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COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— June 1-June 14, 2016
by John Rebchook
It was a blockbuster deal.
American Realty Advisors last
month paid $154.3 million for
the 314-unit Elan Union Station,
according to public records.
American Realty Advisors is
rebranding the community on 2.4
acres at Chestnut Place and 20th
Street as ALARAUnion Station.
It was the most expensive
apartment sale ever in down-
town Denver’s central business
district, although it was eclipsed
by another recent sale, the $210
million paid for the 696-unit
Uptown Square, at the edge of
downtown, according to Cary
Bruteig, principal of Apartment
Appraisers & Consultants.
And perhaps even more
impressively, it was by far the
most ever paid on a per-unit basis
for an apartment community in
Denver, according to Bruteig.
The price paid per unit was a
whopping $491,401, if you sim-
ply considered the total number
of units.
Of course, that is not a fair way
to calculate it, as the sale included
about 58,000 square feet of retail,
including the 46,631-sf King
Soopers, the first full-service gro-
cery store in Lower Downtown.
If you used a back-of-the enve-
lope calculation and subtracted
$20 million for the King Soopers,
the price per unit would still be
an amazing $427,707 per unit.
“This probably is the most core
deal to ever trade in Denver and
in this cycle. It is about as core
as it gets in Denver,” said Jor-
dan Robbins, who marketed and
sold the recently completed com-
munity along with fellow Hol-
liday Fenoglio Fowler broker Jeff
Haag.
The seller was a partnership
that included Greystar and its
equity investor, Goldman Sachs.
“It’s a brand-new building,
packed with high-end amenities
in an area with very good demo-
graphics,” Robbins said.
While retail is not necessarily a
plus when selling an apartment
building, it definitely was an
asset.
“The King Soopers was impor-
tant, but it was not the driving
force” in the sale, according to
Robbins.
“The driving force was the
great location by Union Station,
the quality of the construction
and all of the high-end ameni-
ties,” he said.
That’s exactly right, according
to Scott C. Anderson, director of
investment for American Realty
Advisors.
“Over the last several years,
this submarket has become one
of the most desirable urban loca-
tions within Denver due to its
proximity to the downtown
employment center, as well as
the developing cultural core of
the city around LoDo and Union
Station,” Anderson said.
He said the property’s residen-
tial units were built to luxury
specifications, with bamboo
floors, quartz countertops with
tile backsplashes, undermount
sinks, and stainless steel appli-
ances.
The building also sports a state-
of-the-art fitness center, two inte-
rior courtyards featuring a resort-
style pool, stainless steel grill-
ing stations, a bocce ball court, a
large outdoor fireplace, a resident
lounge, two private offices, a
large, fully connected conference
room, a pet spa, a bicycle and ski
maintenance shop with lockers,
and bike wash.
Robbins noted that residents
have access to the King Soop-
ers by a private, “residents only”
elevator providing direct access
Multifamily
Shown is the Elan Union Station, rebranded as ALARA Union Station,
which was purchased for $154.3 million.
