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FEBRUARY 18-MARCH 3, 2015
by John Rebchook
At long last, a key block in
downtown is being developed.
Atlanta-based developer
Novare Group and partners,
including Denver-based Simp-
son Housing, officially broke
ground Feb. 17 on the 26-story,
354-unit SkyHouse Denver
apartment tower at East 18th
Avenue and Broadway.
“SkyHouseDenverwill elimi-
nateabigchunkofnastyasphalt
that has plagued downtown
Denver’s urban landscape for
decades,” urban planner Ken
Schroeppel wrote on his Den-
verInfill blog.
He further described it as a
“parcel in dire need of develop-
ment.”
Simpson Housing also has
been Novare’s joint venture
partner on SkyHouse River
Oaks, SkyHouse Houston and
SkyHouse Dallas.
“We benefit greatly from
Simpson Housing’s involve-
ment due to their knowledge
and reputation in the multifam-
ily industry and we are excited
about this project in their home
market of Denver,” saidNovare
President andCEO JimBorders.
In addition to SimpsonHous-
ingandNovare, theotherdevel-
opment partner on SkyHouse is
A drawing of the SkyHouse Denver under construction at 18th Avenue and Broadway
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
Unico Properties became one
of the largest owners of office
properties along the Front
Rangewith its purchase of a 1.5
million-square-foot portfolio
fromW.W. Reynolds Cos.
The deal included 27 Boulder
buildings that reportedly trad-
ed for $168.4 million. Along
with 20 office, flex and indus-
trial buildings in Fort Collins,
which Unico quickly spun off,
the deal involved at least $225
million of real estate, accord-
ing to a knowledgeable source
who wasn’t involved in the
transaction.
“This transaction, at approxi-
mately 1.5 million square feet,
represents the largest real estate
transaction by square footage
this cycle, and it elevates Uni-
co’s position in this market as
one of the largest office land-
lords in the Front Range,” said
Geoff Baukol, senior vice presi-
dent of institutional properties
at CBRE Capital Markets.
“We feel fortunate to have
uncovered the opportunity
to invest in this extraordinary
portfolio,”
said Ned
C a r n e r ,
U n i c o
P r o p e r -
ties vice
president
of acquisi-
tions. “This
was a very
large and
c o m p l i -
cated transaction that required
significant creativity and inge-
nuity.We’re thrilled to bework-
ing with W.W. Reynolds, one
of Boulder’s premier real estate
companies, and we look for-
ward to a continued partner-
ship with the company as they
manage the portfolio for us.”
Unico purchased the proper-
ties in partnership with AEW
Capital Management LP, a
global real estate investment
adviser.
Boulder-based W.W. Reyn-
olds developed the properties
over a 15-year period starting
in 1985. Company President
Bill Reynolds has had discus-
sions with Unico for years and
reached out to the company
when he decided to sell.
“Timing and the strength of
the real estate market in Boul-
der and Fort Collins made this
opportunity to sell a portion of
my portfolio possible,” he said.
“Having personally developed
all of the properties included in
this sale, itwas important tome
HighPoint is a three-story building with covered parking.
Ned Carner
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
After buying 1.5 million
square feet of Boulder and
Fort Collins properties from
W.W. Reynolds Cos., Unico
Properties and AEW Capi-
tal Management flipped the
Northern Colorado assets,
which didn’t fit Unicoʼs strat-
egy of growing its Boulder
portfolio.
The prices Unico paid and
received for the 507,005-sf
Fort Collins portfolio weren’t
released, but the assets likely
traded below the price paid
for the Boulder properties,
which was approximately
$166 per sf. The buyer was
Prospect Development Part-
ners LLC, which is affiliated
with The Pauls Corp.
The assets comprise 20 pre-
dominantly flex buildings
in Fort Collins’ largest busi-
ness park, along East Pros-
pect Road, betweenMidpoint
and Sharp Point drives. They
include Midpoint Park, Lake
Center One, One Prospect,
Plum Tree Plaza and River
Center.
CBRE Senior Vice President
Tyler Carner, Vice President
Jeremy Ballenger and Senior
Vice President Geoff Baukol
Inside
Investors come calling when a
building leased to Verizon hits the market
Coming off a near-record
year, retail property sales slow –
to $659.9 million – in 2014
Joe Vostrejs and his partners
have renewed and reshaped
Denver’s urban fabric
The longtime owners of the
Elephant Corral hand over the reins
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