Page 4AA —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— December 16, 2015-January 5, 2016
Industrial
by Jill Jamieson-Nichols
A New York investor with
an affinity for properties in the
Denver metro area recently
purchased Garrison Business
Park in Lakewood.
“I sold a building in New
York and decided to look for
another building, and the one
that I liked the best was this
one at Sixth Avenue and Gar-
rison Street, Garrison Busi-
ness Park,” said Howard Dean
of Tarrytown-based H. Dean
Properties.
Dean said the property has
good bones and tenants, and
provides an attractive return.
“We negotiated for a long time.
Finally, with the help of T.J.
Smith, we ended up with a
deal,” said Dean. John Benitez
of Benitez Investments LLC
represented Dean in the trans-
action.
Garrison Business Park is a
two-building industrial/flex
project that fronts West Sixth
Avenue. Located at 608 and
610 Garrison St., it comprises
50,040 square feet on 4.43 acres
of land. It sold for $5.35 million.
“We had about seven offers
on that property,” said Smith,
who represented seller Real
Capital Solutions with fellow
Colliers International brokers
Brad Calbert and Matt Keyer-
leber.
Smith said that although,
“There is a long-standing ten-
ant history within the prop-
erty,” there were some “occu-
pancy issues” when Real Capi-
tal Solutions bought it for $3.8
million three years ago. Colliers
International helped lease up
the buildings, and with occu-
pancy at 98 percent, Real Capi-
tal Solutions decided to sell.
“It was a value-add invest-
ment for us,” said Graham
Riley of Real Capital Solutions,
who noted the property’s occu-
pancy was around 70 percent
when Real Capital Solutions
acquired it. “T.J. Smith and Col-
liers did a good job of finding
a 1031 buyer who wanted a
stabilized asset.
“It was a good deal for us. I
think it will be a decent long-
term hold for the buyer as
well,” Riley said.
Most of Garrison Business
Park’s 21 tenants range from
approximately 1,200 to 3,000 sf.
Café Del Sol, a Mexican restau-
rant, has been there for many
years and is the largest tenant.
Built in the 1980s, the prop-
erty has drive-in loading and
15-foot ceiling heights.
“It’s got great access of off
Sixth Avenue to get downtown
or to shoot out west,” said
Smith.
Dean plans to redo the build-
ings’ exteriors right away and
in spring will undertake major
landscaping improvements. “It
just needs some TLC,” he said.
Dean said his father began
investing in Colorado commer-
cial real estate many years ago.
“I like the Denver, Colorado,
area. We’ve been investing in
Denver for over 50 years,” he
said.
The company, which has
commercial real estate assets
in a half-dozen states, includ-
ing New York, Pennsylvania
and California, currently owns
seven properties in the metro
area. Among them is Denver
Airport Business Park, a three-
building flex/industrial park at
6850, 6860 and 6890 Argonne
St. that Dean acquired in part-
nership with Benitez. “Those
buildings are doing just great,”
said Dean.
“We bend over backward for
our tenants,” he said. “We want
the tenants to know who we
are. We know them all.”
Dean, whose daughter lives
in Southwestern Colorado, said
he plans to continue to invest in
Denver-area assets “if the right
property comes along.”
s
Garrison Business Park was 98 percent occupied at the time of the sale.
