Further solidifying the strength of Denver’s industrial market, development partners Bradbury Properties and Confluent Development have completed the sale of three buildings in Highfield Business Park, a 100-acre industrial hub located in Douglas County near the intersection of E-470 and Peoria Street. The three transactions cap off the partnership’s $100M venture, with the business park now reaching its full build-out.
“Even in these most challenging of times, the industrial sector remains one of the most stable and attractive asset classes and serves as the foundation for many essential sectors,” said Marshall Burton, president and CEO of Confluent Development. “We are seeing growing interest and confidence in these projects, demonstrating that industrial development delivers a promising and steady investment opportunity. The demand for industrial space across the U.S. outside city centers continues to surge, and the Denver metro market is where it’s at now.”
The buyer of the three properties is a separate account investor advised by Invesco. CBRE’s Jeremy Ballenger, Jim Bolt, Tyler Carner and Jessica Ostermick brokered the sale and are serving as leasing advisors for the three projects. Ware Malcomb served as the architect and Brinkmann Constructors as general contractor for the 202,000-square-foot build-to-suit distribution center. Intergroup Architects served as the architect for the 160,000-square-foot and 130,000-square-foot properties, with Murray & Stafford as general contractor.
Highfield Business Park comprises 1.25 million square feet of industrial space. The three transactions signify the completion of a greater four-building portfolio sale to the buyer, totaling 592,000 square feet within the business park. The deals further validate the continued demand for industrial space in metro Denver, particularly outside of downtown. Across the country, businesses are relocating and expanding from metro and downtown regions into surrounding markets due to impacted urban cores. Southeast Denver is among the top markets that companies are exploring.
“Given that the market has seen 40 years of continued population growth and has notably less supply than many other comparable markets, the Denver metro area is expected to advance faster than other markets across the nation for industrial development,” said John Bauknight, senior development director at Confluent Development. “Our shared vision with Bradbury Properties to execute a forward-looking project based on the industrial market trends in Denver, particularly the opportunities within its suburban areas, has enabled the Highfield Business Park project to establish a prominent footprint as a top-quality industrial hub.”
Highfield Business Park is recognized as a prime location for industrial use, with convenient access to Centennial Airport, I-25 and RTD Light Rail. Tenants of Highfield Business Park benefit from Class A, shallow-bay industrial space that is suited to a variety of business needs, including distribution, technology infrastructure, lab and higher-intensity office uses.
“There is no doubt my family was fortunate to have been able to partner with ‘best-in-industry talent’ with the individuals involved from Confluent and CBRE,” said Tom Bradbury, president at Bradbury Properties. “It has been a remarkable four-year period where we have delivered 800,000 square feet in six buildings. The outside world won’t believe this, but there hasn’t been one minute of posturing or difficult negotiating inside our joint venture from day one.” Bradbury further applauds Confluent and its coordination with the general contractors. “Both Brinkmann and Murray & Stafford did a phenomenal job at managing these jobsites. In today’s climate, it’s a tremendous feat to finish a project on time with no permanent jobsite shutdowns, even with added social distancing and enhanced safety measures that have been put into effect.”
