Colorado Real Estate Journal -
Western Development Group LLC has leased the top floor of a newly renovated office building in Cherry Creek North to a financial institution. Solera National Bank signed a long-term lease for approximately 12,500 square feet of office space at 101 University, an approximately 48,000- sf building that was less than half-occupied when Western Development acquired it two years ago. Solera will move its administrative offices into the building, which also will house a full-service bank, commercial and residential mortgage lending operations, and back-office functions. Solera entered the residential mortgage business in 2012 and also is expanding its full-service banking facilities. “We think it’s really prime office space in a tremendous location,” said Bob Fenton, Solera co-founder, executive vice president and chief financial officer. “We think Cherry Creek is a great location and significant to Denver.” The bank will have exterior signage on the building, which 104,000 cars per day travel past. The building also houses Fidelity Investments, and KeyBank soon will open a 6,000-sf wealth management office on the first floor. Given the tony neighborhood’s strong demographics, the building’s tenancy is heavily weighted in the financial services sector – something Western Development expects also will be the case at nearby 250 Columbine, where it is building 80,000 sf of speculative office space. “There is a reason there are 31 different banks in this area,” said David Steel, Western Development Group managing director. Western Development completed a full renovation of 101 University in the first quarter. Located at one of the busiest intersections in Denver, the building has a new street presence and all-new interior, including mechanical and electrical systems. Burkett Design was the architect. “It was a total redo,” said Roy Kline, also a managing director of the company. “I think we p r e s e r v e d the asset. We brought it up to date in terms of all the internal systems. It’s a great little building.” With the Solera lease, three of the building’s four floors are leased. Half of the third floor is being built out with speculative suites to cater to small tenants that dominate the Cherry Creek North market. “We have had some pretty good demand for those,” said Kline, explaining 1,500- to 2,500-sf tenants often are looking for movein-ready space. Jeff Caldwell and Blake Holcomb of Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors handle leasing. Like 101 University, 250 Columbine will feature floor plates that are small in comparison with larger office submarkets like downtown and the southeast suburban area. They will comprise about 11,500 sf. There will be a big difference in lease rates between the buildings, though, with rates at 101 University in the mid-$30s per sf gross and the new product at 250 Columbine in the mid-$30s per sf triple net, with expenses of $12 to $14 per sf. The 250 Columbine project, which contractor PCL Construction is scheduled to deliver in first quarter 2015, is a mixeduse development with 30,000 sf of ground-floor retail space, below-grade parking and 70 adjacent condominiums. The mix is reflective of the location in Cherry Creek North, where residential drives demand for office space, which in turns drives retail demand, said Steel, who believes people’s desire for environments where they can live, work and take advantage of shopping and dining bodes well for the area’s future and for high-quality office space. “We are firm believers in this submarket and all the attributes this submarket has. Given the demographics of this particular area, this area is going to continue to do well,” he said. Western Development Group, which developed the NorthCreek residences in Cherry Creek North, owns other office properties in the neighborhood. They include 200 Fillmore, a fully leased office building that was renovated and expanded in 2007, and 235 Fillmore, a mixed-use building with second-floor office space that also is fully leased.