Colorado Real Estate Journal -

Natural Grocers signs lease for 107,000 sf at Coors Tech

by Jill Jamieson-Nichols

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Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, a Colorado company that recently went public and is opening 10 new stores a year, is doubling its distribution space with a move to Coors Tech Center in Golden.

Vitamin Cottage Natural Foods Market leased 107,000 square feet in a 149,628-sf building at 4403 Table Mountain Drive. The company currently occupies about 47,000 sf on South Platte River Drive in Englewood.

The facility will serve the company’s stores in Colorado and 11 other Western and Midwestern states.

“It was the right type of building we were looking for, and the quality of life for the employees out there is really important, too,” said James Craddock of Craddock Commercial Real Estate, who represented the tenant in the transaction. Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate brokers Chris Ball and Esther Kettering represented the landlord, Bolder (CO) QRS 11-44.

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, a specialty retailer that sells natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements, started as a door-to-door business in Golden in 1955. It went public in July. The company has stores across Colorado, as well as stores in a region that extends from Idaho and Montana to Texas and Missouri.

The Coors Tech building was built as a build-to-suit for a battery company and later converted to multitenant space. It has 40,000 sf for lease, which is the largest block of distribution space currently available in Coors Tech Center, said Ball, who noted Jefferson County has the tightest industrial market in the Denver metro area.

Food distribution and processing companies have accounted for a “significant portion” of the Denver area’s industrial absorption over the last couple of quarters, Ball added.

Other News

A Durango investor, Jay Bruton, paid $1.8 million for a 16,000-square-foot truck service facility on three acres of land at 5700 Eudora St. in Commerce Center.

Bachman-Eudora LLC, managed by John Bachman of Bachman Commercial Real Estate, was the seller. Bachman acquired the building approximately six years ago, completely rehabilitated it and leased it to Navistar. Navistar, which uses the property as a testing facility for new trucks, occupies it on a long-term lease.

The property sold at a cap rate of approximately 8 percent.

Tim Shay of Colliers International represented the seller in the transaction.

Bruton owns industrial and retail properties in the Denver area as well as in Durango.

Ron Webert of Bitzer Real Estate Partners represented Matheson Tri-Gas in a 41,200-sf lease renewal at 4705 Nome St. in Denver.

“After an extensive search for alternative locations in the Denver metro area, Matheson chose to stay in a facility that they have occupied for over 10 years,” said Webert. “Their existing facility, with its unique features and large yard area, offers Matheson a great opportunity for continued growth in this market.” A member of the Tokyo-based Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp., Matheson is part of the world’s fifth-largest supplier of gases and gas handling equipment.

Beacon Roofing Supply, which was looking for a south metro area location due to increased business associated with a damaging hailstorm in June, signed a seven-year lease for a property at 6978 S. Clinton St. in Centennial.

The property consists of a 17,575-sf building on 3.86 acres.

Jones Lang LaSalle brokers Peter Beugg and Tyler Reed represented the owner, Land Holdings LLC, in the lease transaction. Steve Serenyi of Colliers International and Erik Murray of Lee and Associates represented the tenant.

A&A Quality Appliance leased 11,836 sf of industrial space at 1045 Zuni St. in Denver.

Center Denver Industrial II is the landlord.

Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate brokers David Fried and Robert Hudgins represented the tenant.

All American Transmission LLC signed a three-year lease for 4,020 sf of industrial space at 6425 N. Washington St. in Denver.

Steve Fletcher and Russell Gruber of Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross represented the tenant. Colliers International brokers Jeff Kummer and T.J. Smith represented the landlord, DPC Development Co.