Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 15, 2015
A local group secured a conspicuous spot on the Aurora/ Interstate 225 Rail line with its acquisition of The Forum for just over $83 per square foot. Denver-based Richardson Realty paid $14 million for the prominent, seven-story building at 14001 E. Iliff Ave. in Aurora. The deal offered it a rare chance to buy a Class B building near a future light-rail stop. “We purchased the property primarily for its location to light rail. It is almost exactly four-tenths of a mile walking distance from the Iliff Station platform,” said Nick Koncilja of Richardson Realty. “It’s irreplaceable land, and we feel that creates a lot of value, particularly with the city of Aurora’s $6 million investment in a parking structure at that location.” “A Class B building with that type of location is extremely difficult to find in Colorado. Very few Class B assets have this type of immediate access directly across the street from a future lightrail stop,” said Riki H a s h i m o t o of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Hashimoto and NGKF’s Dan Grooters represented seller Westside Investment Partners Inc. The 168,167-sf building sits across from the Iliff light-rail station on the R Line, slated to open next year. The line will run 22 miles from the existing Nine Mile Station through Aurora to the new Peoria Station. The Forum was 90 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Ascenda USA Inc., an inbound call center for companies including Netflix, Airbnb and WalMart, occupies 53 percent of the building, or approximately 90,000 sf. ITT Technical Institute is a 16,000-sf tenant. Being on light rail will be advantageous for those high-density users, and that was appealing to buyers – as was the building’s interstate location. “It’s a fairly visible and prominent building right on the highway,” Hashimoto said. The property received interest from both local and regional investors, he said. The Forum has undergone common-area upgrades, and Koncilja said Richardson Realty will upgrade the HVAC and other systems, as well as the lobby. “It’s a pretty substantial investment,” he said.
City Office REIT Inc. has closed on the $35 million acquisition of DTC Crossroads a 191,402-square-foot Class A office building in the Denver Tech Center. The six-story building at 7595 E. Technology Way was 91 percent occupied. LBA Realty was the seller. CBRE’s Geoff Baukol, Mike Winn and Tim Richey were the listing brokers. “We are very pleased with the DTC Crossroads acquisition,” City Office REIT President and Chief Operating Officer Greg Tylee said in a release. “Crossroads is one of the top buildings in the DTC submarket, acquired at a compelling yield and cost base. Denver is one of our leading target markets, and we have achieved market scale with well-located assets across Denver’s strongest submarkets. City Office REIT also recently acquired Superior Pointe, a two-building, 149,006-sf Class A office property in Superior. It bought the asset from Sequoia Properties LLLP for $25.8 million. Baukol was the listing broker.