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— Office Properties Quarterly — January 2015

Amenities

version of these features. A build-

ing must either go all out, or it’s

not worth doing, said Johnson. For

example, the workout areas must be

really tremendous, with showers and

locker rooms. The bike storage must

be indoors and fully secure.

Some buildings are now touting

proximity to B-cycle or light-rail

stations and other forms of public

transportation as an amenity in and

of itself.

“You must be providing an Ecopass

and a locked, secure area for bikes,”

said Phillip Infelise, Cresa Denver

national director of project and facil-

ity management. “If you don’t have

that, you’re really not recruiting.”

Another feature that is gaining

popularity quickly is outdoor space.

Since the 1980s, architects in Colo-

rado have tried to incorporate bal-

conies and other outdoor spaces

into building designs, said Bridges.

However, these balconies were often

built off corner offices, which limited,

and often times restricted, who used

them.

“Now a lot of clients are looking

at rooftops as possible ways to offer

outdoor space,” Bridges said.

Several new buildings are incor-

porating patios into their design and

there are about five or six smaller

LoDo buildings that feature useable

rooftops, said Johnson.

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is

working with Canadian developer

First Gulf, out of Toronto, on the 1401

Lawrence St. project. “Our experience

in our recent urban developments is

that people are really attracted to this

concept of indoor-outdoor space as

an amenity,” said John MacNeil, First

Gulf president. “Our goal was to bring

that feature to our Denver project at

1401 Lawrence Street.”

The building at 1401 Lawrence St.

will have two indoor-outdoor areas.

One is already leased and will be on

the 22nd floor. A second patio will be

on the ninth floor, with the plans still

evolving. The ninth-floor patio will

offer unobstructed views of most of

the city skyline, said Jeff Castleton,

the project’s listing agent with NGKF.

A fitness facility with showers and

lockers also will be on the ninth floor.

Patios present a prime opportunity

for hosting and socializing, both of

which help create the community

feel that many companies want. The

Starbucks concept of a “third place”

is also presenting itself in a variety

of ways to create this social envi-

ronment. These communal places

recognize the power of a change of

scenery, said Johnson.

“It’s not the office and not the

home, but a third space; even though

it’s within the building, it’s not in the

office proper,” said Bridges.

Updated lobbies are also begin-

ning to reflect a more relaxed, social

vibe. Everyone in the building can

use these conversational areas. Some

buildings offer Wi-Fi to guests, while

others feature fully wired worksta-

tions.

“One other thing we’re seeing in

the nondowntown markets is a lot of

office properties with really large lob-

bies – often with courtyards, water

features, planting beds, etc.,” said

Bridges. “We’re seeing those things

come out, and the space changing

into areas for tenants by providing

amenities like breakout spaces and

loungy spaces where employees can

go to get out of the specific office, but

still be in the general building.”

The increase of mixed-use tenants

on the first floor of office buildings

is often included for tenant conve-

nience. Coffee shops and cafes are a

definite must have; and other mixed-

use anchor businesses, such as res-

taurants, dry cleaners and banks, are

gaining popularity.

“We had a huge law firm client, and

they had a Starbucks in their lobby,”

Johnson said. “They said, ‘Wherever

we move, that building better have

one in the lobby.’ So obviously a coffee

shop is important. People love to get

that jolt, and love having a convenient

place to meet.”

Rendering by Design Workshop

Bike stations and secure storage are becoming must haves in the central business district

Rendering by Kieding

Workstations and conversational areas are increasingly important in lobby areas

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