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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— January 6-January 19, 2016
by John Rebchook
Denver-based Simpson Hous-
ing, best known as an apartment
community developer, and not
a buyer of existing multifamily
projects, recently made an acqui-
sition in Denver.
And it was a big one.
Simpson Housing recently
paid $85.65 million for the 290-
unit Boulevard apartment build-
ing in the Golden Triangle in
Denver, which it has renamed as
the Boulevard Lofts.
The purchase of the 10-year-old
property at 150 W. Ninth Ave.
appears to be the single-largest
purchase by Simpson Housing
in Denver.
Maybe its only one, as Simpson
Housing primarily is a devel-
oper. For example, Simpson is
developing the 25-story, 354-unit
SkyHouse Denver in downtown.
An official from Simpson
Housing did not return several
phone calls from Colorado Real
Estate Journal regarding the pur-
chase of the Boulevard.
However, the purchase is one
of the 10 largest ever in Denver.
It is the eighth most expensive
apartment community sale in
Denver, according to Apartment
Insights, the apartment data-
base owned and maintained by
appraiser Cary Bruteig.
Larger acquisitions, according
to Apartment Insights, include:
• the $190.5 million purchase
of the 1,523-unit Breakers Resort
in 2006,
• the $119 million purchase
of the 710-unit Lex at Lowry in
2014,
• the $118 million purchase of
the 696-unit Uptown Square in
2006,
• the $98.1 million purchase
of the 337-unit Commons Park
West in 2013,
• the $94.75 million purchase
of the Verve in 2014,
• the $90.75 million purchase
of the Metro in 2014 and
• the $86 million purchase of
the Lex at Lowry in 2007.
Simpson’s acquisition equated
to $295,345 per unit.
As far as these major acquisi-
tions, by that metric, only the
$332,456 per unit for the Verve
near Union Station topped the
Simpson deal.
Some smaller apartment build-
ings, however, have sold for
more per unit.
Simpson Housing purchased
the Boulevard from New York-
based Sentinel Real Estate Corp.
Sentinel paid $75.5 million for
the Boulevard in 2006, according
to public records.
Simpson paid 13.4 percent
more for the Boulevard than Sen-
tinel.
However, Simpson actually
paid less for it than Sentinel in
inflation-adjusted dollars.
When adjusted for inflation,
Sentinel paid the equivalent of
slightly more than $89 million for
the Boulevard.
The Hanover Co. built the Bou-
levard on the original site of the
popular Racine’s restaurant in
2005.
At the time, it was heralded as
the first trophy development that
provided a new level of luxury
for rental living in the Golden
Triangle, which is bordered by
Speer Boulevard, Lincoln Street
and West Colfax Avenue.
Before the Boulevard was
constructed, more condos were
being built in the neighborhood
than apartments – just the oppo-
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Greater Denver
A look at the Boulevard Lofts apartment community in the Golden
Triangle
