Lowe Enterprises Investors acquired the 33k SF Stanford Place II at 7979 Tufts Ave in the North Denver Tech Center late last week. Expect capital improvements, Lowe Co-CEO Bleecker Seaman tells us. (Does that include therapy, after years of being told you're No. 2?)
The 17-story building is in good shape, but it does date from 1982. (Back then, rooftop gardens were out and Cabbage Patches were in.) The capital improvements will include building systems, common areas, and gathering spots. The property is already 97% occupied.
Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group SVP Peter Morgan led the acquisition team. HFF's Mary Sullivan and John Jugl repped the seller, while their colleague Eric Tuppler assisted in securing debt. Lowe operates about 1M SF of commercial space in the Denver area.
SALES
Brookfield Office Properties sold half its stake in Republic Plaza in Denver to MetLife in a deal valuing the property at $480M. The net proceeds to Brookfield will be about $98M; it will retain management and leasing of the building, which it previously owned outright. Republic Plaza is more than 95% leased, with Encana Gas & Oil and DCP Midstream occupying roughly half of the building between them.
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Illinois-based Inland Real Estate Group vice chairman Joe Cosenza bought the 263-unit Canyons at Saddle Rock, an apartment complex in Aurora, for an unspecified price. Texas-based Embrey Partners developed the property in 2008, and was the seller. ARA Colorado’s Jeff Hawks, Shane Ozment, and Terrance Hunt repped Embrey.
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Texas-based Velocis Partners acquired 5775 Flatiron Pkwy, a 96k SF office building in Boulder’s Flatiron Business Park, on behalf of its client, a Dallas-based family office. The building is 100% leased by financial service and technology-related tenants. HFF’s Mary Sullivan and John Jugl repped the seller in the deal.
LEASING
Denver Pavilions inked leases with three new tenants: IT'SUGAR, Henry's Tavern, and Native Foods Cafe. The three will join Denver Pavilions' merchant mix by the end of this year. The new leasing activity follows the recent opening of Colorado's first Grimaldi's Pizzeria, 5280 Burger Bar, and Lime Cantina & Tequila Bar at the open-air Denver Pavilions, which has about 40 retail tenants, restaurants, and entertainment venues.
FINANCING
HFF arranged $28M in financing for Harlequin Plaza, a 325k SF office building in Greenwood Village. The company worked on behalf of the borrower, Unico, to refi its existing loan. Harlequin Plaza is at 7600 East Orchard Rd near the I-225 and I-25 interchange. Most recently renovated in 2013, the two-building property is 90% leased, with tenants including Dex Media, Cherry Creek Mortgage, and Bellco Credit Union. HFF’s Tom Wilson, Eric Tupler, Erica Christensen, and Kristian Lichtenfels worked on the deal.
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Studley hired David Nebiker as managing director and Jordan Barnett as assistant director to support the expansion of its Denver Tech Center office. David was previously president of ProTenant Commercial Real Estate Services. Before joining Studley, Jordan was in the medical device industry.
KUDOS
Transwestern managing directors Brad Cohen and Larry Thiel, who are in the Denver office, earned the firm’s Capital Markets Deal of the Year award at Transwestern’s annual National Recognition Conference recently. The duo also achieved places in the Champion’s Club, consisting of Transwestern’s top 25 producers nationwide in 2013. They completed a total of 38 transactions last year totaling more than 6.6M SF with a value of $760M.
