Colorado Real Estate Journal - January 2, 2019
Harbor Associates LLC added to its collection of historic downtown Denver assets in with its $24.5 million purchase of the Symes building on the 16th Street Mall. Harbor, in a joint venture with Stockbridge Capital Group, paid cash for the 98,976-square foot building at 820 16th St. The eight-story Symes building was one of the tallest buildings in Denver when it was completed in 1906, and one of the first steel-frame structures. Businesses reportedly competed to secure offices in the building, which filled immediately upon completion, according to documentation filed with the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the ground-floor retail space – for many years occupied by a Woolworth store – is fully leased, but overall occupancy is 65 percent. Harbor plans to boost that number by upgrading the building entry and lobby, and adding a basement-level amenity package, exterior improvements, retail signage, and 1,500- to 4,500-sf turnkey office suites. Two vacant office floors also will be upgraded to “rent-ready” condition. Joon Choi, Harbor Associates principal, said, “820 16th St. is a truly one-of-a-kind building with a tremendously interesting and rich history that, frankly, just hasn’t had its story told yet. We are excited to introduce the market to this cool, creative office space in the heart of downtown via the restoration of one of Denver’s hidden treasures.” “The opportunity to acquire a building with the character, charm and location of 820 16th St. is rare, so we moved quickly and closed the transaction all cash. The tenant demand in downtown is very strong for the historic and creative office environment that we’ll be creating at the property,” added Harbor Principal Justin Loiacono. NAI Shames Makovsky brokers Dorit Fischer, Hayden Hirschfeld, Trent Rice and Connor Donahue represented the seller, 820 16th Street LLC, in the off-market transaction. Current office tenants include “a mix of architecture, technology and millennial-driven companies who understand the cool history and features of the building, and like the location proximate to various public transit nodes and all the great retail options on the 16th Street Mall,” Loiacono said. The asset is the 19th valueadd acquisition in the last four years for Harbor, and its third in Denver. The company owns the Vault (the former Colorado Business Bank building) a block away at 17th and Champa streets, and the Capitol Center in Uptown. “We are actively working on other Denver properties. We like the market and plan to acquire several more assets in both downtown and suburban locations,” said Loiacono. “Denver is one of the top markets in the country and offers a more affordable alternative to similar coastal locations but also has a highly educated workforce, great quality of life with 300 days of sunshine, access to wonderful outdoor activities and a vibrant downtown scene that continues to draw top-tier companies.” A value-add investor, California-based Harbor likes “historic buildings that have character and just need fresh capital investment to restore the buildings,” said Loiacono. It also will acquire office buildings of various vintages. “Symes represents our 19th office acquisition in the last four years and expands our downtown Denver portfolio to over 350,000 square feet,” said Paul Miskzowicz, Harbor Associates principal. “We intend on building on our recent momentum by sourcing new opportunities and pursuing similar strategies in order to meet our acquisition goal of $250 million over the next 12 months. We have a robust pipeline of activity behind this transaction and look forward to continuing to build our Denver portfolio.” Harbor Associates is a joint venture with The Bascom Group.