Colorado Real Estate Journal -
It was beauty before age that drew investors to Denver’s first high-rise office tower. Artis Real Estate Investment Trust and MDC Realty Advisors USA Inc. competed against a “substantial” number of investors to acquire 1700 Broadway, a 23-story Class A office building built in 1956. The property sold for $98 million. The 394,151-square-foot building is the first high-rise designed by famed architect I.M. Pei. Although it represents very attractive midcentury, modern construction, the building is old for Denver, and that presented a challenge in the marketing process, said HFF Senior Managing Director John Jugl. Yet 1700 Broadway also has some of the nicest finishes for an office property downtown, said Jugl, who handled the transaction with partner Mary Sullivan, also a senior managing director at HFF. “Once investors toured the building and they began to look at the finishes and tenancy, and the story behind the tenancy, there was a great amount of interest and competition. The building really sells itself from the inside out,” said Jugl. Whiting Oil and Gas Corp. has had its corporate headquarters in the building for more than 30 years and occupies approximately 45 percent of the space. The building also houses the Colorado Secretary of State, Ensign U.S. Drilling Inc. and Senter Goldfarb & Rice, a large civil litigation firm. The occupancy was 96.5 percent at the time of the sale. The seller, The Broe Group, bought 1700 Broadway for $34 million in 2004 and invested heavily in the property. The building features a two-story, marble-walled lobby. The lobby connects to Wells Fargo Tower via an expansive atrium lobby, which provides “a tremendous amenity that the building doesn’t necessarily pay for,” Jugl commented. A Starbucks, sandwich shop, convenience store and quick serve Mexican restaurant are located within the atrium lobby. Seventeen-hundred Broadway has exclusive rights to an 827-stall parking garage, which provides 2.1 spaces per 1,000 sf. MDC acquired 50 percent interest in the property on behalf of private investors. The ownership group is retaining MDC affiliate Hannay Realty Advisors as property manager, bringing the number of square feet Hannay has under management in the Denver area to approximately 4 million