Growth in the energy and tech sectors is spurring increased office leasing, but that doesn't mean office properties don't need a competitive edge to attract tenants. Driving rents might or might not be possible via capital investment, depending on local market continues, but Transwestern SVP Peter Thomas tells us that the renovated building features certainly make it easier to attract and hold tenants. Especially those tenants can see. (New insulation isn't always the sexiest trait of a building.)

Recently Peter, along with colleague Andrew Piepgras, repped the owner of Sixth Avenue West at 350 Indiana St in Golden in a renewal and expansion by Tetra Tech, which in the end took 49k SF of the 124k SF property. The building, a vintage 1984 property, was renovated not long ago to the tune of $500k, including a complete remodel of the lobby that added LED lighting, onyx art wall, new flooring, updated furniture, and a touch screen directory. The owners also installed a new chiller and fire-life safety system.