Harbor Closes on Off-Market Historic Downtown Denver Acquisition Via All-Cash Deal
LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbor Associates, LLC ("Harbor") has acquired via an off-market, all-cash deal, an approximately 115,000 SF historic commercial building located at 821 17th Street in downtown Denver in a joint venture with Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate ("GSAM PRE"). The mixed-use property consists of nine floors of offices above The Broker Restaurant occupying two basement levels located at the corner of 17th Street and Champa Street in the heart of Denver's business district. Built in 1907 by a local tycoon who founded the Denver Post, the building is listed on the National Historic Register as the first tower to be constructed of reinforced concrete west of the Mississippi. In 1927, as 17th Street became known as "The Wall Street of the West," the Denver National Bank expanded the building to add a grand lobby that is heralded today as one of the top historic lobbies in the city. The original concrete structure, marble finishes, oak windows, ornate artwork, vintage chandeliers, and historic bank vaults still exist today and will be core elements of the asset repositioning strategy moving forward.
The building, originally built to be the best office and bank building in Denver, was recently vacated by its previous anchor tenant, the Colorado Business Bank. Harbor plans to renovate the 90% vacant building into a one-of-a-kind creative office environment with onsite food and beverage amenities in an authentic, historically preserved setting.
The project marks the ninth value-add office acquisition for Harbor in the last two years and is the firm's first building in the Denver market. Joon Choi, Principal for Harbor and repositioning lead states "This building is an incredible piece of Denver's history and an exciting office choice for tenants who recognize and appreciate unique value. Its local legacy is perhaps best represented by the many impressive vaults on the building's lower levels. From its commercial banking lobby to its subterranean private dining rooms, the building and its vaults have boasted a wealth of history, stories, and legends for more than a hundred years. That's what's inspired the building's new name – The Vault. The Vault will honor the building's rich history, created through the test of time, showcasing and protecting its original, spectacular features."
821 17th Street is centrally located near mass transit lines including two light rail stops within one block, numerous bus stops, and bike lanes that run in front of the project. The project sits one block from the 16th Street Mall, which has over 300 stores and 50 restaurants, and is within walking distance of the highly acclaimed Denver Union Station. Harbor has retained Tryba Architects, the same firm that so successfully executed the historic, mixed-use Union Station renovation, to lead the repositioning of the building.
Justin Loiacono, Principal for Harbor, comments, "We sourced this acquisition off-market, drawn to the architectural character of the building, and closed on the project all-cash. We like the fundamentals of the Denver market and continue to find interesting opportunities to invest in the value-add space through our deep network of brokerage relationships and ability to move quickly. We have a robust pipeline of activity behind this transaction and look forward to continuing to build our Denver portfolio."
Joon Choi, Principal for Harbor, states, "We appreciate how special the opportunity is to breathe new life into one of Denver's most architecturally significant buildings. Our business plan is to retain the great history of the asset while adding the amenities and modern office and restaurant improvements required by today's tenants."
Paul Miszkowicz, Principal for Harbor, adds, "Colorado Bank Building represents our ninth value-add office acquisition in the last two years as a firm and expands our portfolio into the Denver market. We are very excited to be making our first acquisition in Downtown Denver. We intend on building on our recent momentum by sourcing new opportunities and pursuing similar strategies in high demand submarkets to meet our acquisition goal of $250M over the next 12 months."
Joe Sumberg, Co-head of GSAM PRE, notes "We are excited about the opportunity to re-energize such a historically significant building in Downtown Denver. Colorado Business Bank represents our second office investment in Colorado this year as we continue to increase our exposure to top-performing markets such as Denver, where tenant demand for creative office space continues to grow. We look forward to working with Harbor Associates to reposition Colorado Business Bank into a highly amenitized and differentiated creative office building."
About Harbor: Harbor Associates, LLC (www.harborassociates.com) is a value-add operating platform focused on acquiring and repositioning under-performing commercial real estate assets throughout Denver and Southern California. The three Principals of Harbor collectively have over 30 years of experience in Denver and Southern California and collectively have closed over $1.7B in acquisitions and asset managed over $2.5B in assets totaling over 3M SF of office. The company is a joint venture with The Bascom Group, LLC.
About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate: GSAM PRE focuses on investing across all major property types spanning the risk and return spectrum, sourcing opportunities in primary and secondary markets. The group employs an active management approach, often partnering with operators or property managers to renovate and rebrand assets, including by implementing energy and operating efficiency programs to potentially realize cost savings. The group manages over $1.7 billion of real estate assets as of June 30, 2017 and is part of GSAM, one of the world's leading investment managers with more than $1 trillion in AUS globally as of June 30, 2017.
Contact: Justin Loiacono
Tel: 562-436-4082
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Harbor Associates, LLC
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