Colorado Real Estate Journal - March 16, 2016
An industrial property in a changing part of Lakewood will undergo its own transformation following its $3.1 million sale. An affiliate of Provo, Utah-based Lodging Dynamics bought the 46,075-square-foot building on 2.76 acres at 140 S. Union Blvd. in Lakewood. It likely will raze the building to construct a hotel but will offer the building for lease in the meantime. Lodging Dynamics operates extended-stay and select-service hotels. A spokesman said he couldn’t discuss plans for the property, which haven’t been approved by the city. What is clear are the changing dynamics of the property and Union Square, an area that stretches along Union Boulevard from West Sixth to Alameda avenues. “What’s happening in Union Square is just awesome. Things are changing dramatically in that area,” said Joe Dunn of Cresco Properties, who represented the seller in the transaction. Office investment and retail activity ramped up following construction of St. Anthony Hospital and the W light-rail line, and now Union Square is seeing the first apartment development in decades. The Union West Apartments, a 267-unit community, will open its first building in April, with completion in September. Lennar Multifamily is building 343 units at 85 S. Union Blvd. The industrial building at 140 S. Union has been vacant since mid-2014. The seller was the Developmental Disabilities Resource Center, a nonprofit that assists persons with developmental disabilities. DDRC had occupied the building since the early 1990s, using it for workshop programs involving light assembly, including unloading and preparing Monarch luggage for display in Wal-Mart stores, according to Dunn. Many years prior to that, Statitrol occupied the building. The company was founded by Duane Pearsall, who invented the home smoke detector and produced smoke detectors on site. Amway also owned the building for a time. The property’s zoning allows for a mix of uses, including hotels.