CBRE announced the $66.45 million sale of Tower Business Center, a fully leased, 423,000-square-foot warehouse distribution center in Aurora, Colo. Jim Bolt, Jeremy Ballenger, Tyler Carner, Jessica Ostermick and Will Pyke with CBRE Capital Markets represented the sellers, the Denver office of United Properties and Artis REIT. Everwest Real Estate Investors acquired the property in a sale that closed Feb. 9.
“Tower Business Center presented a unique opportunity to acquire two fully occupied Class A buildings with blue-chip tenancy in the region’s prime logistics corridor,” commented Mr. Bolt, vice chairman, CBRE. “The I-70 corridor anchors Denver’s Airport submarket, which serves as the region’s largest and most institutionally-owned industrial marketplace.”
The property includes a 289,113-square-foot building at 18701 East 38th Avenue, fully leased by Sealy Mattress Manufacturing Co. (Tempur Sealy), and a 133,848-square-foot building at 18901 East 38th Avenue, fully leased by Sprouts Farmers Market.
“Investor appetite for core industrial in Denver is as strong as ever, but particularly so for a project with long-term leases and recession-resistant businesses,” added Mr. Ballenger, executive vice president, CBRE.
Completed in 2019, the buildings have ESFR sprinklers, 32-foot clear heights, energy-efficient “cool roofs” and clerestory windows providing natural light. United Properties developed Tower Business Center along with its capital partner, Artis REIT. The project was leased by Mike Wafer, Tim D’Angelo and Bruce Mawhinney of Newmark.
“For Tower Business Center to attract household names like Tempur Sealy and Sprouts Farmers Market, both with long-term leases, really speaks to the quality of the development. The resiliency of both tenants through the pandemic coupled with the excellent location differentiates Tower from other assets. United Properties is grateful for the outstanding contributions from our entire project team including the design, construction, and leasing experts that supported this achievement,” said Megan Turner, vice president of development, United Properties.
United Properties is a nationally recognized developer that has been awarded NAIOP’s Developer of the Year multiple times for Denver projects. Since 2005, the firm has developed more than 4 million square feet of office, industrial, retail and senior housing properties throughout the greater Denver metro area. Last year United Properties made headlines with its sale of Enterprise Building Center Building 6, which marked one of metro Denver’s largest single-building industrial trades on record.
Artis REIT is one of the largest diversified commercial real estate investment trusts based in Canada with a portfolio comprised of 24 million square feet of gross leasable area across North America.
Tower Business Center is located adjacent to the master-planned development Green Valley Ranch and within minutes of numerous hotels, restaurants and retailers, including The Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center. The site has a fully signalized access point at 38th Avenue and Tower Road with a full interchange to I-70 and Denver International Airport via Tower Road.
According to CBRE research, industrial sales in metro Denver witnessed little to no slowdown as a result of the pandemic. 2020 ended the year with $1.6 billion in total industrial sales volume, an increase of 7.4 percent year-over-year.
