October 21-November 3, 2015 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 17
Colorado
by John Rebchook
Greystone, a real estate lend-
ing, investment and advisory
company based in New York
City, recently originated a $36
million commercial mortgage-
backed securities loan for an
upscale, mixed-use develop-
ment in Avon, at the base of
Beaver Creek.
The loan refinances two
adjoining properties, Chapel
Square and Benchmark Center,
with almost 200,000 square feet
of retail and office space.
The 10-year loan is interest
only for the first three years
with a 30-year amortization.
The center is 99.7 percent
leased with 44 tenants. Wells
Fargo is one of the anchor ten-
ants in the center.
The center was purchased last
year by Hoffman Commercial
Real Estate of St. Louis.
The refinancing was arranged
by Ted Nasca, a managing
director at Greystone.
“This is the largest retail proj-
ect we’ve done in our CMBS
portfolio,” Nasca said.
It also is the largest deal it has
done in the Colorado moun-
tains, he said.
Why was Greystone drawn to
the deal?
“No. 1, we love the location,”
Nasca said. “It is a great tourist
location, but it also has seasonal
and year-round residents.”
Hoffman Commercial, head-
ed by Jon White, plans to open
a movie theater in the center by
the end of the year, he noted.
“We’re really excited about
that and the city is really excited
about the Avon Theater,” Nasca
said.
The Benchmark was built
between 1988 and 1999 and
was renovated in 2003. Chapel
Square was built between 1976
and 1989 and was renovated in
2014 by Hoffman Commercial.
The refinancing did not
include the condo/hotel rooms
in the development.
“But they add value to the
entire center,” Nasca said.
Last year, Greystone originat-
ed about $4.5 billion in loans
across the U.S.
Greystone is eager to make
more loans in the mountains
and the Denver area.
“Colorado is a good market,”
Nasca said.
Over the years, Greystone has
been involved in a number of
apartment deals in the Denver
area.
“Greystone is one of the top
multifamily lenders in the
country and multifamily right
now is one of the hottest asset
types,” Nasca said.
Other News
n
Las Vegas-based
Full
House Resorts
has agreed to
pay $30 million to the privately
held
Pioneer Group Inc.
for its
Bronco Billy’s Casino and Hotel
in Cripple Creek.
Bronco Billy’s has about 830
slot and video poker machines,
13 table games, a 24-room hotel,
a steakhouse, four casual din-
ing restaurants and an outdoor
amphitheater.
“We look forward to adding
Bronco Billy’s Casino and Hotel
to the Full House portfolio,”
said
Daniel R. Lee,
president
and CEO of Full House Resorts.
“We see potential for growth
at Bronco Billy’s as the property
benefits from a full year of its
recently completed expansion,”
he said.
Long term, he said there is
potential to grow the size of the
operation on surrounding land.
It purchased a 2.3-acre surface
parking lot in May.
It owns most of the block
along Bennett Avenue and has
ownership rights to portions of
the block it does not own.
Bronco Billy’s is considered
one of the two top casinos in
Cripple Creek.
s
Greystone recently refinanced the Chapel Square/Benchmark Center in Avon.
350,000-square-foot Denver
Premium Outlets retail center
on 45 to 50 acres on the north-
east corner of 136th Avenue
and Interstate 25 in Thornton.
It will take about a year to com-
plete the development, south of
Cabela’s.
The Simon Property Group,
with a market cap of $60 billion,
is the largest shopping center
real estate investment trust in
the nation.
Its market cap is bigger
than the market caps of Mac-
erich, General Growth Proper-
ties and Vornado Realty Trust
combined.
s
Simon
ket in Colorado Springs and
is an affordable alternative
to nearby properties that are
charging $100 to $300 more in
rent. This property has a benefi-
cial niche in the market, which
has led to its consistently strong
occupancy rates,” he added.
LocalConstruction, a pri-
vate real estate investment and
development company, sold
the property to Vukota, which
also recently purchased the Vil-
lages at Woodmen in Colorado
Springs.
Wind River is located within
eight minutes of Garden of the
Gods and is walking distance of
King Sooopers, Walgreens, Ace
Hardware, Petco and Subway.
Other News
n
An unidentified medical-
related tenant recently leased
93,600 square feet at Corporate
Ridge – Building II in Colora-
do Springs in one of the largest
office lease transactions in recent
memory.
The tenant leased the space at
1575 Garden of the Gods Road,
where it’s expected to operate a
call center.
Real Capital Solutions
was
represented in the lease by
Michael Palmer
of
Quantum
Commercial Group.
Randy Miller
and
Nicola
Myers Merty
of
CBRE
represent-
ed the landlord. CBRE declined
to comment on the transaction.
n
The multifamily vacan-
cy rate for Colorado Springs
dropped 58 basis points during
the third quarter to 4.73 per-
cent, according to
Apartment
Insights’
most recent
Statis-
tics/Trends Summary.
The report noted that the cur-
rent vacancy is 6 bps below the
record-low rate of 4.79 percent
seen one year ago.
During the quarter 344 units
were absorbed, with the north
submarket seeing the largest
gain for the second consecutive
quarter, absorbing 190 units in
the third quarter and 354 units
over the past 12 months.
AI reported that the average
rent for themetro area increased
by $20 to $869 per unit and
$1.06 per sf – a new high for the
market. The 12-month increase
in rent is $44, or 5.3 percent
higher than a year ago.
As well, five sales closed dur-
ing the quarter with an average
price of $106,382 per unit.
The summary noted that the
rental market performed well
during the third quarter with
vacancy dropping, rents rising
at a sustainable pace, conces-
sions reaching a record low,
good sales volume, although
behind 2014’s pace, and new
construction activity relatively
in balance with market condi-
tions and long-term trends.
n
Younan Properties Inc.
recently announced it signed
102,795 sf of new deals and
renewals at its NorthCreek
property at 5725, 5755 and 5775
Mark Dabling Blvd. in Colo-
rado Springs.
Younan acquired the three-
building campus totaling
320,712 sf in January.
New tenants at the property
include
Legacy Wealth Part-
ners, Gentiva, Econolite
and
Ameriprise.
Extensive upgrades and ren-
ovations are underway and are
expected to be complete in early
2016. Work includes lobby and
common areas upgrades, reno-
vated restrooms, new confer-
ence room facilities and further
refinement of the exterior land-
scaping.
“The NorthCreek office
complex is Younan Proper-
ties’ first Colorado Springs
acquisition and the company
is already establishing a great
reputation in Colorado,” said
Karen Clarke,
vice president
of
Transwestern
and lead
NorthCreek broker. “Thanks to
their refreshing (focused and
prompt) responsiveness, cre-
ative thinking, collaborative
nature and understanding of
tenant’s needs, we have been
able to achieve a high level of
leasing at the project.”
n
Richard Easton
acquired
four condo units in a Colorado
Springs office park.
Easton paid all cash for the
property at 2140 and 2150 Hol-
low Brook Drive. The 6,000-sf
property sold for $925,000.
Troy Meyer
and
Kevin Mat-
thews
of
Sperry Van Ness CRE
Advisors LLC
listed the prop-
erty for seller
Hollow Brook
Partners LLC.
The buyer was
represented by
Cushman &
Wakefield.
n
Wells Fargo
leased 42,309
sf at the Palmer Center at 90
S. Cascade Ave. in Colorado
Springs.
Palmer Center Ltd.
was the
landlord.
Greg Phaneuf
of
Colorado
Springs Commercial, a Cush-
man & Wakefield alliance
rep-
resented the landlord.
n
JE Dunn Construction
inked a 3,250-sf lease at Epic
One at Interquest.
The firm expects to occupy
the Class Aoffice space at 10807
New Allegiance Drive in Colo-
rado Springs in mid-Novem-
ber.
The new northside location
will increase the firm’s visibil-
ity in Southern Colorado and
reduce the drive time between
the Colorado Spring office and
its Rocky Mountain regional
office at Colorado Center in
Denver, according to JE Dunn.
“Our workload has grown so
much that moving north will
help manage the resource load
between Denver and Colorado
Springs,” said
Kevin O’Gara,
vice president and group man-
ager at JE Dunn’s Colorado
Springs office.
After 14 years at its cur-
rent Springs property, 1120 W.
Moreno Drive, “We wanted to
freshen up our space and have
it reflect our collaborative phi-
losophy,” he added. “JE Dunn’s
move reflects our commitment
to Colorado Springs and South-
ern Colorado. We’ll be in a
more visible, sustainable space
with easier access.”
Epic One is a LEED Silver
building with an on-site fitness
center. The firm’s new space
includes an open floor plan that
can be configured as needed.
Its existing space, a single-
story office building and an
equipment storage building on
two acres, will be offered for
sale this fall.
The move comes as JE Dunn
starts the $60 million Ent Cen-
ter for the Arts at the Uni-
versity of Colorado Colorado
Springs. As well, the Colorado
Springs location manages proj-
ects across the state, including
the Quigley Hall project on the
Western State Colorado Univer-
sity campus
in Gunnison
and the ESIF
project for
the Nation-
al Renewal
Energy Lab-
oratory
in
Golden.
Peter Sco-
ville
of
Colo-
rado Springs
Commercial, a Cushman &
Wakefield alliance
is the leas-
ing agent for Epic One.
s
Springs
Peter Scoville
