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SM Energy is expanding its lease at the Wells Fargo Center by approximately 50K SF.
The oil and gas company now occupies five floors and about 124K SF at 1700 Lincoln St., referred to locally as the “Cash Register Building,” according to CBRE.
CBRE represented SM Energy and building owner BCSP Denver Property.
This is SM Energy’s second expansion at the 52-story skyscraper in 11 months. The company added 14K SF last August to accommodate more employees after it acquired XCL Resources LLC for more than $2.5B, according to the Denver Business Journal.
The recent expansion follows SM Energy’s merger with Denver oil producer Civitas Resources. The all-stock merger closed in late January. The Cash Register Building was identified as the preferred consolidation location, CBRE said in a statement.
The 1.2M SF office tower is 67% occupied, according to CBRE. Last March, Childs McCune LLC signed a 12K SF sublease at the office tower, taking over space from Fennemore Craig, Bisnow previously reported. Other tenants include coworking giant WeWork, software company HydroBio, market researcher Fieldwork Denver and law firm Spencer Fane.
Denver’s office market is showing signs of stabilization as it continues recovering from the pandemic. Last quarter, office tenants took about 120K SF more than they gave up, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Vacancy rates vary by industry report but hover between 26.6% and 28.7%.
“We’re seeing sustained demand for buildings like 1700 Lincoln in downtown Denver that provide tenants with a true value proposition,” CBRE Senior Vice President Allison Berry said in a statement.
The Wells Fargo Center has been under financial pressure over the past few years. It was placed in receivership in August 2023 after BGRE, then Brookfield Properties, didn’t pay off a $327M loan when it came due in December 2022.
In 2025, the building was reappraised at $115M, 76% less than its 2019 valuation.
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