Colorado Real Estate Journal - August 17, 2016
A self-storage company with nearly 30 properties in the greater Denver area has acquired a prime site at Interstate 25 and Colorado Boulevard. Extra Space Storage is looking to build a 6-story self-storage facility on the 33,600-square foot site at 3888 E. Mexico Ave. in Denver. The property houses an old office building known as the Dragon Building, which will be demolished. ESS Storage Denver Cherry Creek LLC bought the property from Office Dragon LLC for $3.3 million, or $98.21 per sf, according to Sam Leger and Tim Finholm, executive vice presidents of Unique Properties Inc.-TCN Worldwide, who represented the buyer. Extra Space Storage Director of Real Estate Steve Moffat said the company is working through the city process and hasn’t finalized the number of units but that is looking at building approximately 90,000 net rentable sf of interior-access, climate-controlled self storage. “We felt it was a good place for what we wanted to offer,” he said, citing the high visibility and population density in the area. The office building, constructed in 1974, was vacant at the time of the sale. It was under contract for nearly two years while Unique Properties relocated a dispensary that was there, “not an easy task,” noted Leger. Extra Space Storage hopes to complete the new facility in third quarter 2017. Based in Salt Lake City, Extra Space is the nation’s second largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities. As of June 30, the self-administered and self managed real estate investment trust owned and/or operated 1,412 self-storage stores comprising approximately 945,000 units and approximately 106 million net rentable sf in 37 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.