Colorado Real Estate Journal - November 1, 2017
A global real estate investment adviser paid $87 million, or $390 per square foot, for a new, fully leased Class A office building near the Dry Creek light-rail station. Bentall Kennedy purchased the seven-story building at 9151 E. Panorama Circle in Englewood on behalf of Warba Bank KSCP. A build-to-suit for Arrow Electronics, which has a 15-year lease, the building is expected to be certified LEED Silver. Miller Global Properties sold the asset, which was completed in early 2017. The modern building features open-concept floor plans with column-free rectangular floor plates, floor-to-ceiling windows and continuous glass lines. It sits on an elevated site with mountain views. In-building amenities include a fully equipped fitness center; large, full-service café; one level of underground executive parking; and an attached five-story garage. The parking ratio is above average at 6:1,000. Arrow Electronics moved into the building in June as part of a consolidation of its 1,800 Denver area employees into a single campus. Its global headquarters is directly across the street at 9201 E. Dry Creek Road. Mike Winn, Tim Richey, Chad Flynn, Charley Will and Jenny Knowlton of CBRE’s Capital Markets, Institutional Properties, group in Denver handled the sale of 9151 E. Dry Creek with Jeff Shell of the firm’s Grosse Pointe, Michigan, office. “This acquisition is clearly in line with our favorable outlook on the Denver market and is strengthened by the growing demand from tenants moving to this submarket,” Kevin Rivest, senior vice president of transactions for Bentall Kennedy, said in a statement. “The newly constructed building is an exceptional investment for the partnership and provides a combination of dependable cash returns and the opportunity for market rental growth in a rapidly growing U.S. market.” The company said the building’s location “offers tremendous advantages with walkable access to Dry Creek light-rail station.” The acquisition was the third investment that Bentall Kennedy has made this year as Warba Bank’s real estate investment adviser and the first in Colorado. Its mandate with the bank is intended to span a broad range of commercial real estate investment types in major U.S. markets. Warba Bank seeks to acquire properties with strong and stable returns and the opportunity for modest appreciation. The acquisition brings the total transaction volume closed by the partnership to approximately $200 million in 2017. Bentall Kennedy is actively pursuing additional investments on Warba Bank’s behalf. "We are pleased to continue growing our partnership with Bentall Kennedy, one of North America’s largest real estate investment advisers, which will support the expansion of Warba Bank's global real estate investment program throughout key U.S. real estate markets,” said Shaheen Hamad Al-Ghanem, CEO, Warba Bank. “This exciting acquisition is the continuance of our long-term cooperation with Bentall Kennedy and is in line with our strategy of acquiring high-quality properties and generating stable income in dynamic markets. The property is a great addition to our U.S. real estate portfolio." Bentall Kennedy is a Sun Life Investment Management company that serves more than 550 institutional clients, providing expertise in office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets throughout the United States and Canada. On behalf of its clients, it has invested in several assets in Denver, including Gates Plaza, 1900 16th St. and the Metro Apartments, all in downtown Denver; 5619 DTC Parkway in the Denver Tech Center; and a large retail center at 8555 W. Belleview Ave in Littleton. Warba Bank was officially registered as an Islamic bank by the Central Bank of Kuwait in 2010. It offers integrated services and banking solutions that comply with the Islamic sharia.