DENVER | Main Development Thread #7

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Cherry Creek could arguably be considered part of the city center, or metro center when we're talking about businesses moving to Englewood (I certainly abused both locations equally when I was in the center of Denver). So I think that laniroj's logic makes sense.

So your argument is that Cherry Creek is closer to downtown than Englewood? I shan't disagree with that.

But "it depends" might also suggest that RiNo is a better example of being close while also being desirable. Different strokes perhaps and only time will tell. It would help if they 'clean up' Baker.

Originally Posted by wong21fr

Same article mentions that they've had dips in revenue due to fewer customers and are now working on ensuring parking to try and get their customer base to drive on down. It's more of a mixed bag than pure euphoria. As for Mutiny, maybe if they could figure out how to run their books rather than running a GoFundMe because they forgot to pay taxes for a few years they wouldn't be moving on down.

This is a solid point and is why businesses prefer not to move as they have established customers where they are. How well they can replicate or replace that customer base in a new location is a fair question.

Originally Posted by mhays

Iota Fox Station is NOT micros. Units currently available range from 554-909 sf.

Seattle's micros rent well in general, despite some softness during Covid.

Semantics I assume. Their studio units apparently run 378 to 444 Sq Ft.

[mhays]

That's more of a traditional studio size.

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by mhays

That's more of a traditional studio size.

I have to agree; that was a good catch on your part. Not sure why they promoted it the way they did?

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Speaking of Fox Park

Denver's mayor outlines plan to turn former industrial site into new neighborhood
August 28, 2024 By Jennifer McRae -- CBS News Denver

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston outlined the plan Wednesday for the Fox Park Development which will turn a former industrial site into a new neighborhood. The 41-acre development is in Denver's Globeville neighborhood located on North Fox Street, west of I-25 and south of I-70.

Pretty interesting:

Johnston said the public-private partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency spent $40 million to clean up the once-industrial site and build a neighborhood. A portion of the site was part of one of Denver's last remaining Superfund sites located near the I-25 and I-70 interchange. More than 470,000 cubic yards of contaminated dirt was removed from the site.

"We'll take a blighted area of the city and turn it into a bright and vibrant spot for people to come and work and live and play," said Johnston.

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Denver Broncos ‘evaluating options’ for new stadium
Aug 29, 2024 by: Maddie Rhodes -- KDVR Fox31

On Thursday, the Broncos broke ground on the new training facility in Englewood. During a press conference afterward... While the owner, Greg Penner, was answering a question about the new facility, he hinted that the Broncos were potentially interested in a new stadium.

“We’re evaluating options for a new stadium, potentially, and whether that’s on the current site or somewhere else, but we weren’t ready to make that decision at this point,” said Penner.

Meanwhile, the president of the team, Damani Leech, confirmed that it’s not out of the question. “I’ve been getting the stadium question since day one, about two years ago. So, we’ll continue to get that. I think the answer is the same that it’s a pretty long process, we’re still evaluating everything,” said Leech. “Everything is on the table. We’ll continue to explore it and make a decision at a time that we think makes sense for us.”

Bye, bye Broncos?

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Three additional blocks on 16th Street Mall open to the public Thursday
Aug 29, 2024 By: Veronica Acosta -- 7DenverNews




Curtesy Denver7

DENVER — The City of Denver has achieved another phase in its project to revitalize the 16th Street Mall. On Thursday, the city officially opened 16th Street between Larimer and Wazee Streets. "Today is another really significant moment for our city," said Kourtny Garrett, the president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership.

How's the leasing action going?

"We've opened 28 new businesses downtown just this year alone, and we know that there are about 20 more that are opening by this fall, so we're seeing a significant business increase throughout all of downtown," Garrett said.

[TakeFive]

Call it the pre-opening Promo and Reservation phase
which usually comes a few months before units are move-in ready.

Wilder: Redefining Urban Living in Denver’s Sloan’s Lake
August 27, 2024 By Katie Rapone -- Mile High CRE

Just outside of bustling downtown Denver, in the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood, an urban sanctuary will open its doors to residents this fall. Designed to foster a balanced lifestyle, Wilder blends bold architecture inspired by Modernist and Art Deco with the outdoorsy soul of the Denver community. Inspired by notes from nature and created with modern lines, Wilder adds quality to the Denver real estate scene for laid-back living.

Wilder Apartments
1521 Hooker St


Courtesy NAVA Real Estate Development and The Max Collaborative

Designed by Davis Partnership Architects and built by Saunders Construction, the vision behind Wilder comes from the brother duo of Kevin and Jon Ratner, co-founders and managing partners of The Max Collaborative. Also known for the skyline-defining project, One River North in Denver’s RiNo Art District... The Ratners worked with Denver-based real estate developer and investment firm NAVA Real Estate Development (NAVA) to create Wilder.

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Such a nice story and tradition


Courtesy CBS Denver

Movie about Casa Bonita’s reopening proves no one but “South Park” guys could have pulled it off
Sep 04, 2024 By: Tiney Ricciardi | The Denver Post via 7Denver News

No one in the world loves Casa Bonita as much as Trey Parker, and it’s not even close.

That much is clear after watching a 90-minute documentary called “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!,” which follows the co-creator of “South Park” and partner Matt Stone on a journey to reopen the beloved Lakewood restaurant they visited as kids growing up in Colorado.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...-early-access/

The landmark restaurant Casa Bonita in Colorado recently announced the date when people can begin to make reservations to dine there. Up to this point, patrons at the remodeled Lakewood establishment have all been required to have gotten an email invite.

Over the weekend Casa Bonita said they would begin accepting reservations to the general public on Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. through casabonitadenver.com. Then on Thursday they sent emails to a select group of fans saying some people will be able to make their reservations many hours before that.

There's still no timeline for when walk-in customers might be able to dine at Casa Bonita like they used to.

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Originally Posted by laniroj

I'm all for that $35 million for law enforcement, but not "crime prevention".

This is what I'm talking about and it's but one of many examples.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/new...ar-old-inside/

"I am incredibly proud of our IMPACT team detectives who worked diligently and relentlessly to track down and apprehend these criminals. Their determination reflects the high standards we hold at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. While many agencies may not prioritize property crimes, we take these offenses seriously and pursue suspects with the same dedication as we would any other crime. The recovery of stolen items and the arrests made in this case demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that Douglas County remains a safe place for our residents," said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly in a statement.

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Riverwalk Luxe in Castle Rock Celebrates Grand Opening
September 4, 2024 -- Mile High CRE

Riverwalk Luxe Castle Rock
115 Wilcox St

The long-awaited Riverwalk Luxe, a $28 million mixed-use development in Castle Rock, is now officially open. Developed by the Colorado-based Confluence Companies, the project adds another landmark to the town, following the successful Riverwalk and Encore developments.

It is interesting how they sold off the ground floor space.

Designed by Craine Architecture of Denver, Riverwalk Luxe offers 28 luxury apartment homes and 23,415 square feet of commercial space. The commercial space quickly sold and has already been conveyed to those buyers. Two new restaurants on level 1 and office space on level 2 will open in the building in the coming months.

And the apartment leasing?

Leasing efforts have been strong, with 50% of the apartments already leased, highlighting the demand for high-quality, luxury living options in the downtown area.

Note: Confluence Companies have done well by venturing south to Castle Rock. This is like their 3rd project: IIRC their 1st two projects were sold as condos.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Hmm, Not sure I agree with you; I'd venture that "it depends" is a better answer. Certainly, Cherry Creek would disagree...

I made no claim about Cherry Creek being cheap or expensive, it's irrelevant though. Every major big city downtown in America has gotten more and more expensive. It's a natural progression because 1) the types of buildings the retail occupies change and the news ones are more expensive and 2) the density means those retailers enjoy higher dollar/sf revenue as density grows. You're welcome to your own theory, but this is not a claim or an opinion - this is the fairly sophisticated math thousands of retailers use to make significant $$$ commitments in City Centers.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Curtesy Denver7


How's the leasing action going?

Well yeah, because the construction work put all 28 businesses out of business and the City is giving small business dollars to new ones to come into those spaces (until they fail too!).

[TakeFive]

Originally Posted by laniroj

I made no claim about Cherry Creek being cheap or expensive, it's irrelevant though. Every major big city downtown in America has gotten more and more expensive. It's a natural progression because 1) the types of buildings the retail occupies change and the news ones are more expensive and 2) the density means those retailers enjoy higher dollar/sf revenue as density grows. You're welcome to your own theory, but this is not a claim or an opinion - this is the fairly sophisticated math thousands of retailers use to make significant $$$ commitments in City Centers.

I'm certain that your math is waay over my head so I'll yield that particular point.

BTW, I can be good at making generalizations but I don't normally mean there can't be exceptions or variations.

For example and thinking of cities with a more urban footprint and higher density than Denver would you believe that "The Tenderloin" in San Francisco or "Belltown" in Seattle could be exceptions?

Originally Posted by laniroj

Well yeah, because the construction work put all 28 businesses out of business and the City is giving small business dollars to new ones to come into those spaces (until they fail too!).

You could very well be correct.

[laniroj]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

I'm certain that your math is waay over my head so I'll yield that particular point.

BTW, I can be good at making generalizations but I don't normally mean there can't be exceptions or variations.

For example and thinking of cities with a more urban footprint and higher density than Denver would you believe that "The Tenderloin" in San Francisco or "Belltown" in Seattle could be exceptions?


You could very well be correct.

There's always exceptions, but generally speaking city centers get expensive as density increases but it's all relative. Does a high end retailer mind paying a couple thousand dollars equivalent per square foot if they have the foot traffic of the entire world going past them everyday in NYC? No, they don't because they're selling the $@%! out of their couture. Supply and demand gets it right most of the time.

[Interzen]

Originally Posted by laniroj

Well yeah, because the construction work put all 28 businesses out of business and the City is giving small business dollars to new ones to come into those spaces (until they fail too!).

Take the source into consideration but according to a quote from Adeeb Khan, the executive director of Denver Economic Development and Opportunity, from a recent DBJ article on the latest blocks of 16th reopening:

While construction has impacted several businesses in the area, Khan said in June that no local businesses on 16th Street closed since construction started in April 2022. (Big companies like Hard Rock Café, McDonald's and Montbell have closed.)

of course that was the beginning of summer and the last two months may be different. I have to admit I usually bypassed the mall and it's crowded walks before the construction but have been using it more frequently as a ped connection with the diminished traffic, even with obstacles and slight detours, at the height of construction. Even though access has been maintained through construction businesses that rely on impromptu walk-by sales have surely suffered.

On the plus side I am really liking the end results so far and hopefully the maintenance savings and general refresh will be worth the headaches in the end.

[Interzen]

While I'm here I'll beat TakeFive to the punch with another quote from a Denver Business Journal Article:

Businesses in the Denver area are hiring more often and paying better wages compared to their out-of-state peers, making the region the country's hottest market for job seekers. according to a new report.

Payroll giant ADP recently identified the nation's hottest hiring markets based on pay growth, starting wages and hiring rate for 15 million workers.

The Denver-metro area, defined as the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan statistical area, earned the top place out of 55 metro areas analyzed by ADP.

Here is a direct link to the ADP Analysis

[TakeFive]

Nice posts -- Keep posting

Originally Posted by Interzen

While I'm here I'll beat TakeFive to the punch with another quote from a Denver Business Journal Article

BTW, I don't have DBJ privileges so feel free to relay good stuff from there anytime.

I'm taking some extra time off as the temps spiked down here. Wednesday we set a new record of 116 degrees, but back down to 111 today. It's the overnight lows that I look at this time of year. In a couple of weeks (maybe it takes three) the overnight lows should drop into the lower 70's and quickly into the 60's. That's great patio weather.

Aren't you dialed into the Santa Fe district? Do you know if Holland finished their second apartment project in the ten hundred block, just north of their 1st project called The Quinn?

[Interzen]

Originally Posted by TakeFive

Do you know if Holland finished their second apartment project in the ten hundred block, just north of their 1st project called The Quinn?

Looks like it's in wrap-up mode but I don't think they are moving in yet.

[TakeFive]

Cool and Thanks

Originally Posted by Interzen

Looks like it's in wrap-up mode but I don't think they are moving in yet.

Nothing beats a 'man on the street' update.

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Whether being Business Unfriendly is good or bad or perhaps a mixed bag all depends

These guys like calling Denver their home.

Major Data Center Firms Call Denver Home, But Most Won't Build In Their Own Backyard
September 8, 2024 Dan Rabb, Data Centers via Bisnow

Some of the world’s most prominent data center companies are headquartered in Denver, but they see hurdles in their home state that have prevented them from turning Colorado into a hotspot for data center construction.

I didn't know this:

In some ways, Denver is a critical nerve center of the data center industry. The Mile High City is a hub of data center leadership, with seven of the world’s largest data center developers and operators headquartered in the area. Only Dallas, a far larger city, is home to more data center companies, and only by a narrow margin.

Denver-based firms like CoreSite, Vantage Data Centers, Flexential and Stack Infrastructure have helped lead the data center building boom and seen their valuations swell in the process.

This I did know if not the specifics:

But while Denver may be a capital of data center decision-making, it is a relative backwater when it comes to the development of data centers themselves. Its 105 megawatts of total inventory ranked at the bottom of the 16 markets measured. By comparison, the Northern Virginia data center market is nearly 44 times bigger.

What about the Rocky Mountain West?

Data center development has remained stagnant in Denver despite exploding elsewhere in the Rockies.... Emerging Mountain West data center markets like Salt Lake City, Nevada and Arizona have seen capacity triple since 2020.

It's certainly not for me to say if good or bad and data centers can be electricity hogs - although most new data centers are trying to use renewable energy as well as finding better cooling efficiency methods.

Colorado’s failure to launch as a digital infrastructure development hotbed remains a significant source of frustration for Denver-based data center leaders, many of whom gathered at Bisnow’s DICE: Rockies event last month at the Grand Hyatt Denver.

The region has many of the characteristics developers and tenants are looking for, according to Brian Cox, CEO of Denver-based data center firm STACK Infrastructure and previously a longtime leader of Denver-based Cologix.

I suspect partly it may be the GHG's they are afraid of but not sure.

[TakeFive]

What Goes Around Comes Around?

Real Estate has long been notorious for its development and ownership cycles. Over the last 15 years the Denver Tech Center has played the stepchild to downtown Denver and its exciting new development.

Koelbel and Company Acquires Metropoint I and II in DTC
September 9, 2024 -- Mile High CRE


View of Metropoint I via Loopnet courtesy CBRE; Metropoint II partially visible in lower right.

In a joint venture with Real Capital Solutions, Koelbel and Company continues to grow its commercial office investment portfolio with the recent acquisition of Metropoint I and II, a class A office building in the North Denver Tech Center (DTC). The joint venture purchased the two buildings at 4600 and 4610 S. Ulster St., for $22 million according to public records.

$22 million sounds like a bargain?

Real Capital Solutions (RCS) is capitalizing on what it views as a rare moment in the office real estate market, driven by the current market’s distressed conditions. The company believes that the existing office sector downturn has created a window of opportunity to acquire high-quality properties at steep discounts

“We’re seeing opportunities to acquire incredible real estate at just 10% to 30% of their replacement cost,” said Adam Abeln, chief acquisition officer at Real Capital Solutions. “This is a classic scenario where exceptional assets are struggling due to weak capital structures, but are located in robust submarkets.”

IMO, the DTC doesn't really compete much with downtown but I have to be impressed with Koelbel and Company. They recently also purchased the Axis Tower in DTC which I posted. Prior to this they also purchased an office building in Lone Tree at a more modest discount but nearly fully occupied.

What I would suggest is that it seems as though the DTC is coming out of a 15 year downtrend and these recent purchases give new owners a nice low basis from which to operate and attract new tenants. I'd also guess that many of the older DTC buildings will either be converted to new housing or demolished before new housing construction.

Not sure what this means for downtown other than it can take time to work through and sort out the trash from the treasures.