HFF Arranges $13M Refi for Denver Dry Goods Building

By Mihaela Coste

Denver Dry Goods Building

Denver—HFF recently arranged a $13 million refinancing loan for the Denver Dry Goods Building. The refinancing targeted four fully leased commercial condominium units consisting of 84,495 square feet of space, located on the lower, first and second levels of the six-story historic building.

The 10-year fixed rate loan with Unum Life Insurance Company of America was facilitated by Leon McBroom and Kristian Lichtenfels, associate directors of HFF, working on behalf of the borrower, Jonathan Rose Cos. The proceeds of the loan will be used to refinance an existing loan.

Located in downtown Denver on a 1.15-acre site at 700 16th St., the building was completed in 1889 and served as the city’s premier department store. After the store closed almost 100 years after its opening, the borrower purchased the property and redeveloped the 350,000-square-foot asset into a mixed-use project that includes affordable and market-rate rental housing, market-rate condos, offices and three large retail stores occupying the basement, ground and second floors of the building.

The historic integrity of the red brick, sandstone and the original high ceilings along other significant areas was preserved, while the space was subdivided into smaller condominium units. The building has frontage along the 16th Street Mall, a 1.25-mile long pedestrian and transit mall in downtown Denver, being exposed to more than 30,000 pedestrians daily. The asset is connected to a 500-stall parking structure located adjacent to the building via a third-floor pedestrian bridge.

“In 1992, Jonathan Rose’s redevelopment of the Denver Dry was a catalytic project for the revitalization of downtown Denver,” said Chuck Perry, managing member of Rose Cos. Management, in a prepared statement. After the Denver Dry was completed, 20 other downtown historic buildings were redeveloped with the same financing model. It was a pleasure to work with the HFF and UNUM teams to refinance the Denver Dry and to continue our commitment to this project. HFF brought us a significant number of financing options, and UNUM was selected as the lender of choice with the most competitive refinancing offer,” he added.

The tenant roster includes T.J. Maxx, Visit Denver Center, Jason’s Deli, Starbucks, Denver Urban Renewal Authority, the Aveda Institute and Yuthok Jewelry.

Image courtesy of Jonathan Rose Cos.