James Real Estate Services - Cherry Creek Perspective

 

 

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Newmark, Knight and Frank - Frederick Ross

 

 

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August-September 2013   

 

 

First, because it happens in just a couple of days, Denver City Council Member Jeanne Robb invites you to join her on Wednesday, September 25th, for an interactive dialogue with Public Works, Community Planning and Development, the Cherry Creek Steering Committee and the Technical Advisory Group working on new zoning for the Cherry Creek Business District.  The forum will take place at the J.W. Marriott at 150 Clayton Lane in Cherry Creek.  It will begin with an open house from 4:30 to 5:30.  City staff will be available at information stations about zoning, parking, traffic counts and transit.  They want to hear your questions, concerns and ideas.  Then, at 5:30, Mike Hughes, who is facilitating the Cherry Creek Business Area rezoning effort will lead us in group discussion and a polling exercise.  The meeting is planned to last until 8:30 pm.  There's a high level of interest in the rezoning effort in Cherry Creek and its relation to transportation

 

RTD recently partnered with Transportation Solutions to initiate a feasibility study of transit service in the Denver Union Station/Cherry Creek/Glendale corridor.  The purpose of this study is to determine market potential for visitor transit services in the corridor connecting Denver Union Station, the Cherry Creek area and City of Glendale and what transit services and enhancements would be feasible to meet this need in combination with commuter needs.  The study is being conducted through this fall by Transportation Management & Design (TMD), which serves as RTD's ongoing General Planning and Operations Consultant.  TMD, based in Carlsbad, California www.tmdinc.net also conducted the Downtown Circulator Study.  The Cherry Creek North Neighborhood Association also invites you to attend to ask what are potential issues and concerns on development traffic mitigation.  Transportation Solutions has been charged with taking the lead role in coordinating stakeholder involvement in the study, including representatives from Visit Denver, Denver Union Station, downtown businesses and residents, the Golden Triangle, Cherry Creek and Glendale.  

 

Council member Robb also reports that bicyclists who ignore stop signs and stop lights are a problem in Denver.  So are cars that block bike lanes or turn in front of cyclists without yielding.  The number of pedestrians who blatantly ignore traffic signals in cross walks (sometimes  even with uniformed officers standing next to them) number in the tens of thousands every day.  In the first quarter of 2013, police noticed a dramatic increase in automobile vs. pedestrian and auto vs. bicycle accidents.  In fact, auto vs. pedestrian/bicycle accidents are up 41% between January and May of 2012 compared to the same date range in 2013.  This is even more alarming when you factor in that over the same time period accidents are down 7.2% overall.  Traffic Investigations Bureau detectives have looked at the issue and have discovered many of these accidents are the fault of the bicyclist or pedestrian.  In fact, up to 50% of auto vs pedestrian accidents are the pedestrian's fault (jay-walking or disobedience to traffic signals being the most common causes).  Mayor Hancock is also concerned, and has launched a city-wide campaign to raise awareness and public education to reduce future accidents called "Head's Up". 

 

Leadership, innovation and public service are just some of the reasons the American Public Transportation Association is recognizing Phillip A. Washington, general manager and CEO of the Regional Transportation District.  In October, Washington will receive APTA's outstanding public transportation manager award at the trade association's annual meeting in Chicago. In recognizing Washington, APTA said the RTD executive had "undertaken a remarkable number of innovative, cost-effective and customer-focused initiatives to build projects and improve service to the public."  Included in the list of his achievements is the implementation of the nation's largest voter-approved transit expansion program, RTD's FasTracks program. Recently, APTA also named Washington vice chair of its executive committee.

 

On Monday, September 23, all of the Regional Transportation District's (RTD) nearly 1,000 buses will roll with new vehicle tracking, communications and dispatching equipment featuring Automated Stop Announcements (ASA).  The GPS-based system will provide audio and visual stop announcements inside the bus, and broadcast route and destination outside the bus when the doors open at bus stops.  "By replacing aging equipment, we have gained technology that reduces driver distractions, assists in meeting Americans with Disabilities Act community needs and generally improves the customer experience for all riders through accurate and consistent information," states Bruce Abel, RTD Assistant General Manager of Bus Operations.  RTD has been working for three years to provide bus patrons a similar customer information experience previously afforded only to light rail patrons.

 

The RTD Board of Directors learned recently about MPACT64, a proposed statewide ballot initiative that would ask Colorado voters in all 64 counties to approve a seven-tenths percent sales tax increase to improve transportation infrastructure around the state.  The concept has the support of the Metro Mayors Caucus and other high-profile state government groups.  Discussions and meetings are still being held to gain consensus on the actual proposal that would be submitted to Colorado voters.  State transportation officials hope to put the question to voters on the November 2014 statewide ballot, with a specific list of highway and transit projects to be funded if the ballot measure is approved.  The current proposal would apportion two-thirds of the funding raised by the sales tax increase to statewide highway improvements and one-third to statewide transit projects. Discussions are ongoing regarding a sunset timeframe for the sales tax.  If approved, RTD would receive a portion of the transit funding for state-of-good repair, operations and FasTracks projects.  MPACT64 members plan to monitor the results of this year's ballot measures, including a proposal to increase sales taxes for K-12  education, which could serve as a litmus test for public support of tax increases in general.

 

Galvanize, a co-working space for start-up tech companies, will expand its local operations by occupying a new 78,000 square foot office building at 1644 Platte Street in LoHi.  The company currently operates a campus at 1062 Delaware Street.  An additional office may open in Boulder and the company is also considering expanding to other US cities.  And Thrive, another co-working space has opened in Cherry Creek North at 201 Milwaukee Street and in LoDo at 1830 Blake Street.  Similarly Shift has been open as a co-working space at 383 Corona for some time.

 

http://galvanize.it/

http://www.businessatthrive.com/

http://www.shiftworkspaces.com/

 

Unico Properties bought an office and retail building in downtown Denver's Writer Square.  The eleven-story building is located at 1512 Larimer Street and contains about 179,271 square feet.  Unico acquired the 33-year old building for an undisclosed amount in partnership with LaSalle Investment Management.  The seller was GDA Real Estate. Unico is a Seattle-based investment company with several Denver holdings.  

 

A Houston developer bought the site of the long-proposed Confluence apartment tower at 2166 15th Street in downtown Denver.  PM Realty Group is joining with landowner Ray Suppa to develop the 34-story, 288 unit at 15th and Little Raven streets adjacent to the parks along the South Platte River and Cherry Creek.  Construction is scheduled to begin this fall with completion in late-2015.  The Confluence will be the tallest building in the Riverfront area.   

 

Franklin Street Properties closed on its purchase of 1001 17th Street, a 655,565 square foot office building in downtown Denver.  The Boston investor paid $217 million for the 20-story building, or about $331 per square foot.  The seller was an affiliate of Miller Global Properties and was represented by Tim Richey and Michael Winn of Cushman and Wakefield.

 

An affiliate of Colorado Lending Source bought the historic GE Building at 441 18th Street in Lower Downtown.  CLS is a nonprofit agency that provides US Small Business Administration loans in Colorado.  It will expand into about 15,000 square feet in the 26,592 square foot building over the next twelve months.  CLS Holdings, Inc. paid $4,850,000, or about $185 per square foot, for the 107 year old building. The seller was a partnership of some of the building's current tenants.  CLS was represented in the transaction by Nick Koncilja and Charlie Woolley of the St. Charles Town Company while the sellers were represented by Dan Grooters and Riki Hashimoto of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. 

 

According to CBRE Group the vacancy rate for retail space on the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver is about 2%, one of the lowest of any submarket in metro Denver, and rental rates can reach as high as $50 per square foot in some of the newest buildings.  Even in the face of that success local business and governmental leaders are seeking ways to attract more stores and shoppers to the mall, especially in the middle blocks of the street between Lower Downtown and Denver Pavilions.  The 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver ranks as the most visited location in metro Denver for tourists and shoppers.  The mall will soon be 31 years old and the City & County of Denver and downtown interests are considering options to attract a wider variety of retailers and public events.  The Denver Business Journal's special report, "16th Street Mall: Denver's main street at a crossroads," is now available online.

  

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2013/08/19/16th-street-mall-denvers-main-street.html?ana=e_den_bn

 

Hines began construction on 1601 Wewatta Street, a ten-story, 280,000 square foot office building adjacent to Denver Union Station.  The building is the first large speculative office building to be started in downtown Denver in recent years.

 

Edwards Communities plans to develop the Residences at Prospect Park, a 296-unit apartment building in the Prospect neighborhood near Coors Field.  The five-story building will occupy a 2.6 acre site at 2970 Huron Street. Completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2014.  Edwards is based in Columbus, Ohio. 

 

Trader Joe's announced the location of their fourth Denver area store.  The supermarket chain will occupy a site at the southwest corner of East 7th Avenue and Logan Street across from Governor's Park in Capitol Hill.  The store is expected to open by the end of 2014. 

 

Construction started on Logan Lofts, one of the few condominium projects underway in metro Denver.  Condo development has been stymied in Colorado in recent years by concerns over the number of construction defects lawsuits brought by homeowners or homeowner associations.  Logan Lofts is a three-story, 24-unit building at the southwest corner of East 1st Avenue and Logan Street.  LPH Logan LLC is building the project, 

 

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado will increase its local workforce by about 300 positions, following an increase of 250 jobs earlier this year.  The new positions will bring to about 1,300 the number of employees working at the insurer's headquarters at 700 Broadway by the end of 2013.  Anthem credited the need for more employees to the effects of the new healthcare legislation that will add about 16 million people nationally to insurance rolls.

 

Seattle-based Unico Properties bought 1660 Lincoln Street, a 31-story office building in downtown Denver. The company paid $38 million for the 283,544 square foot building, which has 16 floors of office space atop a parking garage.  Unico bought the building from the lender, Aeron USA Realty Advisors, and plans an extensive renovation.  The buyer was represented by Geoff Baukol and Tim Swan of CBRE. 

 

Construction started on Mile High Vista, a mixed-use project at West Colfax Avenue and Irving Street in west Denver.  The project includes the 25,000 square foot Rodolfo Gonzales branch of the Denver Public Library and a 72-unit affordable apartment building that is being developed by Del Norte Neighborhood Development Corporation.  A future phase will include a small retail building fronting on West Colfax Avenue.  

 

An investment partnership associated with principals of Hyder Construction plans to acquire 414 14th Street, a 90-year old office building in downtown Denver that at one time housed the administrative offices of the Denver Public Schools.  The project will ultimately contain about 49,138 square feet once renovation is completed and 6,000 square feet added.  Upon completion the building will be known as the Ambassador.

 

The University of Colorado Denver topped out its new Academic Building One along Speer Boulevard on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver.  The 146,000 square foot, five story building will house several administrative offices and classrooms for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  Completion is set for August of 2014. 

 

Denver Health will reduce its employment by about 300 people, or 5% of its total workforce.  The hospital needs to reduce costs due to federal health care funding reductions and a lack of increased support from the City and County of Denver. The hospital is the primary treatment center for Denver's poorest residents, many of whom have no medical insurance. Denver Health plans to make the cuts through layoffs, attrition and a reduction in new hires.  

 

The initial concept plan for the redevelopment of the former St. Anthony's Central hospital site in west Denver was discussed by neighbors, planners and the potential developer.  The hospital moved to a new campus, leaving vacant its former location on West 17th Avenue at Perry Street across from Sloan's Lake Park.  EnviroFinance Group was selected as the master developer for the property.  The Denver City Council recently approved concept plans for redeveloping the six-block site occupied by the now-vacant hospital into a high-density urban infill community.  The concept plan for the 15 acre site calls for a mixture of land uses, including commercial and residential.  Trammell Crow Company filed site plans with City and County of Denver planners for Alexan at Sloan's Lake, a 378 unit apartment community on a portion of the site at West 16th Avenue and Raleigh Street in west Denver. 

 

The City and County of Denver created a $500,000 fund to help pay preliminary development costs for commercial and residential projects along the Welton Street corridor in the Five Points neighborhood northeast of downtown.  Costs eligible for the challenge funds include architectural and engineering services, environmental reviews and market research.  The target area for the work is between 20th and 30th street.  The Curtis Park neighborhood north of downtown Denver is seeing more interest by townhouse developers.  The 15-unit Park Row project was recently announced on the site of a former parking lot at Park Avenue West and Glenarm Place with construction starting later this year.  Sale prices are expected to be in a range of about $249,000 to $389,000.

 

An investor whose identity was not revealed bought 2600 Walnut Street, an 11,780 square foot warehouse north of downtown Denver.  The purchase price was $1,280,000, or about $109 per square foot.  Jim and Karen Gruber of Gruber Commercial Real Estate represented the seller

 

Peter Niederman bought 3650 East 1st Avenue, a 16,000 square foot office building in the Cherry Creek East neighborhood.  Niederman, the chief executive officer of Kentwood Real Estate, paid $4.3 million for the building, or about $268 per square foot.  The main tenant in the building is Mile High Banks.  

 

Western Development Group started construction on 250 Columbine, a $100 million mixed-use complex in the Cherry Creek North district.  The project will include about 80,000 square feet of office space, 30,000 square feet of retail and 70 condominium units.  The initial phase of the work involves the demolition of several existing office and retail buildings on the site, which is located on the east side of Columbine Street between East 2nd and East 3rd avenues.

 

Steele Street Bank and Trust bought 101 Cook Street, a 20,076 square foot office building in Cherry Creek North for a reported $9,150,000, or about $455 per square foot.  The bank will relocate its corporate headquarters from the current location at 55 Adams Street in September. The Cook Street building was built in 2008. 

 

The Garbarini women's clothing store relocated in Cherry Creek North. The retailer bought 239 Detroit Street for $5 million, or about $400 per square foot.  Garbarini expanded into the 12,500 square foot building from smaller quarters on East 3rd Avenue.  Roche Fore of Buell & Company represented the buyer. 

 

Pando Holdings announced plans for Platt Park North, an 83-unit residential infill community on Mississippi Avenue east of South Broadway in south Denver.  The project will contain 54 rental townhouses and 29 single family detached houses, with the for-sale units offering prices around $600,000.  The developer expects to begin construction in September.

 

Elkco Properties plans to develop 999 South Logan Street, a mixed-use building containing 24 apartment units, 9,000 square feet of office space and 2,900 square feet of retail space.  Construction is scheduled to start by the fall of 2013. 

 

Alpha Interactive Group purchased the Centura Health Medical Building at 2415 South Colorado Boulevard.  The building was acquired from a private investor for $1,850,000, or about $62 per square foot. The 29,713 square foot building was built in 1978.  John Becker and Michael Haley of Fuller Western Real Estate represented the seller.

 

Zeppelin Development plans another building at its Taxi mixed-use campus on Ringsby Court in the River North (RiNo) neighborhood.  Drive 2 will contain about 60,000 square feet and will be the seventh building constructed in the park along the South Platte River near downtown Denver.  Taxi now contains about 200,000 square feet of office, flex and retail space occupied by sixty tenants with nearly 400 employees. 

 

Great Divide Brewing Company announced plans to build a $38 million brewery in the River North neighborhood near downtown Denver.  The new plant would allow Great Divide to expand beer production. The company is seeking a $1 million loan from the City and County of Denver to assist in the acquisition of two city blocks on Brighton Boulevard between 33rd and 35th streets.  About 29 new jobs are expected to be created when the brewery is operational in 2015. 

 

Amerco Real Estate Company bought 4800 Colorado Boulevard, an 84,000 square foot warehouse in north Denver.  The 60-year old building was acquired by the Phoenix-based investment company for $3.3 million, or about $39 per square foot.  The seller was represented by Brad Gilpin and Greg Knott of Unique Properties while the buyer's agent was Jami Savage of CBRE.

 

Slipstream Properties plans to start construction in March on Colfax Marketplace, a retail and apartment building at 1080 East Colfax Avenue in Capitol Hill.  Slipstream is also renovating the former Smiley's Laundromat building into 7,000 square feet of retail space and 28 renovated apartments.  The addition, to be called Route 40, will include 74 apartments, a parking garage and an additional 7,000 square feet of shops in a five-story building at the southeast corner of Ogden Street and East Colfax Avenue.

 

The University of Colorado is trying again to find a developer for the former CU medical center property at Colorado Boulevard and East 8th Avenue in east Denver.  The university has gone through several unsuccessful agreements with companies selected to redevelop the 25.9 acre site. CU formed an evaluation committee to seek out potential buyers for the property. 

 

Lincoln Property Company plans to start construction by the end of 2013 on Tower 3, a 15-story office and retail building in Colorado Center at South Colorado Boulevard and East Evans Avenue. The project will contain about 205,000 square feet of office space, 11,290 square feet of ground floor retail uses and a parking garage.  Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2015. 

 

Gates Corporation received permits from the City and County of Denver to demolish its historic manufacturing plant on South Broadway.  The permits allow for four buildings to be removed at 999 South Broadway, between Kentucky and Mississippi avenues.  Gates Rubber Company was once one of Denver's largest manufacturers but the plant was closed in 1991 and has sat empty since then.  Redevelopment plans never materialized, except for the Gates property across from the plant on the east side of Broadway.  A complicating factor has been the potential for environmental hazards at the plant site on the west side of South Broadway. Gates did not reveal plans for the property after the demolitions are completed.

 

Construction was completed on Evans Station Lofts, a 50-unit affordable apartment building at 2140 South Delaware Street, adjacent to the RTD Evans Avenue light rail station.  The project was developed by the Urban Land Conservancy and Medici Communities. Evans Station Lofts was fully leased upon completion with rental rates in a range of $380 to $850 per month. 

 

Safeway plans to close a supermarket at 7150 Leetsdale Drive in southeast Denver. The store opened in 1993 and has 55 employees who the company says will be placed at other Safeway locations.  The chain has 13 supermarkets in Denver.  Safeway claimed that the store's sales did not meet expectations.

 

YPSI-Ann Realty Company bought the Lowry Professional Plaza, a 14,278 square foot medical building in the Lowry neighborhood of east Denver. Hampton Partners sold the six year old building for $5.6 million, or about $393 per square foot.  The seller was represented by Riki Hashimoto of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and the buyer by Unique Properties brokers Marc Lippitt, John Sheflin and Scott Shwayder.

 

The Millice Group bought the Forum at Cherry Creek, an 83,406 square foot office building at 425 South Cherry Street in Glendale.  Millice was the previous owner of the building until they sold it in 2007. The company paid $7,320,000, or about $88 per square foot, to acquire The Forum from a lender, which was represented by Cassidy Turley broker R. C. Myles.

 

Blueline Properties bought Vantage Point, a 115-unit apartment community at 1105 South Cherry Street in Glendale.  The company purchased the 38-year old property from CES Properties for $8.6 million, or about $74,800 per unit.  Terry Smith of Consolidated Equities represented Blueline in the transaction.

 

Target opened its new store at the redeveloped Tamarac Square shopping center in southeast Denver.  The 130,000 square foot store is located at South Tamarac Drive and East Hampden Avenue. The redevelopment of the center was aided by City & County of Denver tax incentives. About 200 people will be employed at the store, 40 of whom will be full-time workers.  

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Sponsorship of Real Estate Perspective and Cherry Creek Perspective by the Colorado Chapter of the Appraisal Institute does not constitute endorsement of James Real Estate Services, Inc. by the Chapter.

 

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