HighPoint Elevated Industrial Park currently under construction near DIA will be home to a new distribution center for Whole Foods Market, through a lease arranged by CBRE. The grocer commissioned a build-to-suit for the entirety of Building 2, totaling approximately 137,000 square feet. The industrial facility will be used to distribute product to Whole Foods Market stores across the region.
At full build-out, HighPoint Elevated will encompass up to 5.5 million square feet of Class A industrial and logistics space. Hyde Development and Mortenson are developing the project, which has already attracted several creditworthy tenants, including Dollar General, Xcel Energy, Scott’s Miracle Grow, and PrimeSource Building Products.
Todd Witty, Daniel Close, Tyler Carner, Jeremy Ballenger and Jessica Ostermick of CBRE represented Hyde Development in the lease to Whole Foods Market, represented by Steve Hager of Cushman & Wakefield. The CBRE team is actively marketing HighPoint Elevated for lease and sale opportunities with build-to-suit and speculative options available.
“The Hyde Development-Mortenson partnership was able to shorten the delivery timeline, which was critical to meeting Whole Foods Market’s timing needs. The team was able to deliver a build-to-suit in the same amount of time it would have taken to retrofit a building built speculatively, ultimately delivering a more efficient and cost-effective building,” said Mr. Witty, senior vice president, CBRE.
Whole Foods Market will use Building 2 as a distribution center under a long-term lease, with the possibility for future expansion. The building is located at the intersection of Denali Rd. and 60th Ave. in a designated opportunity zone near affordable housing and a qualified labor pool.
“Whole Foods Market aligns well with the caliber of tenant HighPoint Elevated has been able to attract. These companies have sophisticated warehouse and distribution needs, and we are glad the vision we had for the park to be among the best offerings in metro Denver is being realized,” said Paul Hyde, principal at Hyde Development, which ranked as the top commercial real estate developer in Denver, developing nearly 1.5 million sq. ft. across the metro area in 2022.
“Our speed to market with turn-key development, design and build capabilities continue to be a real differentiator for HighPoint Elevated,” said Brian Fitzpatrick, vice president and general manager at Mortenson in Denver. “Through our partnership with Hyde Development on this and other projects locally, we take pride in supporting the industrial and manufacturing growth here in Colorado with another great customer and high-quality product.”
Buildings at HighPoint Elevated will range from 64,000 sq. ft. to 1 million sq. ft. with at least one building slated for cold storage. Building 1, the first to deliver at the park, totals 542,000 sq. ft. and is 75% leased. It has 36-ft. clear heights, 50 ft. by 54 ft. column spacing, an ESFR sprinkler system, dock-high and drive-in loading, and trailer parking. Building 4 is currently pad and permit ready totaling 429,520 sq. ft. Other tenants have commissioned build-to-suit facilities at the park, including Dollar General, which has a 919,000-sq.-ft. distribution center underway.
Last year saw a record number of mega-warehouse leases nationwide, according to CBRE research. Sixty-three industrial leases for 1 million sq. ft. or more were signed in 2022, up from 57 in 2021. Traditional retailers/wholesalers accounted for the majority of the 100 largest industrial leases in the U.S. last year, followed by third-party logistics operators and e-commerce companies.
HighPoint Elevated is located at the southeast corner of East 64th Ave. and E-470, a 20-minute drive from downtown Denver, and is situated within three economic benefit zones: a federal opportunity zone, an Adams County Enterprise Zone and a Limon Foreign Trade Zone. Infrastructure improvements are underway to widen East 64th Avenue to four lanes at the park (six lanes west of E-470) and to add a full interchange at East 64th and E-470, giving tenants the option to bypass I-70 to reach the metro’s northern and southern suburbs.
Outdoor storage is available at several sites throughout the park. Retail space will run through the middle of HighPoint Elevated, along East 64th Avenue, providing walkable retail options for tenants and visitors with outdoor seating areas. The development team is also contemplating a trail system to connect the building park with outdoor amenity space.
