Micro housing winners announced
The Denver Architectural League has announced the winners of its Micro Housing Ideas Competition.The winning entry for the possible building with small rental units along the South Platte River,across from the TAXI development, features a facade with scaffolding of prairie grass, allowing the building’s exterior to change with each season.
The building, designed by Armando Birlain López of Querétaro, Mexico, would appear as a carpet of green in the summe…
RedPeak starts renovation of Burnsley
RedPeak Properties has started the $5 million renovation of the 17-story Burnsley Hotel, which will be renamed as The Burnsley at 1000 Grant.
The renovation is being performed by W. E. O’Neil Constructionn and will be completed in September.
The work will maintain the historic character and charm of the property’s original architecture and design, while bringing the 50-year ol…
Amstar on board with Jefferson Park community
Amstar, a Denver-based real estate investment manager, in partnership with Allied Orion Holdings, a Texas- and Colorado-based apartment developer, announced today it will soon start construction on 2785 Speer, a 332-unit apartment project on Speer Boulevard in the popular Jefferson Park neighborhood in Denver.
They are scheduled to break ground this month with a delivery date in the spring of 2015 of the community that had previously been announced.
The five-story bu…
Landscape architect prospers in tough economy
On the long plane ride from Denver to China, landscape architect Craig Karn read the best seller, “The World is Flat,” by Thomas L. Friedman.
“Hey, that is us,” Karn thought, while reading the book about how there are increasingly no geographic or other barriers to doing global business in these days of heightened technology.
“Our tiny little firm is doing this giant, transit-oriented, re…
Kendall coins TINA to describe market
When apartment investment expert Jerry Kendall talks about TINA, he isn’t referring to Fey or Turner.
Rather, Kendall, principal of Greenwood Village-based from Multifamily Capital Advisors, coined the TINA acronym that stands for “There Is No Alternative.”
TINA has never been more relevant for the Denver-area multifamily market than today, according to Kendall.
In the first quarter, the average monthly rent for all apartments set a new record of $992, accordi…
ARA handles large apartment sale
Greystar Real Estate Investments, in a joint venture with Goldman Sachs & Co., last month paid $156 million for four Denver-area apartment communities with a total of 1,003 units.
“This is the biggest single deal so far this year,” said Jeff Hawks a principal with ARA.
Hawks, along with fellow ARA team members Doug Andrews, Terrance Hunt and Shane Ozment represented the seller, Chicago-based Equity Residential Properties.
Earlier, Greystar had purchased about an…
Celebration on Wednesday for 2020 Lawrence
The public is invited May 15 to attend the official grand opening of one of the most energy-efficient apartment high-rises in the nation - the 10-story, 231-unit 2020 Lawrence in Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood.
Tesla Motors will demonstrate how its electric cars can be charged at one of the stations at 2020 Lawrence and details of the nation’s first-of-its kind rooftop greenhouse will be discussed at the even that will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The celebration…
Statewide apartment vacancies fall to 4.6 percent
The vacancy rate in Colorado apartments fell to 4.9 percent in the first quarter, down from 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, according to a Colorado Division of Housing report released today.
The first-quarter vacancy rate is also down from 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
The vacancy rate had now been down for 14 consecutive quarters.
Vacancy rates varied considerably in different metros of the state, however, with northern Colorado and metro Denver showing s…
Springs rental rates continue to rise
The average rent in the Colorado Springs area rose year over year for the 13th consecutive quarter during the first quarter, , climbing 4.4 percent to $787, according to a report released today.
The report by the Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of Southern Colorado, the average rent for the region during the first quarter this year was up from $754 during the first quarter of 2012, but was down slightly from 2012’s fourth-quarter average rent of $…
Apartment vacancy rates falls to 4.6 percent
The apartment vacancy rate in the Denver metro area fell to 4.6 percent during the first quarter, dropping to the second-lowest vacancy rate recorded in any quarter since the first quarter of 2001, according to a report released today.
The vacancy rate was down from 2012’s first-quarter rate of 4.9 percent, and was also down from last year’s fourth-quarter rate of 4.9 percent, according to the report by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the Colorado Divisi…
Value-add apartment deal a winner
Nuevo Oaxaca LLC paid $19.66 million for the 24-building, 288-unit Village by the Park apartment community in Northglenn.The transaction was handled by Joe Hornstein and Josh Newell of Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors.
Sixteen months earlier, 10701 Pecos Street Partners LLC bought and repositioned the property.
Read the entire article in the May 1 to May 14 edition of the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
ULC's W line investments will create 500 jobs
While the first leg of the RTD’s FasTrack transit project opens on Friday â�¯ the 12-mile W line hat connects downtown Denver with Lakewood and Golden â�¯ the Denver-based Urban Land Conservancy has ben buying land along and near the new line for the past six years.
ULC spent almost $14 million acquiring the properties to assure that affordable. Housing and other community services would be available along the line.
ULC used the $15 million…
Forum plans apartments at Kent Place
The Denver-based Forum Real Estate Group today announced the launch of a luxury, 300-unit apartment community at Kent Place, an 11-acre site at South University Boulevard and East Hampden Avenue in Engelwood.
The site, formerly home to the Denver Seminary, is near some of the metro area’s most expensive neighborhoods, including Cherry Hills Village, Buell Mansion and the Wellshire.
“The Kent Place Residences will be among the finest anywhere in Denver, providing the …
Block 32 enters hot RiNo market
A dozen years ago, Scott McFadden developed the first transit-oriented development in the Denver area, the Alexan City Center in Englewood.
This week, he was scheduled to put the finishing touches on one of his latest development – Block 32 at RiNo, an apartment community in the up-and-coming River North, or RiNo, neighborhood.
“Well, I certainly have learned a lot since I did Alexan,” said McFadden, now principal of his own company, Prospect Real Estate.
Duri…
Energy companies drawing construction workers
A construction labor shortage impacting apartment building in much of the Southwest, including the Denver area, increasingly could be exasperated by an unexpected source ⎯ competition from oil and exploration outfits that pay much higher wages than builders.
Jeff Booth, a senior vice president of San Antonio-based Embrey Partners, which has developed more than 40 million square feet of apartments and commercial properties during the past 39 years, highlighted the issue of compe…
Making the case for multifamily
Apartments are the shining star of commercial real estate investments. What do investors, real estate professionals, institutional owners, banks and lenders know? Why choose multifamily over office, industrial, retail and other commercial property types?
In terms of commercial real estate, the stars rarely align in the way they have for multifamily rental properties. Fundamentals are everything, and the fundamentals are strong in every area of apartments. This element gets the ca…
HFF arranges $230 million for Breakers Resort
HFF arranged $230 million in financing for The Breakers Resort, a six-village, 1,523-unit, Class A multifamily community in Denver.
The HFF team worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, The Bascom Group LLC, to secure a $165 million first mortgage, a $26.25 million mezzanine loan, and $38.75 million of preferred equity. The $165 million first mortgage was a floating-rate loan and included a three-year term with two, one-year extension options. It was provided t…
McWhinney unveils apartment community
Loveland-based developer McWhinney plans to begin construction this month on its fifth multifamily project, Arbour Commons, in Westminser.
The 394-unit lifestyle community is the second multifamily project developed by McWhinney at the Orchard Town Center master-planned community located off Interstate 25 and 144th Avenue.
Arbour Commons will be north of Arbour Square Apartments, a 300-unit multifamily project developed by McWhinney that opened in the fall of 2011.
…
HFF arranges $230 million financing for The Breakers
HFF arranged $230 million in financing for The Breakers Resort, a six-village, 1,523-unit, Class A multifamily community in Denver.
The HFF team worked exclusively on behalf of the borrower, The Bascom Group LLC, to secure a $165 million first mortgage, a $26.25 million mezzanine loan, and $38.75 million of preferred equity. The $165 million first mortgage was a floating-rate loan and included a three-year term with two, one-year extension options. It was provided thr…
Legacy unveils downtown apartment community
Legacy Partners is developing its first downtown Denver apartment community in a decade.
The company’s first project since it opened the Ballpark Lofts in April 2003, is a 212-unit development at 21st and Arapahoe streets in the Arapahoe Square area.
It started construction in March on the five-story, Class A community. It is tentatively called 21 Lawrence. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2014.
“We’re really excited,” Spencer R. Stuart Jr., a seni…
Picerne joins Simpson for DTC apartments
A California-based company has started construction on a 248-unit, transit-oriented development in the Denver Tech Center.
The Picerne Group, based in Southern California, is building the luxury community on 8.7 acres that is a quarter-of-a-mile walk from the Orchard Station T-Rex light rail station.
“The community will appeal to a variety of individuals, from the young employees who work in the Denver Tech Center to the young families who want to live within the Cherry Cr…
Senior living coming downtown
Louisville-based Balfour Senior Living on Tuesday confirmed plans it will build a a $74 million senior living community in downtown Denver, with rents as much as $8,000 per month.
The Balfour at Riverfront Park development will be at 15th and Little Raven streets in Riverfront Park, near Union Station and across from Commons Park. Groundbreaking is slated for February with an opening in June 2014.
Balfour at Riverfront will be the first age-restricted project o…
New energy, capital coming to Shannon Hills Apts.
A California-based real estate investment group is set to inject new life into its latest multifamily property in Colorado Springs.
Western Investment Partners recently paid $3.42 million, or $48,786 per unit, for the 70-unit Shannon Hills Apartments at 2110 E. La Salle St.
“This is an opportunity to inject new energy and capital into a property with great potential,” explained ARA Colorado’s Kevin McKenna.
“It was owned and self-managed for a number of …
Rental home vacancy falls to 1.7%
The vacancy rate for rental single-family homes, townhomes and other small properties across metro Denver fell to 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a state report released today.
The vacancy rate was 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 and 2.3 percent in the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Colorado Division of Housing.
The lowest vacancy rates were found in Jefferson County and Douglas County where the vacancy rates were 1.3 percent…
River Run apartments sell for $17 million
The only 100 percent market-rate apartment community in the Vail Valley traded in a $17 million deal.
A Texas-based real estate investment group purchased the River Run apartment property for $17 million after a $400,000 credit to the buyer at closing, which represents a price per unit of $145,299 and a price per square foot of $146.17.
“River Run is made up of 117 units and has a condo map already in place. The buyer intends on maintaining this as apartments for the time …
Average rents set record in Springs
The average rent in the Colorado Springs metro area rose year-over-year for the 12th consecutive quarter during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a report released today.
The average monthly rent at the end of last year was $790, according to the Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of Southern Colorado. Apartment Realty Advisors, or ARA, also is a major sponsor of the report.
The average rent was $775 reported during the fourth quar…
Apartment industry a $2.1 billion economic engine
The Denver-area apartment industry contributed $2.1 billion to the metro-area economy in 2011, according to a national report released today.
The report by the National Multi Housing Council and the National Apartment Assocation showed that apartment constructed and operations in the Denver area in 2011 also supported 16,000 local jobs.
In addition, apartments and their residents contributed $19.4 bi…
Apartment community coming to Denver
MKS Residential, a Southern California-based developer, plans to build a 341-unit apartment community on a key, 5.24-acre site it bought at the southwest corner of Cherry Creek Drive South and South Cherry Street in Glendale.
The land is within the 24.8-acre Cherry creek Corporate Center, which has 593,714-square-feet of office space.
Steve O’Dell and Chris Cowan, principals of the Denver office of ARA, sold the land on behalf of the sellers, a joint venture between DCPA D…
Construction starts on workforce housing in Grand Junction
A much-needed workforce housing community is just months away from helping meet the demand for affordable apartments in Grand Junction.
The Grand Junction Housing Authority is developing the Village Park Apartments, a two-phased 132-unit community at 28th ¼ and Patterson roads.
The initial, 72-unit first phase is slated to deliver its first units in July with completion by Halloween.
Read more in the January 2 issue of the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
Denver investment market in Top 10
The Denver commercial real estate market is among the top 10 investment markets in the country, due largely to a strong local economy aided by a diverse employment base and good quality of life, PwC Denver-based real estate expert Wendy McCray said in response to the fourth-quarter PwC Real Estate Investor Survey. The survey is an outlook on commercial real estate based on hundreds of interviews and survey responses from real estate market participants. Total transaction volume in…
Seagate Properties grows portfolio with $18.1m buy
California-based Seagate Properties continues to expand its Colorado portfolio with its latest acquisition.
An entity formed by Seagate Colorado Partners paid $18.1 million, or $62,847 per unit, for Dove Tree, a 288-unit Colorado Springs community. Dove Tree represents the fourth Front Range multifamily property Seagate has acquired in Colorado in the past 18 months.
Read more in the Dec. 19 issue.
RedPeak buys Burnsley
Denver-based RedPeak Properties confirmed today it has purchased the Burnsley Hotel in Denver from Joy Burns. Burns converted the building at 1000 Grant St. into a hotel about 30 years ago. RedPeak plans to convert the 17-story building back to an apartment building, returning it to its original use.
Burns sold it as part of an effort to reduce the scope of her real estate portfolio.
The building was constructed in 1963 as an apartment building. In 1969, Joy and Frank…
Real Capital Solutions acquires Tanager Meadows apts.
Colorado Springs’ largest apartment community sold to a Colorado-based investment and property management company as part of its strategy to acquire value-add properties nationwide.
Real Capital Solutions paid $35.73 million, according to public records, for the Tanager Meadows Apartment Homes.
“The acquisition of Tanager Meadows is consistent with our strategy to acquire value-add properties nationwide. Real Capital Solutions has a very aggressive purchasing plan ov…
Construction kicks off on apartments near Union Station
Atlanta-based Wood Partners has broken ground on the Alta City House, a five-story, 281-unit luxury apartment community near Union Station.
Wood Partners, the largest apartment developer in the country, is developing the community with East West Partners.USAA Real Estate is providing the financing for the community at 1801 Chestnut Place.
In 2007, USAA Real Estate provided the financing for the Glass House…
Capitol Hill gets green apartment
The Denver-based Forum Real Estate Group has opened a five-story, 57-unit, Class-A and energy efficient apartment building in Capitol Hill, which it believes is the first new apartment building in the neighborhood in at least a decade.
The Logan is at East Sixth Avenue and Logan Street, on vacant land that Forum purchased in 2011.
“This…
Statewide apartment vacancies drop
The vacancy rate in Colorado apartments was down during the third quarter of 2012, falling year over year statewide and in Colorado Springs, Metro Denver, Grand Junction, and in the Ft. Collins-Loveland area.
According to a report released Thursday by the Colorado Division of Housing, the combined vacancy rate for Colorado was 4.6 percent during the third quarter. The vacancy rate during the third quarter was down from 2011’s third-quarter rate of 5.0 percent, and was…
Slow, bumpy recovery for Springs apartment market
Colorado Springs’ apartment market is headed in the right direction, albeit at a “fairly” slow and uneven pace over the last year, according to a recent report.
Apartment Insights’ Statistics/Trends report noted that the Colorado Springs apartment market has experienced two soft quarters followed by two strong quarters.
The citywide vacancy rate at then end of the third quarter decreased by 62 basis points to 5.76 percent. Even after a 124 basis-point dro…
Saunders Construction building apt., Whole Foods projects
Saunders Construction Inc. is the contractor for a pair of metro Denver projects, including One City Block.
The contractor will build the four-building residential project at 19th Avenue and Logan Street in Uptown. The project is slated to achieve LEED Silver certification. RedPeak Properties is developing One City Block, which is designed by Davis Partnership.
The firm also is the contractor for a new 36,000-square-foot Whole Foods on Wadsworth Boulevard in Littleton. CSHQA is …
DaVita, others honored at DU, DMCAR conference
The $110 million DaVita world headquarters building in downtown Denver on Thursday was named both the “Overall Project of the Year” as well as the “Office Property of the Year” at one of the largest and most prestigious gatherings of commercial real estate officials in Denver.The DaVita project in the Central Platte Valley at 2000 16th St. was lauded at the 18th annual Rocky Mountain Commercial Real Estate Expo and Fall Forecast sponsored by the University …
ULI honors Red Oak Park in Boulder
Boulder Housing Partners and its Red Oak Park development have won a 2012 Global Award for Excellencein Real Estate Design and Development by the Urban Land Institute.
BHP executive director Betsey Martens accepted the award this morning at ULI’s 75th anniversary national conference in Denver that ends today.
Red Oak Park was selected as one of 14 global winners from among a broad mix of exemplary projects from around the world, according to Randall K. Rowe, Chair of the U…
ULI conference draws 6,000 to Denver
More than 6,000 developers, real estate investors, architects, planners, attorneys and others from the U.S. and around the world are attending the Urban Land Institute’s 75th anniversary convention in Denver.
The event, whose theme is “What’s Next” ends Friday and focuses on larger issues of economic and political consequences, including global finance, innovation and, of course, potential impacts of the Presidential election in November.
ULI, at the conf…
Springs apartment sale sets record mark
A lakeside apartment community in Colorado Springs achieved the highest price per unit ever paid for a 1970s garden-style asset in the city.
Colorado Springs-based Griffis/Blessing paid $16.5 million, or $105,769 per unit, for the 156-unit Bonterra Lakeside apartment community at 890 Quail Lake Circle.
“We had strong interest from a number of buyers. This demand along with the unique nature of the property helped achieve the highest price per unit ever paid for a property …
Peak Capital pays $12.2m for latest addition to portfolio
Peak Capital Partners is making plans for improvements at its latest addition to its portfolio.
And Peak Capital’s not done. The Utah-based firm is looking to add two to three more Front Range properties to its holdings this year.
Peak Capital Partners recently paid $12.2 million, according to public records, for Summer Grove. The 374-unit apartment community at 3915 Harmony Drive in Colorado Springs represents the fifth multifamily property acquired by Peak Capital in the…
Finance group expanding in Denver
A New York based firm that specializes in funding the renovation and acquisition of apartments, is looking to expand its footprint in the Denver area. The ideal borrower is a savvy buyer that wants to build a relationship with the lender and its tenants. Read about it in the next edition of the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
Retail in apartment communities?
Does retail belong in an apartment community? That is something David Zucker, principal of Zocalo Community Development, explores in the next issue of Colorado Real Estate Journal. Zucker came to the conclusion that retail only makes sense if it provides an amenity to both the residents of his highrise apartment buildings and the surrounding neighborhood. Read about it in the next issue of CREJ.
Luxury apartment building planned in Cherry Creek North
Denver based BMC Investments plans to develop a 250-unit, 12-story,$80 million luxury apartment community building on a key corner in Cherry Creek North.
BMC purchased the corner at East First Avenue and Steele Street. The new development will include at least 16,000 square feet of retail space.
Half the rental units will be one-bedrooms and the other half will be split between studios and two-bedroom units. The amenity package will include a roof-top deck with a swimming p…
Lichtenfels promoted at Johnson Capital
Kristian Lichtenfels has been promoted to vice president in the Denver office of Johnson Capital, a national real estate capital advisory firm.
In his new position, Lichtenfels will expand the direct capital advisory services for clients of the Denver office.
Lichtenfels joined Johnson Capital in 2010 as a senior analyst and by the start of 2011 he was promoted to the position of director to assist clients directly in arranging capital solutions.
Since joining Johnson Capital h…
Group buys Denver-area apartment communities
LYND, a national real estate investment, development and management company specializing in the multifamily sector, recently purchased two Denver-area apartment communities as part of a portfolio purchase.
LYND, based in San Antonio, partnered with Florida Value Partners to buy a portfolio of 11 multifamily properties, with a total of 3,241 units, in a court-appointed receivership brokered by CBRE.
The original loan balance for the properties was $200 million. The purchase price…
HFF makes hire in Denver
HFF announced today that Jordan Robbins has joined the firm as a director in its Denver office.
Robbins will focus primarily on multi-housing investment sales throughout Colorado and the western United States. Since 2004, Robbins has closed 96 transactions valued at more than $1.9 billion totaling more than 23,500 units.
Prior to joining HFF, Robbins worked as a senior associate specializing in multi-housing investment sales at CBRE’s Denver office. Prior to that, he …
Subsidized apartment opening in Aurora
The Village at Westerly Creek, a three-story apartment building for seniors and disabled residents, is scheduled to open next week at East Kentucky Avenue and South Jamaica Street in Aurora.
The $15.4 million development was developed by the Aurora Housing Authority, which also owns and manages it. The Village at Westerly Creek is the first of two buildings to replace the obsolete public housing development known as Buckingham Gardens.
Construction launches on Evans Station Lofts
The Urban Land Conservancy and Medici Communities LLC celebrated the construction launch of workforce housing located at the Evans Light Rail Station in south Denver. This development will bring 50 new affordable rentals to the Denver market and represents the first Transit-Oriented Development Fund project currently under construction.
In June 2011, ULC purchased the property at 2140 S. Delaware Street for $1.2 million using the TOD Fund, a fund created to preserv…
Front Range apartment portfolio sells for $90m
A four-property apartment portfolio recently sold in the largest multifamily portfolio to sell to a single investor in Colorado since 2006.
The Texas-based investment group, identified through public records as Archon Group, paid $90 million for the 1,164-unit value-add portfolio stretching from Aurora to Colorado Springs.
Read more in the Aug. 15 issue of the Colorado Real Estate Journal.
Mixed-use tower to replace LoDo Office Depot
A 10-story mixed-use development called 16M will be built in place of the Office Depot at 1350 16th Street in Lower Downtown Denver. The building will offer 130,000 square feet of Class AA office space, 15,000 sf of street-level retail and restaurant amenities, and residential units on the upper floors. The developers, Integrated Properties Inc., Elevation Group and Sage Hospitaity, plan to complete the project by early 2014. Jamie Gard and Nathan Johnson of Newmark Knight Frank F…
Wellshire Arms sells
When the Wellshire Arms Apartments opened in Observatory Park a half-century ago, it was an instant landmark.
The 12-story building was the tallest building in southeast Denver and sported features such as floor-to-ceiling windows that were unheard at the time.
The Denver office of ARA recently sold the building for $12.5 million and the new owner plans to spend another $3 million on it.
Colorado Springs apartment vacancy rates down, rents up
The average rent in the Colorado Springs metro area rose year over year for the tenth quarter in a row, climbing 2.3 percent during the second quarter to $776. According to a report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of Southern Colorado, the average rent for the region was up from $759 reported during the second quarter of last year, and was also up from 2012’s first-quarter average rent of $754.
The average rent increas…
Waldo Canyon fire to impact Colo. Springs apartment market
In the coming quarter, the effects of the Waldo Canyon fire on Colorado Springs’ apartment market will be evident, according to a recent report on the city’s multifamily sector.
Apartments will see a period of increased renting from both those who lost homes and those who arrive to help with the recovery effort and rebuilding, noted Doug Carter of Sperry Van Ness/Doug Carter LLC, co-author of Apartment Insights’ Statistics/Trends report on the Springs multifamil…
Regency breaking ground on student housing
The Regency Student Housing Community on Thursday will break ground on the $12 million, five-building "Villas at Regency" at its student housing community. The Villas will be built on six acres north of its Regency student housing complex at 3900 Elati St., Denver. The Villas, serving students at the Auraria campus, adds an additional 120 units with 360 beds, increasing the total bed capacity at the Regency to 960. The addition will create the largest apartment community in Denv…
Texas group plans apartment community
Forestar Group, a real estate and natural resource company based in Austin, recently formed a venture with Guggenheim Real Estate LLC to develop a two-building, four-story community in the the Greenwood Plaza Business Park, the fifth largest business park in the metro area, It will be a few blocks from the Arapahoe Light Rail Station. The development, within the Denver Tech Center submarket, is called 360.°