Colorado Real Estate Journal - December 2, 2015
Granite Properties secured a spot on Lakewood’s tight Union Boulevard corridor with the $30.87 million acquisition of One Union Square. “We’re excited to diversify our Denver portfolio through the acquisition of One Union Square, one of the highest-quality buildings on Union Boulevard,” said Stephanie Lawrence, Granite Properties managing director. “As our other Denver holdings are in the southeast suburban submarket, we’re extremely pleased to bring Granite’s platform into a new submarket of Denver.” One Union Square is a 10-story, 189,390-square-foot Class A office building located just south of West Sixth Avenue at 143 Union Blvd. It was 94 percent occupied at the time of the sale. Wells Fargo has a full-service branch in the building, whose tenants also include the state of Colorado, Peak Power Engineering, FTEN Inc. and others. Lawrence said Granite Properties has been eyeing the west submarket since it opened its Denver office 10 years ago and the market has only grown stronger during that time frame. “It is fairly supply constrained, and it’s got a good supply of tenants that want to be there,” she said, noting Union Boulevard is the key corridor in that submarket and one where many decision makers who live in the foothills want to be. With the Denver Federal Center, St. Anthony Hospital and light rail, “It’s got good economic drivers,” she said, adding the corridor’s occupancy tends to hold steady during good times and bad. “We think it’s a good play relative to maintaining occupancy and good demand,” said Lawrence. Broadreach Capital Partners sold One Union Square. On a square-footage basis, the price was $163. Tim Richey, Mike Winn and Chad Flynn of CBRE represented Broadreach in the transaction. Built in 1981, One Union Square offers 360-degree views and 19,000-sf floor plates, which are large relative to the submarket. Walkable amenities include lightrail, restaurants, retail and fitness facilities. Lawrence said the acquisition is another example of Granite Properties’ commitment to Denver. It is the company’s second acquisition this year, following the purchase of High Pointe Tower in Greenwood Village in the first quarter. Granite’s Denver portfolio consists of four properties totaling approximately 1 million sf. Granite Properties is a privately held commercial real estate investment and management company with offices in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. It has acquired or developed more than 24 million sf of commercial real estate totaling $3.7 billion since 1991. Other News First National Bank of Santa Fe will establish its new corporate headquarters at 1400 16th St. in Denver. The company signed a 10-year lease for 22,198 square feet of office space in the building, located at 16th and Market streets at the entrance to Lower Downtown. First National Bank of Santa Fe comprises First National Denver, First National Santa Fe and First National Rio Grande. The first bank in the Southwest, its charter dates to 1870. The bank operates 25 branch locations in Colorado and New Mexico. First National Bank of Santa Fe will occupy 14,338 sf on the first floor of the building and 7,860 sf on the second floor. The property offers building signage and is close to Denver Union Station. Dorit Fischer and Hayden Hirschfeld represented the tenant in the transaction. Todd Wheeler of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.