Colorado Real Estate Journal - January 3, 2018
In the wake of “mind-boggling” change around the National Western Complex, a businessman sold a 40,530-square-foot industrial building on 4.29 acres in the neighborhood for a record $175.18 per sf. “It was an incredible opportunity, I’ll just put it that way,” commented George Medley of GI Investments LLC, who sold the site at 4920 N. Washington St. in Denver to an affiliate of Alberta Development Partners for $7.1 million. Denver Scrap Metal Recycling, owned by Medley and his wife, completed a lengthy leaseback for the property, where the business has been located since 2009. “We’re going to stick around for awhile. We’re not going anywhere in terms of our business,” Medley said, adding the company eventually will relocate. “The National Western Stock Show redevelopment has triggered the next genre of transformation for the National Western neighborhood, and the sale of the older, Class C industrial asset at 4920 N. Washington for record level pricing per square foot indicates the high demand for redevelopment opportunities in the area,” said Newmark Knight Frank Managing Director Russell Gruber, who represented GI Investments in the transaction. Gruber said there was “fierce competition” for the asset, which has frontage on Washington Street. “Now that much of the vacant land is off the market, the next level of opportunity will focus on older, antiquated industrial real estate, especially ones located on larger land parcels and with a larger-than-average footprint.” Denver’s nearby River North neighborhood has been a hotbed of investor activity, but Gruber said opportunities there have dwindled. “RiNo does not have any industrial buildings for sale that are larger than 30,000 square feet, while the National Western neighborhood currently offers six industrial buildings for sale that are more than 30,000 square feet. This is a significant difference that will further spur activity in the National Western neighborhood,” he said. “Denver is booming, both economically and culturally,” commented Medley. “This is an opportunity to redevelop this industrial space for a new use in line with the transforming National Western neighborhood’s rapid growth.” Emily Klimas of SullivanHayes Brokerage represented the buyer in the transaction. Other News ¦ Precision Equipment Placement, also known as PEPMOVE, signed a five-year lease for 44,264 square feet of Class B warehouse space at 14603 E. Moncrieff Place in Moncrieff Business Center in Denver. The space is nearly twice as large as the company’s previous location. Moncrieff Business Center is located just off Interstates 70 and 225 in northeast Denver. “PEPMOVE, similar to many industrial tenants in Denver, continues to grow in one of the nation’s most flourishing industrial markets. Their growth is a testament to the strong market fundamentals and indicates Denver is still a growing market and will long need users like PEPMOVE as they fall right in line with Denver’s average industrial tenant size,” said JLL broker Jason White. “In addition to expanding their operations, PEPMOVE also wanted to secure a location that would allow the company to more efficiently serve its client base. Moncrieff Business Center places them next to two major interstates, with quick access in all directions,” said White, who represented the tenant with JLL’s Nick Steitz. PEPMOVE focuses on delivery, installation and storage of high-value, sensitive electronics or large equipment such as copiers, medical equipment, servers, gun safes, fitness equipment and heavy industrial equipment. Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners owns Moncrieff Business Center. ¦ Namaste Solar purchased a 24,427-sf industrial building at 888 Federal Blvd. in Denver from Sun Valley Eco district Trust for $2.48 million. The building, which for many years housed Reed Art & Imaging, was vacant at the time of the sale. Dorit Fisher, Hayden Hirschfeld and Joey Gargotto of NAI Shames Makovsky represented Sun Valley Eco district in the sale. Tanner Mason and Jeff Mason of Benchmark Commercial LLC represented Namaste Solar, which currently occupies two locations across the street from one another in the River North Art District. “They have had strong growth and needed a more efficient operation under one Denver roof,” said Tanner Mason. Mason said Namaste intends to be a long-term partner in the Sun Valley neighborhood and make the “significant investment” in improvements the building needs. The property will house the company’s warehouse and office operations. ¦ United States Building Supply Inc. leased 35,000 sf of highcube warehouse space at Commerce Business Park, Building 6, 485 E. 52rd Ave., Unit B, in Denver. John V. Propp of John Propp Commercial Group represented the tenant in the lease of the first-generation space. According to Propp, United States Building Supply owns a nearby building at Interstate 70 and Quebec Street and needed additional space. The company sometimes buys “huge” loads of inventory to get lower pricing and needed space to store that inventory. It plans to build a 5,000-sf showroom at the location, Propp said. ¦ Cold Warehouse LLC, managed by a Denver investor, purchased a 13,550-sf freezer/cooler building at 9355 Elm Court in Federal Heights for $1.4 million. The building is net-leased to Epicurean Butter, according to Jeff Kummer of Altitude Commercial Realty. Altitude Commercial represented the seller, GSL Group Inc.