CREJ - Building Dialogue - September 2015
The word “innovate” is described by the Oxford Dictionary as “to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.” This is an especially apt description for INOVA Dry Creek, the Denver area’s newest and most inventive premier mixed-use office, hotel and residential campus that is being developed by United Properties along with Principal Real Estate Investors, which is an equity partner on the project. INOVA, short for innovate, provides a high-value, cost-effective, smart, sustainable and efficient new office campus in Denver’s southeast suburban submarket, while offering significant competitive advantages to creative and technological tenants in the market. Formerly Dry Creek Corporate Center, INOVA offers excellent access in a prime in-fill location partnered with pioneering construction techniques and premium materials to create a crisp, clean and contemporary environment at value pricing. The seven-building planned business park will offer over 850,000 square feet of inventive mixed-use property, as well as multifamily and hospitality uses. Current plans accommodate up to five additional buildings, with at least three offering multistory office, one industrial/flex asset with 24-foot clear heights, as well as over 650,000 square feet of single- and multitenant occupancy, with flexible floor plates to accommodate campus users from 30,000 to 200,000 square feet. Designed by award-winning Powers Brown Architecture and brand development by Richard A. Foy Design, INOVA is scheduled to break ground this month on the first building – a five-story, 220,000-square-foot multitenant speculative office asset. Located in the city of Centennial at 7250 Havana St., the building will feature state-of-the-art construction, LEED Silver certification, column-free, flexible floor plates, and starting lease rates under $20 per square foot, triple net – offering the most competitive rates for Class A available in the SES market. Utilizing tilt-up construction, INOVA provides an efficient and flexible work space offering traditional Class A amenities while still providing a value office product in the increasingly in-demand submarket – and literally elevating office product in the metropolitan area. Tilt-up construction is a less expensive product to create yet through creative spacing and leading, an increased floor-plate geometry is created that provides great efficiencies in tenant occupation. “While INOVA is not the first value office product in the SES, it is the most innovative,” explains Jeffery Brown, AIA, founding partner and design principal at Powers Brown Architecture. “Our research into tilt-up construction merged with the classic DNA of traditional construction allows ownership to develop value office product with genuine Class A amenities and finishings – a true market changer.” For example, the construction at INOVA contains no perimeter columns or outside obstructions, allowing for up to four additional workspaces in each corner. Additionally, the slab is bigger, allowing for innovative geometry in terms of tenant occupation. Another dramatic difference is the 25 feet of uninterrupted glass line on the first four floors, and an unprecedented 55 feet on the fifth floor – creating the contemporary, clean and light environment in demand by today’s creative users. “Today’s offices require atypical seating configurations allowing for more flexible arrangements,” added Brown. “The goal at INOVA is to provide options to fit each tenant’s ideal configuration – whether it is a classic office environment, an open configuration or something in-between.” INOVA’s premier amenities include a campus environment with dedicated areas for hiking and biking, lockers, showers, a bike repair area and rentals, and immediate access to transit-oriented development, the light-rail station at Dry Creek and Interstate 25, and the recently announced Topgolf entertainment complex. Premium materials, including high-performance glass, expanded parking, on-site restaurant space and a food truck court offer high appeal to tenants. “We are creating a first-class building environment in a superior location at affordable rates,” concluded Brown. Additional features include exceptional mountain views from multistory office, LEED certification on all buildings, and a dedicated shuttle to transport employees to and from Dry Creek light-rail station. “INOVA’s campus environment is designed to be people centric, with a productive, stimulated and beautiful environment focused on connecting people together in a relaxed, efficient and leading-edge business setting,” explained Richard Foy, owner of Richard A. Foy Design. “Just as modern life is becoming more adaptive and agile, we are evolving the office environment to into a flexible, fresh and contemporary space, which acts as an energy source for creative connections in the workplace, ultimately optimizing the business experience.” jaddlesperger@ngkf.com