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Page 22 - April 5-18, 2017 COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
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Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903
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NAI Highland, LLC is honored to be recipients of
9 CoStar Power Brokers Awards including
Top Commercial Sales Firm
&
Top Commercial Leasing Firm
Awards for 2016
Congratulations to our Brokers who received
Individual 2016 CoStar Power Broker Awards
Randy Dowis
Principal
Top Sales Broker
Top Industrial Leasing Broker
Bob Garner
Principal
Top Industrial Leasing Broker
Jim Spittler
Principal
Top Retail Leasing Broker
John Egan
Principal
Top Retail Leasing Broker
Lester Colodny
Associate
Top Retail Leasing Broker
Tiffany Colvert
Associate
Top Retail Leasing Broker
Colorado Springs/So. Front Range
by Jennifer Hayes
Extraordinary investment is
happening in Colorado Springs.
The Downtown Partnership
released the second annual state
of downtown Colorado Springs
report in which it noted an
“unprecedented” $601.25 mil-
lion in completed, in-process or
announced public and private
investment since 2013 is occur-
ring in the city center.
The report, produced by
the Downtown Development
Authority, noted from 2013 to
2016, $85.32 million in invest-
ments were completed with
$242.15 million under construc-
tion and an additional $273.78
million announced.
Highlights of 2016 included:
•The 33-unit Blue Dot Place
apartments, the first new-built
apartments in the downtown
core since 1960, were complet-
ed and fully leased within four
months of opening.
•The U.S. Olympic Muse-
um development plans were
approved, setting the stage for
its 2018-2019 opening.
•Construction started on 169
residential units at 333 ECO and
nine condominium units at the
Bijou Lofts.
•The Cimarron-Interstate
25 interchange reconstruction
continued on schedule with an
anticipated completion late this
year. The $113 million project
enhances highway safety as
well as improves creek and trail
access and provides a welcom-
ing gateway into downtown.
•The first phase of Cata-
lyst Campus, a $12 million,
100,000-square-foot co-working
space was completed.
•Downtown’s newest hotel
was announced, the 10-story,
167-roomHilton Garden Inn, the
first new hotel construction to be
built in the core since 1967. The
hotel, expected to open in 2018,
also is the first high-rise building
in downtown since 2001.
The 2017 state of downtown
report also noted that construc-
tion in the city’s core saw a major
shift in 2016 with nine large
projects breaking ground and a
15-fold increase in permit plan-
check valuations from 2015.
Additionally, 19 land use per-
mits and approvals were issued
for 16 individual projects and
662 total building permits were
issued in the 80903 ZIP code (the
Greater Downtown Colorado
Springs Business Improvement
District) with a total plan-check
valuation of nearly $188 million.
The value represents an increase
of more than $174 million in new
projects by valuation from 2015.
Additionally, downtown plan-
check valuations represented 34
percent of citywide figures. Ten
certificates of occupancy were
issued in downtown Colorado
Springs, representing 5 percent
of citywide figures.
The report also noted that the
Downtown Living Initiative’s
(part of the authority’s Experi-
ence Downtown Plan, a develop-
ment and land-use master plan)
primary goal is to accelerate
progress toward the near-term
construction of at least 1,000 new
residential units by 2020 and
2,000 new units by 2025. More
than 300 units opened or were
under construction in 2016.
Downtown’s office market
represents 22 percent of the city’s
base of Class A office space and
12 percent of the overall market
with an average asking rate of
$21.08 per sf, 63,155 sf of net
absorption and a 7.8 percent
vacancy rate among all classes in
the fourth quarter of 2016.
Colorado Springs’ downtown
retail market saw the addition
of 23 new street-level busi-
nesses in 2016 with another 12
announcing openings in 2017.
The downtown market com-
prises 2.43 million sf of retail
space with a 2.9 percent vacan-
cy rate in the fourth quarter
and an average lease rate of
$14.55 per sf, up $1.05 year
over year.
Other News
■ United Healthcare recent-
ly renewed its office lease at
the Briargate Office Center in
Colorado Springs.
It renewed its lease for 21,235
square feet at the building at
1755 Telstar Drive.
Dar Briargate LLC, Overland
Briargate and Briarcan LLC are
the landlords.
Greg Phaneuf of Colorado
Springs Commercial, a Cush-
man & Wakefield Alliance
represented the landlord. JLL
represented the tenant.
■ A hail and dent repair firm
inked a lease for 4,000 sf at
the Edison Business Center in
Colorado Springs.
The Hail & Dent Co. of Colo-
rado Ltd. signed the lease for
the space at 4680 Edison Ave. It
leased the space from Haman
Enterprises LLC.
Jim Zorman of the London
Commercial Group was the
listing agent. Taylor Stamp of
Quantum Commercial Group
Inc. represented the tenant.
■ Transwestern recently
released its monthly look at the
Colorado Springs market, in
which it reported that lease rates
and direct vacancy both rose in
the office category from January
figures.
The asking direct rate rose to
$16.13 per sf full service and
direct vacancy ended the month
at 12.19 percent.
The firm also reported that
there are several large contigu-
ous blocks of office space avail-
able, including 139,000 sf at 2424
Garden of the Gods road and
128,484 sf at 1005 E. Woodmen
Road.
Transwestern also gave a peek
into the Colorado Springs indus-
trial and retail markets during
February.
Industrial saw rates rise to
$6.42 per sf triple net and direct
vacancy decline to 8.69 percent.
Additionally, year-to-date direct
absorption stands at 164,558 sf.
The Colorado Springs retail
market saw rates climb from
January to $12.48 per sf triple net
and direct vacancy rise to 5.62
percent. However, YTD direct
absorption was a negative 84,139
sf. ▲
The report, produced by the Downtown
Development Authority, noted from 2013
to 2016, $85.32 million in investments were
completed with $242.15 million under
construction and an additional $273.78
million announced.