A local buyer acquired a large industrial building along the Santa Fe corridor in Denver with an eye on transforming a portion of it into a sports facility for youths from low-income neighborhoods.
A group led by Bill Bivens of Gibraltar Property Management purchased the 95,063-square-foot building at 1377-1401 S. Jason St. for $7.76 million. The seller, an affiliate of Publication Printers, leased back the property, a section of which is targeted for squash courts for the nonprofit Mile High 360 education program.
“We identified that building as being in a location that would help further our program,” said Bivens, who serves on the board of Mile High 360. The program only needs about 15,000 to 20,000 sf of the space, so the leaseback created a good opportunity to have income in place while plans are finalized. Publication Printers then may downsize as Mile High builds out space for its junior squash and cycling programs. The property sits along the South Platte River Trail.
Mile High 360 serves youths from sixth grade to age 24 and, in addition to athletics, provides academic and life skills programs.
“That’s the whole reason we bought the building, and it turned out to be a good investment,” said Bivens, who plans to update the property and add a new roof.
“If Publication Printers stays there, that’s great,” he said, adding otherwise the building could be divided for Mile High 360 and five or so industrial tenants. “They’re not building any new industrial in that area.”
The area also is changing and, given the lack of food options, might have potential for a concept like Stanley Marketplace or Edgewater Marketplace, Bivens said.
With good parking and access, “It had all the dynamics that anyone would be looking for just from an investment standpoint,” plus the opportunity to be “something bigger,” he said.
Built in 1961, the building has dock-high, rail and drive-in doors. It sits on a 5.65-acre site.
The size of the building and its location within a strong industrial submarket drew interest even from investors who weren’t necessarily in the market to buy, said Tyler Smith of Cushman & Wakefield.
“We got strong activity from investors and from users,” said Smith, who listed the building for sale with Cushman & Wakefield’s Alec Rhodes and Aaron Valdez. “Buildings in the 75,000- to 125,000-square-foot range up and down the Santa Fe corridor, or even in the south-central market, are few and far between.”
