Granite Properties, a commercial real estate investment, development and management company, has closed joint venture equity with Long Wharf Capital for First Avenue Plaza. Spanning an entire block, the complex consists of 44 Cook Street, a 10-story, Class-A, 127,000-square-foot building and 55 Madison Street, an 8-story, Class-A, 137,000-square-foot building. Long Wharf will own 50 percent interest in the two-building office complex located in Denver’s highly desired Cherry Creek submarket.
Long Wharf was represented by Justin Smith, managing director, David Stein, director, and Samantha Torto, senior associate, of Long Wharf. Granite was represented by Stephanie Lawrence, senior managing director, and Ace Roman, chief financial officer, of Granite. JLL advised on the joint venture transaction and was represented by Trey Morsbach and Jim Curtin.
This partnership is part of Granite’s strategy to diversify capital partners as Granite continues to grow through acquisitions and developments.
“Granite acquired First Avenue Plaza in February of this year and we’ve been very happy with the project’s performance. Granite is excited to partner with Long Wharf Capital and we appreciate their confidence in us, the project and this highly-desirable submarket. We look forward to creating value together at First Avenue Plaza and the opportunity to extend our partnership to future projects,” said Stephanie Lawrence, senior managing director, Granite Properties.
“We are excited to invest in a high quality and well-located property in a submarket experiencing high growth and demand, as we continue to make strategic office investments to add to our diversified portfolio,” said Justin Smith, managing director, Long Wharf Capital.
First Avenue Plaza offers indoor and outdoor social spaces for customers to work, meet and socialize. Recent updates to the building include an outdoor plaza with seating areas and fireplace, a customer amenity center inclusive of a boardroom, and upgrades to the common area corridor and restrooms. Additional amenities include a training room, showers and lockers, and bike storage. The garage offers a 2.9/1,000 parking ratio, which is one of the highest offered in the parking-constrained Cherry Creek submarket.
Granite owns and manages 1.55 million square feet of office properties in the Denver area, including First Avenue Plaza, Plaza Tower One, Regency Plaza, Prentice Plaza, High Pointe Tower and 143 Union.