Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 15, 2015
A sneak peek at projects coming to River North, and a look at existing developments in that distinctive, fast-growing part of the city, were part of a recent bus tour organized by the Colorado Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. Pioneering RiNo developer Zeppelin Development, which recently announced development of a 100-room hotel next to the Source on Brighton Boulevard, is looking to break ground next year on a 120,000-squarefoot office/retail building called Gauge at 3501 Wazee St. The five-story building will offer 14-foot ceiling heights and operable garage doors opening to outdoor terrace space. There also will be approximately 20,000 sf of first-floor collaborative retail space. Stephen Dynia Architects is basing the design on the Drive and Drive 2 buildings at Zeppelin’s 400,000-sf mixed-use Taxi development in River North. Also coming to RiNo is Stride, the repurposing of a cold storage warehouse at 38th and Walnut streets by the same group that developed Industry Denver. The existing building will be rewrapped to create 150,000 sf of collaborative office space for creative and technology companies. A second phase will include construction of 300,000 sf of office and amenity space. Industry Denver, meanwhile, will open its third phase of 72,000 sf in October, anchored by CorePower Yoga’s headquarters. “We have opened every phase full. We anticipate that will be the case with Phase 3,” said Industry’s Sean Campbell. Construction of 52 townhomes along the Platte River will complete the development. SIOR and tour leader Murray Platt of CBRE said land prices have appreciated markedly in River North and currently range anywhere from $60 to $120 per sf. One River North property to watch will be the Hardware Block, a 2.44-acre site between 32nd and 33rd and Walnut and Larimer streets, which is being marketed for sale. It’s rare for an entire block in RiNo to come on the market, noted co-listing broker Jeremy Ballenger of CBRE. “There are probably 15 ideas for what might be done there, which I think is reflective of RiNo,” he said. The tour also included a drive through Westfield Co.’s Midtown Industrial Center, a 350,000-sf industrial project that will be redeveloped as leases expire in 2017. Westfield’s Kevin McClintock said plans include activating Wynkoop Street with a pedestrian-oriented marketplace-type atmosphere as well as construction of two office buildings at the south end of the development for larger users. The property will have commuter-rail access via the new 38th & Blake station on the East Rail Line, which will open next year.