Office Properties

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July 2015 — Office Properties Quarterly — Page 7
Denver Highlight: SoBo
D enver’s growing population,
strong in-migration of mil-
lennials and positive mar-
ket fundamentals is spur-
ring the redevelopment of
mature and ripe communities into a
modern mosaic of urban neighbor-
hoods. Union Station, River North
and Lower Highlands are recent
examples of this trend. The metro
area’s next hot spot is South Broad-
way, dubbed SoBo. Located along
Broadway, between First Avenue and
Interstate 25, SoBo incorporates the
Denver Design District and includes
office, retail and residential uses, as
well as the city’s most central mul-
timodal hub and transit-oriented
development.
SoBo, in part because of its exist-
ing eclectic mix of shops, bars and
restaurants, is emerging as Denver’s
next iconic place due to the prom-
ising future of the Denver Design
District. Originally defined as a gen-
eral development plan by the city of
Denver, efforts for a long-term plan
are being formulated by local area
developer D4 Urban, a real estate
development company focused on
urban, infill and TOD opportunities.
To date, the DDD is anchored by
the Broadway Marketplace, the
Denver Design Center and The Col-
lection properties. This assemblage
of manufacturers, showrooms,
designers and learning centers
encompasses the main parcel of the
75-acre area located in the heart of
the midtown location. The devel-
opment’s vision is to revitalize the
property assemblage and evolve the
collection of tenants. Currently, cut-
ting-edge office and some medical
office uses, which
include Quest Diag-
nostics, establish
a significant day-
time population at
the DDD, coupled
with an infusion
of residents at the
new Denizen mul-
tifamily project to
ensure 24/7 activity
in a live-work-play
environment.
An active transit-
oriented envi-
ronment, with
light-rail stations
bookending the
site on both sides,
provides the lynch-
pin to the emerg-
ing urban infill
neighborhood,
creating almost
immediate access
to downtown, the
Denver Tech Cen-
ter, Denver Inter-
national Airport
(in 2016) and many
surrounding com-
munities.
The location commands place rec-
ognition with its proximity to Broad-
way’s Antique Row, downtown Den-
ver and the Broadway light-rail sta-
tion, and its distinctive, articulated
wall sculpture – originally designed
by Herbert Bayer – is recognized as
one of Denver’s landmarks. The I-25
light-rail station is the second busi-
est in the metro area, with more
than 14,000 riders per day. The addi-
tional daily traffic down Broadway,
I-25 and Alameda ensures constant
activity.
Nearby, an impressive roster of
office tenants reinforces the area
tenancy at 900 and 990 S. Broad-
way. Many are early office tenant
adopters of the neighborhood. The
redevelopment of the former Gates
Rubber Factory eventually will offer
synergistic neighboring SoBo oppor-
tunities. Now owned by Frontier
Renewal, the brownfield develop-
ment specialist posted plans for the
41-acre site that will include reposi-
tioning for future development with
a heavy emphasis on TOD and com-
munity uses.
The overall DDD area, with 67
acres under common ownership,
represents one of the largest consol-
idated property ownerships within
Denver’s mid-urban core. D4 Urban’s
latest project is Denizen, a 275-unit
multihousing apartment and town-
home development at Alameda Sta-
tion. Denizen follows the comple-
tion of the Dakota Outfall Project,
an “enabling works” infrastructure
project that connects Denizen to the
grocery-anchored Broadway Market-
place, South Broadway corridor and
surrounding neighborhoods.
Visionary office tenants, able to
recognize the opportunity in this
landmark neighborhood, can find
space in an existing 60,000-square-
Kittie Hook
Managing director,
Newmark Grubb
Knight Frank,
Denver
Tom Lee
Senior managing
director, Newmark
Grubb Knight
Frank, Denver
A work session pin up for the Denver Design District by urban planners ValleyCrest
Design Group.