Colorado Real Estate Journal - January 6, 2016
A two-building office complex on the Union Boulevard corridor in Lakewood sold to an Alaska-based group for $10.65 million, or $98.64 per square foot. DPC Development Co. sold Union Business Center to 2100 Bethel Holdings LLC, which was completing a 1031 exchange. DPC had owned the buildings since 1994, according to DPC Development President Chris King. The property totals 107,964 sf. King said Union Business Center is a “great multitenant property.” DPC had completed its plan for the property and is focused on acquiring typically larger, and often newer, assets. “From 1994 to now, we’re a completely different company,” said King. “This was a legacy property for us. After owning it all that time, we had completed our business plan and thought it was a good exit point for us, while still allowing upside for the guys who bought it.” Union Business Center consists of a three-story building at 445 Union Blvd. and a four-story building at 405 Urban St. The complex was approximately 85 percent occupied at the time of the sale. “It really caters to some of the service industries out there – energy, accounting,” said R.C. Myles, Cushman & Wakefield managing director and principal. “It was a local, multitenant rent roll, and the buyer really liked that.” Touchstone Imaging and Palomar Natural Resources are the largest tenants. Union Business Center was built in 1976 and was upgraded significantly under DPC’s ownership. “It was a Class B building, but we put a lot of Class A finishes in it,” said King. Recent improvements included “fairly dramatic” landscaping upgrades as well as an interior face-lift. “Investors still want to buy in Denver. We had a handful of buyers that pursued it,” said Myles. Union Business Center was “a great exchange property” for buyers interested in owning that type of asset, he said. “They (2100 Bethel Holdings) are going to continue with the improvements that DPC has undertaken and hope to aggressively fill up the currently vacant space,” said Myles. Myles and James Brady of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction in cooperation with C&W leasing advisers Doug Wulf, Dan Miller, Whitney Hake and Andrew McCabe. According to public records, 2100 Bethel Holdings is affiliated with Anchorage-based Bethel Native Corp., a diversified company involved in commercial real estate, government contracting and other businesses. The company was created in accordance with Alaska law and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as stated on its website. Union Business Center is 2100 Bethel Holdings’ first Denver asset.