The fully leased retail space at the base of a downtown Denver condominium tower sold for $5.25 million.
The buyer, a private capital exchange buyer from California, purchased the 9,890-square-foot retail property at Spire at 891 14th St.
The space was sought after by investors as not only is there a lack of product – particularly in this size – but also because of its infill location, adjacent to the Colorado Convention Center and the Denver Center for Performing Arts.
“It is extremely rare to find the entire ground floor of retail at the base of a building of this size and vintage available to purchase in downtown Denver. We received strong interest immediately and generated offers from private capital buyers as well as institutions who acquire on a national basis,” said Ryan Bowlby. Bowlby and Drew Isaac, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a local private investor. The pair also sourced the buyer for the space in Denver’s ninth-tallest building.
The retail space is located on the ground level of the 42-story luxury condominium tower, which was completed in 2010. Tenants at Spire include Snarf’s Sandwiches, Sip | eat + drink, Uncle Joe’s Hong Kong Bistro and Liv Sotheby’s. The tenants have varying term on the leases, however, half are original tenants to the property.
Financing was sourced by Phillip Gause, first vice president capital markets, of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp.
“While financing for retail condos has historically been more challenging than on freestanding assets, we received very robust lender interest in this opportunity given the location of the Spire project, which is truly one of Denver’s standout high-rise residential developments,” Gause said.
MMCC structured an acquisition loan that balanced the sponsors’ request for long-term financing with ability to maximize the in-place net cash flow and have a high degree of prepayment flexibility, he added.
