Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 20, 2016
A distinctive 12-story office building will begin to rise in the heart of the north Denver Tech Center in the third quarter of the year. Corum Real Estate Group announced plans for 5050 South Syracuse Street, a 187,000-square foot “Class AAA” office building immediately east of Interstate 25 between Belleview and Union Avenue. The building will be bathed in natural light due to two interior light wells and floor-to-ceiling glass on the interior and exterior. It also will feature a roof deck with panoramic mountain views, a lobby that will function as an activated tenant lounge with room for a café and a financial institution, and integrated parking at a ratio of 3.5 spaces per 1,000 sf. While there is some current softness in the north Denver Tech Center office market, 5050 South Syracuse is testament to Corum’s belief in the long-term fundamentals of that market. “We are thrilled with the opportunity to develop another iconic legacy asset in the Denver Tech Center,” said Eric Komppa, Corum Real Estate Group vice president. “This building will incorporate the latest in innovative design and sustainability features and will present a unique opportunity for tenants in the market. “We believe that the northern tech center is going to have some really good, strong fundamentals as the market continues to strengthen,” he said. Clutch Design Studio designed 5050 South Syracuse Street, which will be built for LEED certification. Hensel Phelps is the general contractor. Floor plates will average 30,000 sf and use column-free construction to maximize flexibility. Elevators will provide direct access from the parking structure into the office spaces, which will have 10-foot ceilings. The building also will incorporate state-of-the-art mechanical systems for maximum tenant temperature control and to create significant savings in operating expenses through reduced utility usage. Robin Ault, principal in charge of design at Clutch Studio, said, “5050 South Syracuse provides a dramatic visual gateway to the north Denver Tech Center skyline along the I-25 corridor. We knew our client wanted to create something special when he stated, ‘I’m not interested in creating just another building.’ “The difficult task was to combine five full floors of parking, six floors of open office and one double-height lobby into a singular tower on a tight site. We didn’t want this to look like an office sitting on top of a parking garage, so we aligned the floor plates of both, used the excess area to penetrate the interior with two large light wells and wrapped the building in a unique curtain wall design. The exterior envelope is solid at the tower base, gradually rising to a transparent top with a pattern inspired by nautical motifs,” Ault said. “Due to the integrated parking, the office space begins on the sixth floor, thus allowing for spectacular views from all floors,” said Bill Woodward, Inverness Properties principal, who will handle leasing with Inverness Properties’ Randy Swearingen. “The light wells generate substantial natural light throughout each occupied floor, and the design of the building will allow for accommodation of tenants as small as 2,500 square feet,” he said. “The design of this building is iconic, yet very functional. The location of the building provides for easy access to both I-25 and I-225, retail, hotels, light rail and housing.” Corum said capital has been fully secured for construction for the project, which will be delivered in second-quarter 2018.