Colorado Real Estate Journal - April 20, 2016

Stapleton-area industrial site sells to user for $3.38 million

A former airplane salvage yard near a future Stapleton light-rail station has sold for the second time in less than two years.

EAT-1602 LLC purchased the property at 8100-8300, 8101 and 8131 E. 40th Ave. in Denver from Artemis Ventures LLC for $3.38 million. Artemis bought the property for $3.15 million in late 2014.

The site includes two industrial buildings totaling 18,158 square feet on 15.5 acres with outside storage. Only 8.43 acres is usable, however, because the remaining property is in a floodplain, said Brad Gilpin of Unique Properties LLC-TCN Worldwide, who represented the seller in the transaction.

The buyer owns a recreational vehicle rental and sales business that will relocate to the property from elsewhere in Denver. It plans to sell its existing property, which is smaller, completing a reverse 1031 exchange, according to Brit Banks of Dean Callan & Co. in Boulder, who represented it in the transaction.

“They needed something with visibility, and this has some visibility onto I-70,” said Banks. Located near Interstate 70 and Central Park Boulevard, the property is close to the Shops at Northfield Stapleton and the new Regional Transportation District Central Park Station, which is part of the new commuter rail line from Denver Union Station to Denver International Airport. The property incited a bidding war when it sold in 2014 and generated significant activity prior to the most recent sale as well.

“With the commuter rail opening up this month, the redevelopment interest kind of spiked,” said Gilpin. However, most interest came from users who are finding it very difficult to find properties to buy, especially centrally located properties. “It’s difficult to find anything with yard right now of any size, and especially a site of that size,” he said.

The property served as an aircraft salvage yard from the 1960s until it last July.

The larger of the two buildings on site is 13,680 sf and features 18- to 23-foot clear height, along with a loading door. The second building is 4,478 sf with 14-foot-clear warehouse space and drive-in loading.