Last week, Rising Realty Partners (Rising) and BentallGreenOak acquired Civic Center Plaza, a 598,592-square-foot, 22-story landmark, Class A, office building located at 1560 Broadway in the Uptown district of downtown Denver, for $124.6 million. Civic Center Plaza is adjacent to Denver’s premier transit hub and is over 97 percent leased to investment grade and government tenants including the Regional Transportation District (RTD), the State of Colorado, Sheridan Ross, and a soon to open WeWork location.
“We’re proud to partner again with BentallGreenOak, one of the world’s finest real estate investors, to plant our flag in Denver and acquire our first asset outside of California,” said Christopher Rising, co-founder and CEO of Rising. “We see Denver as an ideal real estate market to invest in — it’s a strategic location for domestic and international business, popular with millennials, and supportive of a growing economy with a rent-to-income ratio significantly lower than other major markets. Further, Denver is attractive because of the outdoor amenities, educational institutions, and high quality transportation infrastructure.”
Managing more than 4 million square feet of commercial office space in the Greater Los Angeles area, Rising is credited with kick-starting the revitalization of historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles into creative office buildings, attracting new and unique businesses back to the region. Rising previously announced its intention to acquire properties outside of California in other thriving, Western U.S. cities including Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, and Denver.
Rising’s approach to real estate investing and operating focuses on three fundamental areas of impact — environmental, technological, and social—that have proven to create value. Earlier this year, Rising partnered with GreenOak Real Estate (prior to becoming BentallGreenOak) to recapitalize The CalEdison DTLA, a LEED-Platinum certified historic Art Deco office building in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
“The Rising team has a successful, proven track record of executing its vision and creating both value and impact in the properties they own and manage. Civic Center Plaza meets all the requirements in an investment that both of our firms look for – changing demographic area, great transportation access, desirable building for tenants given its excellent location with nearby amenity base and positive ESG attributes with its LEED Gold rating,” said Jonathan Epstein, managing partner of BentallGreenOak. “Prior to our merger as BentallGreenOak, both Bentall Kennedy and GreenOak Real Estate shared a positive view on the Denver Metropolitan region and a successful history of transacting in this market. Today, we are excited to continue our partnership with Rising, and to make Civic Center Plaza our first acquisition announcement as BentallGreenOak.”
Civic Center Plaza is certified LEED Gold, WiredScore Gold, and provides tenants with a variety of efficient floor plates and tremendous views of the Rocky Mountains and the surrounding, thriving Uptown District.
“Civic Center Plaza is a fantastic, transportation-oriented and sustainable building that embodies our impact investing goal targeting properties with positive environmental, technological, and social impacts,” said Rising. “We plan to continue to provide outstanding service to our existing tenants while also pursuing several building enhancements including installing a new gym and upgrading the furniture in public spaces.”
Stephen Van Dusen, Paul Nelson, Jeff Weber and Cartter Berg of Eastdil Securd represented the seller in the transaction. JP Leveque, Jonathan Firestone, Matt Haden, and David Magnussen of Eastdil Secured represented Rising and BentallGreenOak in obtaining acquisition financing from Heitman, LLC.
Photo courtesy of BentallGreenOak
