Hines Sells 461 KSF Colorado Corporate Center to Westfield Capital Partners

By Nicholas Ziegler, News Editor

The four-building, 461,438-square-foot Mountain View Corporate Center will change hands, as Hines has sold the Class A office development to Westfield Capital Partners. The complex, located in Broomfield, Colo., was marketed for sale by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. along with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s capital group.

While a purchase price for the transaction was not available, Hines acquired the property in April 2006 from Goldman Sachs’ Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds for $71.5 million, or $155 per square foot. The four properties include 114,908 square feet at 12303 Airport Way; 94,583 square feet at 12101 Airport Way; 114,908 square feet at 12202 Airport Way; and 137,040 square feet at 12002 Airport Way.

At the time of the 2006 purchase, the complex was eighth acquisitions for Hines’ U.S. Office Value Added Fund. Hines senior vice president Charles Elder noted that the transaction is evidence of Hines’ commitment to acquiring, developing and owning properties in all of the major Denver submarkets.”

Hines senior vice president & fund manager Dave Congdon added, “Mountain View Corporate Center presents a great opportunity to own a Class A campus in a location that will benefit from the continued economic growth of the Denver and Boulder metro areas.

According to Hines, the property has been maintained to the highest institutional standards with two of the four building achieving LEED Silver certification. The property, which sits on 27 acres of land, is 92 percent leased to tenants such as Time Warner Cable, TransFirst and White Wave Foods.

According to Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Services Inc., Denver will see accelerating office transactions in 2012. In recent quarters, owner-users and value- add investors have also been targeting small to mid-size office properties that are not necessarily ‘distressed’ but post elevated vacancy or face near-term lease expirations, the firm noted in a recent report. This trend will persist through 2012 as local businesses take advantage of attractive property prices and still-low interest rates. Overall, cap rates in Denver average in the high-5 to 7 percent range for Class A assets, with smaller Class B/C deals typically trading between 8 and 9 percent.