Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 5, 2017
Frontier Airlines will put its signature on a landmark office building near Denver International Airport. Frontier will move its headquarters to the former Prologis building at 4545 Airport Way in Denver. The airline bought the five-story building from Prologis, which recently relocated its operational headquarters to downtown Denver. The 89,000-square-foot building has high-profile signage and is one of the first office buildings people see when traveling on Peña Boulevard between the airport and Interstate 70. In a letter to employees, Frontier Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Dempsey said Frontier’s existing headquarters about 5 miles away is tired and space-constrained. “With our board, we concluded that our current facility does not fit the ambitious growth plans of the airline as we take delivery of 78 new Airbus aircraft over the next five years.” After looking at reconfiguring the current facility and investing in a build-to-suit, the company settled on acquiring the Prologis building. “It is the most cost-efficient solution for Frontier,” he said. “There is a significant amount of work to be done to ensure a smooth transition to the new facility, and we are working through the design stage to ensure the setup of the building meets our future needs.” Frontier hopes to occupy the building by the end of the year. “We are investing heavily in the long-term future of Frontier with 18 new aircraft, about 200 pilots, about 800 flight attendants and about 50 support staff for the business this year,” Faulkner said in the letter. “Our new building will be an exciting next stage in the evolution of Frontier into one of the most competitive airlines in the United States.” The LEED Silver building was completed in 2006 and served as Prologis’ world headquarters until the company merged with AMB Property Corp in 2011. It features a grand building entry with granite floors and a 16-foot ceiling; Class A finishes; 12-foot ceilings on the upper floors, which have efficient, 17,800-sf floor plates; a fitness center, showers and lockers; mountain and downtown views; a kitchen and employee dining/conference space; and 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 sf. It is located in Gateway Park, whose amenities include restaurants, hotels and pedestrian trails. JLL’s Don Misner, Joe Heath and Andy Ross represented Prologis in the transaction. Jim Bolt of CBRE represented Frontier Airlines.