CREJ

22 / 32

Page 22 — Office Properties Quarterly — September 2017
Project Spotlight
BIG OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE
IN DOWNTOWN SUPERIOR.
Just outside Boulder and a short commute from Denver,
a vibrant, new Downtown Superior is taking shape. This
urban hub offers land for office and mixed-use residential/
retail, plus new office and retail space built to suit. The
area offers competitive economics, easy access to Denver
International Airport, an educated employment pool and
a sought-after location. It will be an energetic, eclectic
mix of retail, shopping, dining, entertainment and living—
walkable, sustainable and surrounded by acres of gorgeous
Colorado open space.
Fully entitled for up to 817,600 square feet of office,
retail and restaurant space; 1,400 residential units;
and 500 hotel rooms.
Visi
FRESH OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUSINESS,
RESTAURANTS, RETAIL AND MORE.
That’s a Superior idea.
With the increase of co-
working and telecommut-
ing vastly changing the
way people work, business
owners are seeking innova-
tive work environments that incor-
porate the comforts of home and an
improved lifestyle into their design.
Several new office concepts are tak-
ing shape in the Denver area that
are considering how to improve
health and wellness and make the
workplace a home away from home.
This new trend is called “resi-mer-
cial,” a term coined to describe this
blending of residential and com-
mercial spaces in the workplace.
Proponents of the “resi-mercial”
trend believe creating a warmer and
more welcoming setting goes a long
way toward attracting and retain-
ing workers, as well as increasing
productivity and innovation. Given
Denver’s tight labor market, this can
make all the difference for employ-
ers.
According to experts, there are a
few reasons why the comforts of
home are infiltrating office spaces.
First, with more people using lap-
tops instead of desktop computers,
they are no longer tethered to a
desk. Second, this more comfort-
able work space appeals to younger
employees, an important consider-
ation for companies in competition
to attract and retain skilled work-
ers. And third, a mix of collaborative
work spaces, desks and couches
makes it easier to do different types
of work, from collaborative brain-
storming sessions to heads-down
work to conference calls.
To this end, we are introducing
Catalyst, a premier office and retail
concept in Den-
ver’s River North
district designed
with the feel of a
luxury apartment
in mind. On pace
to open its doors
May 1, the project
will be home to
a vibrant mix of
world-class com-
panies of different
sizes and from
different sectors
– from small start-
ups to global pow-
erhouses – who
are all driven to grow, innovate and
do great things. Throughout seven
floors, tenants will enjoy an invit-
ing, collaborative work space that
feels more like a luxury apartment
than an office building.
Taking cues from other innova-
tive offices throughout the coun-
try, the team created a vision that
incorporated a variety of thoughtful
features into the design to create
a luxury apartment feel. The key is
offering myriad flexible, collabora-
tive work spaces combined with
activated public spaces that are
vibrant and relaxed. The project will
feature a seventh-floor community
room and deck amenity, which
encourages community gathering.
The goal is to influence productivity
and sociability for all tenants.
Another new development in
Denver that is keeping this in mind
is 1144 Fifteenth Street, which has
a spacious lounge that overlooks
the lobby and provides an informal
meeting place and relaxation area.
Another important feature of
this trend is creating an activated
lobby that invites people to network
both during and after traditional
business hours and creates a more
casual vibe for tenants to connect
with one another. Similar to an
urban market, like Stanley Market-
place or The Source where people
go to work, shop, eat and connect,
Catalyst recently announced that
Logan House Coffee will set up shop
in the lobby. The café will be a cen-
tral gathering place for the building
– not only serving food and coffee
throughout the day, but also beer
and wine on tap as well as specialty
cocktails starting in the late after-
noon to ensure round-the-clock
activity and constant networking
opportunities.
Other flex spaces include a roof-
top deck, executive board and living
rooms, a 3,000-square-foot commu-
nity kitchen and the Catalyst Event
Center, designed to accommo-
date 250 persons. It also will offer
apartment-like technology features
throughout the building that mimic
life in an apartment, including the
Luxer One locker package delivery
system and a high-tech parking
garage.
Health and wellness is no lon-
ger just something people worry
about after hours. New innovations
in work spaces abound and an
emphasis on WELL Building Stan-
dard practices is largely changing
Dean Koelbel
Director of leasing
operations and
development,
Koelbel and Co.,
Denver
Dr. John Oro
In addition to providing luxury apartment-style features to the new office project,
Catalyst is on track to receive core-and-shell WELL Building Standard certification.