Denver-based investment company Flywheel Capital (Flywheel) recently announced the purchase of Gateway Center, a four-building office property located astride the Denver-Aurora boundary. The property incorporates nearly 300,000 square feet of class A Denver office space, which means the $66.85 million sale price breaks down to roughly $223 per square foot.
The seller, an affiliate of Equus Capital Partners (Equus), had previously purchased the complex in July 2019 for $45.6 million, according to CommercialEdge data.
Equus statements regarding the transaction noted that the property had recently been renovated through a capital improvements program worth approximately $2.5 million. Renovations made since 2019 include new roofs and improvements to common area corridors, as well as new interior and exterior building amenities that offer tenants a lounge equipped with collaborative workspaces; a WiFi-enabled outdoor fire pit patio; a fitness center complete with state-of-the-art equipment, newly built shower and locker rooms, and on-demand personal training classes; and electric car-charging stations.
Gateway Center One on Lewiston Street in Aurora, Co. (property image courtesy of CommercialEdge.com)
The best-in-class amenities complement the property’s highly advantageous location. Situated on a 20-acre lot along Interstate 70 near the intersection with Peña Boulevard, Gateway Center is 13 miles northeast of Denver’s Union Station and 11 miles southwest of Denver International Airport. The Gateway Park light rail station — about one mile east of the office complex — provides a direct link to Downtown Denver and Denver International Airport via the recently completed A and R commuter rail lines.
Furthermore, Flywheel’s new acquisition is an integral part of Gateway Business Park, a 1,200-acre, mixed-use development that incorporates property for residential, commercial and industrial uses. As such, this submarket is an ideal choice for tenants hailing from a wide range of industries, such as transportation/logistics, government, aerospace, manufacturing, construction and engineering. This is also reflected in the Gateway Center tenant roster. At the time of sale, the property was fully leased to a diverse assembly of 24 tenants, which include aerospace companies Boeing and Lockheed Martin, as well as renewable energy services provider Primoris Corp., financial services innovator Billtrust, and technical engineering company Leidos.
Gateway Center Two on Lewiston Street in Aurora, Co. (property image courtesy of CommercialEdge.com)
“Flywheel and our investors see the Gateway acquisition as a tremendous opportunity to own class A quality real estate in a growth market within the Denver Metro region,” said John Fefley, senior director at Flywheel. “Equus Capital Partners Ltd., who asset managed the property on behalf of an affiliate, did a great job enhancing the property during their ownership. The tenants currently located at Gateway prefer this location over others within the city due to a combination of proximity to the northeast labor force, Denver International Airport or Buckley Space Force Base, and we view these attributes as continuing to strengthen going forward as we come out of COVID. Many tenants within the park continue to utilize their office during the height of COVID due to the nature of their government contract work and their utilization of SCIF [Secured Compartmentalized Information Facility] space within their suites.”
Brant Glomb, vice president of Equus, added: “Equus saw an opportunity to invest strategic capital to provide a best-in-class amenity experience to Gateway Centre’s tenancy, while also addressing large-scale improvements of fundamental property needs like roofs and parking. Its best-in-class features, location and accessibility helped drive over 62,500 square feet of leasing since the start of the pandemic, while driving substantial rent increases and ultimately achieving 100% occupancy. The mission-critical SCIF tenancy provides high renewal probability and the recent capital investments at the Property administered by Equus ensure stable cash flow for the next investor.”
Gateway Center Three on Lewiston Street in Aurora, Co. (property image courtesy of CommercialEdge.com)
