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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— December 17, 2014-January 6, 2015
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
Historic Denver mansions
that have been converted to
office use are becoming increas-
ingly desirable as downtown
rents rise, for-sale buildings
become ever more scarce and
more people want to control
their own real estate.
Pathfinder Partners just sold
the historic Grant Street Man-
sion, which it bought in fore-
closure three years ago and
boosted from 50 percent to 95
percent occupancy. Although
mansions comprise a small,
niche market, brokers who deal
in such gems of Denver history
say they are seeing an uptick in
demand.
“They really play off Class
B and C buildings,” said Tim
Finholm of Unique Properties
LLC-TCN Worldwide, who
represented Pathfinder in its
sale. As rents for those products
increase downtown, tenants
are likely to consider locations
in and around Capitol Hill,
where rents are lower and they
may not have to pay for park-
ing. “If they’re going to lease,
mansions usually are about $3
to $4 less a square foot than
what
they
could
get
downt own ,
and
you
don’t have
the hassle of
going down-
town,” Fin-
holm said.
Also, more
people are
l o o k i n g
to buy their own buildings
to build wealth and control
their company’s costs. “A pure
office building is almost impos-
sible to find in Capitol Hill, for
example,” said Stockton Baker
of Cassidy Turley.
“I think tenants really want to
control their own rent increases
in the years to come as land-
lords continue to push rates up
not only in Capitol Hill but in
downtown and Cherry Creek,”
Baker said.
In 2008, mansions were sell-
ing for around $80 to $100 per
sf; prices today can be $135
per sf or considerably higher,
depending on layout, parking
and other factors, said Finholm.
Baker has the Brind Mansion, a
9,168-sf building at 825 Logan
St., listed for lease, or for sale
at $1.78 million, or $193.60
per sf. Finholm and Unique
Properties’ Sam Leger sold the
Chittenden House, an 8,863-sf
mansion that was completely
redone by architect Curtis Fen-
tress, earlier this year for $2.13
million or $239.76 per sf.
The 19,422-sf Grant Street
Mansion at 1115 Grant St. trad-
ed for $2.65 million, or $136
per sf. It was built in 1892.
The original owner was Den-
nis Sheedy, a successful Denver
businessman who managed
the Denver Dry Goods Co. and
had dealings in banking and
mining, according to the Den-
ver Public Library. Designed by
noted architects Erasmus Theo-
dore Carr and William Pratt,
the mansion features Victorian,
Queen Anne-style architecture
with ornate embellishments,
milled woodwork and quarter-
sewn oak.
The four-story building,
which comprises approxi-
mately 16,000 sf, has 28 office
suites. There are three addi-
tional suites in a 4,000-sf car-
riage house.
“We recognized that the
Greater Denver
Pathfinder Partners sold the Grant Street Mansion after increasing occu-
pancy from 50 percent to 95 percent.
Tim Finholm
