Indianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group purchased an industrial property near Denver International Airport for $61M.

The 595K SF Ascent Commerce Center includes three Class-A buildings finished in 2021 and sits in the 240-acre Nexus at DIA industrial park. Ambrose paid roughly $102 per SF for the property, which was about 50% occupied at the time of sale.

Ascent Commerce Center is located just east of Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, north of Peña Boulevard.

The wide open plain east of Denver extending out to the city's airport has long been a magnet for industrial properties, with access to major highways as well as DIA. But a spate of residential development nearby, combined with the explosion of e-commerce demand nationwide over the last 10 years, has drawn waves of investment dollars to warehouses.

“The property offers the buyer a steady income stream along with a great opportunity to add value by leasing up the remaining space in the high-demand airport submarket,” Cushman & Wakefield Director Michael Matchett said in a release. Cushman's industrial advisory group represented the seller.

Tenants at Ascent Commerce Center include La-Z-Boy and PCL Construction, healthcare giant McKesson and construction vendor The Lawless Group, according to Cushman.

Nexus at DIA is part of the Aerotropolis district, an effort between several local governments to create a “hub of opportunity” across 16,000 acres surrounding the airport.

Development in the Aerotropolis, while showing promise, has yet to fully take off. Movement is happening, though.

United Properties acquired over 129 acres in the Aerotropolis area, planning to develop an industrial complex, the Denver Business Journal reported. Residential projects are also in the pipeline, such as the 4,000-acre Aurora Highlands, according to the Denver Gazette.

Cushman’s most recent Denver industrial report shows the Denver airport submarket led the region in Q3 with 1.25M SF of net absorption — more than half the metro’s total quarterly occupancy growth of 2.1M SF. Year-to-date leasing activity in the submarket reached 2.48M SF — making it the top-performing submarket in the metro, likely connected to its ample inventory.

The area is metro Denver's largest for industrial property, with 83M SF.