D.A. Davidson’s Special District Group, a nationally recognized team of capital market professionals, has successfully sold $64 million in Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds, Series 2022A-1 and Convertible Capital Appreciation Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds, Series 2022A-2 for the continued development of Peak Innovation Park. The bond proceeds will help finance the second phase of the development journey of the 1,600-acre Peak Innovation Park located near Colorado Springs.
Urban Frontier, a developer and investor with a strong track record in land, retail, office, industrial, and residential real estate, is developing the project. Urban Frontier entered into a master development agreement with the City of Colorado Springs by and through its enterprise, the Colorado Springs Airport, providing a unique model for partnership between the airport and the Metropolitan District to fund public infrastructure on site.
“As Colorado Springs’ business communities continue to evolve, Peak Innovation Park is positioned to provide well-rounded opportunities for a diverse set of industries that require a wide array of real estate needs. Our unique financing models meet these needs, and we are grateful for a continued, long-term partnership with the City of Colorado Springs, Peak Metropolitan District and Urban Frontier,” said Brooke Hutchens, managing director at D.A. Davidson. “This second installment of financing for this state-of-the-art project underscores our team’s strength in our partnership that help usher a project of this scale toward achieving notable milestones.”
The second phase of development, which is anticipated to be partially financed by the 2022 bonds, is comprised of roughly 8.8 million square feet of development that is anticipated to include a mix of warehouse and industrial, office, and retail. Multiple data center users have also expressed interest in developing areas within the Peak Innovation Park.
At buildout, the project will include roughly 15 to 20 million square feet of commercial and industrial space and multiple hotels. Development is moving forward on schedule, anticipated to be completed in multiple phases. Construction on Peak Innovation Park began in 2020 with an expected overall completion in 2042.
In 2021, D.A. Davidson served as the underwriter for the $43.45 million of bonds issued to help finance the first phase of development, which consisted of approximately 1.4 million square feet of commercial/industrial space and two hotels (approximately 120 rooms each). Completed development within the Peak Innovation Park currently includes multiple office buildings occupied by the Aerospace Corporation, the Northrop Grumman Corporation, and Flywheel Capital, as well as roughly 126 acres of land occupied by three Amazon buildings that includes an approximately 4 million square foot fulfillment center, a nearly 280,000-square-foot sortation facility, and a roughly 68,000-square-foot last mile distribution facility.
Peak Innovation Park is situated within a federal opportunity zone, a state enterprise zone and a local commercial aeronautical zone that includes certain tax breaks and incentives tied to employment levels. Within these zones, investors can defer capital gains taxes on the sale of stocks, business assets or property by investing in certain qualified investment funds called “opportunity funds.”
