial users of more than 200,000 square feet dwindle, build-to-suit projects are popping up at levels last seen in 2006 and 2007. This is a great sign for the overall health and recovery of the state’s industrial real estate market. Polystrand has almost completed a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in southeast Denver; Interline Distribution is underway with a more than 200,000-square-foot warehouse project along the I-70 corridor scheduled for delivery in August 2012; and U.S. Foods recently purchased land in Eastgate Park where it plans to build a 400,000- to 500,000-square-foot building. There are several other users that have either made similar land purchases or are in the market for large portions of land. In fact, there is a healthy inventory of well-located development sites available, which can be purchased at prices that make sense for users choosing the build-to-suit route. Although large blocks of quality Class A space are sparse in the Denver region, rental rates have not yet risen to a level that would compel developers to start speculative development. Also, there is little guarantee that their …
The Denver office market ended the first quarter of 2012 with an overall vacancy rate that fell to 13.1 percent. According to CoStar, the vacancy rate was down from the previous quarter of 13.2 percent. Net absorption was more than 1.6 million square feet, which included 900,000 square feet in the central business district (CBD), and 700,000 square feet in the suburban markets. Sublease vacancies also declined from 950,000 square feet to 900,000 square feet. Overall rental rates averaged $19.98 per square foot for full-service buildings. Class A properties averaged $23.81 per square foot for full service, while Class B averaged $17.73 per square foot. Both these rental rates were both up slightly, while Class C buildings remained flat at $13.50 per square foot. Leasing activity will continue to improve in 2012, with net absorption remaining positive throughout the entire market. The majority of submarkets are slowly shifting from markets that favor tenants to neutral markets with rental rate stability and decreased tenant concessions, including less free rent. As you can see, the outlook continues to be positive. There are several major indicators that market fundamentals are strengthening activity with limited new supply on the horizon. Additions/development projects that are …
