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Page 14 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — May 6-May 19, 2015
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Portman Holdings Vice Chair-
man John C. “Jack” Portman III
was mostly happy and grateful
– but also had some regret – at
a groundbreaking ceremony for
the firm’s $92 million office/
hotel development near Denver
Union Station.
“I’m very remorseful that
Portman was not in Denver a
long time ago,” Portman said
prior to putting a shovel in the
ground at 1801 Wewatta St.
General contractor Hensel
Phelps, which has teamed with
Portman Holdings on projects
outside Colorado, brought
Portman to Denver to look at
the development site in Jan-
uary 2014. “It took about 45
minutes for us to decide, yes,
this is what we wanted to do,”
said Portman, who could see
the momentum around Den-
ver Union Station. Returning
for the first time for the ground-
breaking last month, he said, “I
had no idea it would happen so
quickly and with such energy.
“Denver has a certain vibe to
it. It’s got an energy level that’s
unlike most places. It’s like a
magnet now for the educated,
youthful workers of America
because of the lifestyle. People
want to be here.”
Portman’s 12-story building
will include 100,000 square feet
of Class A office space and a
180-room Indigo Hotel. Accord-
ing to Denver Mayor Michael
B. Hancock, who spoke at the
groundbreaking, it is part of
more than $2 billion in invest-
ment in the Union Station area
resulting from the station’s
$500 million redevelopment.
“The Union Station area has far
exceeded all our expectations,”
Hancock said.
“Were absolutely thrilled to
have the Hotel Indigo here –
one of the first new hotels that
we’ve had in LoDo in many
years,” added Tami Door, CEO
of the Downtown Denver Part-
nership. “Demand is high and
people want to come to Den-
ver,” she said.
The building is designed by
John Portman & Associates, a
world-renowned architectural
firm where Jack Portman serves
as principal and vice chairman.
Care was taken to create a proj-
ect that would positively impact
tenants and guests. “We want to
create an experience that touch-
es all the senses,” said Portman,
noting the design is intended to
be motivating and stimulating
and at the same time homelike
and comfortable.
The entrance to 1801 Wewatta
will open onto a large outdoor
space. “The corner opens up
almost in a way to genuflect
toward the station and this
open space,” Portman said.
“We want to celebrate the out-
door space in the same way that
the city does,” added Charles
Pinkham III, Portman Holdings
vice president of development.
Construction of the building
will be completed within 20
months.s
Jack Portman addresses a group at the groundbreaking for a $92 mil-
lion project near Denver Union Station. At right are Denver Mayor
Michael B. Hancock and Charles Pinkham III of Portman Holdings.
Greater Denver
panies in the nation,” said Mar-
shall Burton, who along with
Confluent’s Celeste Tanner has
more than 30 years and 8 million
square feet of combined develop-
ment experience.
Industry veteran John Shaw
has joined Confluent Develop-
ment’s board of directors.
Republic Plaza
concourse updated
Brookfield Property Partners
LP will undertake renovations to
Republic Plaza’ s concourse level
this summer.
The transformation of the
15,000-squre-foot concourse level
will include a new conferencing
center with the latest technol-
ogy, a top-of-the-line fitness center
and collaborative space that will
include a café. The project will cre-
ate usable open-air green spaces
that allow natural light into the
areas below the street level.
“Brookfield is proud to invest
over $5 million to offer its ten-
ant community premier office
space that incorporates innovative
amenities,” said David Sternberg,
executive vice president of the
Midwest andMountain regions of
Brookfield’s U.S. Office Division.
“The transformations to Republic
Plaza’s concourse will continue to
make it the most attractive busi-
ness address in the city for both
employers and employees.”
Brookfield has owned andman-
aged the 56-story Republic Plaza,
Denver’s tallest building, since
1986. s Brookfield plans a transformation of Republic Plaza’s concourse level.