Colorado Real Estate Journal - February 3, 2016
A longtime Denver business traded out of its property in River North at a record land price of $100 per square foot and is making tracks for a new home not far away. Denver Spring & Suspension’s owner sold the company’s 9,100-sf building on 25,000 sf of land at 3510 Brighton Blvd. and 3509 Wynkoop St. in Denver to Denver Spring Investors LLC, which includes longtime RiNo investor Bill Parkhill and others. The price was $2.5 million. Most recent deals in the burgeoning River North area have equated to around $94 per sf, said Billy Riesing of Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors. “This deal just reset the bar.” Riesing said the buyers intend to lease out the building in the short term, but that the site will be redeveloped within the next few years in line with what’s happening throughout the River North neighborhood. He represented the seller, Sarah Buffum. Ryan Arnold of JLL represented the buyer. “The sale of 3510 Brighton Blvd. and 3509 Wynkoop St. reflects the continued appreciation of infill sites in RiNo, fueled by buyers’ high demand for purchase opportunities in what has become urban Denver’s most highly sought-after redevelopment submarket,” said Riesing, a senior adviser at Pinnacle. Denver Spring & Suspension will relocate to a 7,140-sf building on 43,400 sf of land at 5171 Cook St. in Denver. Buffum-Cook Street Holding Co. LLC paid $1.35 million for the property. Riesing, who represented the buyer, said, “5171 Cook St. is a rare find in the I-70 corridor industrial market, where inventory is very lean. (Its) high visibility, drive-in doors, drive-through bays and large yard make it ideal for an auto servicing business.” Denver Spring & Suspension will retrofit the building for its use and relocate there in late February. David Dornbos of Capital Investor Services represented the seller, Wishlee Cook Street LLC. Riesing said it is an ideal time for Denver Spring & Suspension to make a move. “There’s never been a better time than right now to sell properties in RiNo,” he said, adding longtime owners are reaping the rewards of their investment in the neighborhood. Plus, major infrastructure the city of Denver plans for Brighton Boulevard would have been problematic for trucks entering and leaving Denver Spring & Suspension, so the timing is good from that standpoint as well, Riesing said. “What we’re also seeing is those types of businesses don’t really fit anymore for that gentrifying market,” he added, noting the influx into the area of mixed-use, residential, restaurant, retail and office uses. “We’re going to see every day more of those industrial properties trade hands and get repurposed.” Other News TFR Trust, a local investment group, paid $2.3 million, or $6.07 per square foot, for 8.7 acres of industrial land at South Delaware Street and West Powers Avenue in Littleton. The buyer intends to hold the property as an investment, said Craig Myles of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented the seller, Norgren Inc. The property was on the market about 1½ years ago at $4.25 per sf but was placed under contract at that time for more than $6 per sf following a call for best and final offers. That buyer failed to perform, but demand commanded the higher asking price, said Myles. “Several buyers came back to the well and looked at it hard again,” he said. “It is getting hard to find industrial sites that are developable in the southwest corridor.” Paul Zakovich of The Biltmore Cos. represented the buyer. Myles also represented A.S. Horner Construction Company Inc.in the $2 million sale of 34 acres of industrial land, with water rights, at 5635 Kelly Court in Littleton. Kelly Town Business Park LLC purchased the property and is considering development options given a lack of product in the area, according to Greg Knott of Unique Properties LLCTCN Worldwide, who represented the buyer. A 7,612-sf industrial building on 1.14 acres of land at 2000 W. Quincy Ave. in Sheridan, also in the tight southwest industrial submarket, sold for $1.05 million. The freestanding building has multiple drive-in doors, solar panels, easy access to South Santa Fe Drive and Oxford Avenue, and an approximately 1-acre fenced yard for outside storage. Jeff Kummer of Altitude Commercial Realty represented the seller. Matt Keyerleber and T.J. Smith of Colliers International represented the buyer, S&D Development LLC. The buyer has a construction-related firm that was leasing space and was interested in purchasing its own property, according to Keyerleber.