Patrinely-USAA JV Breaks Ground on Denver Office Tower

By Barbra Murray

Block 162 in Denver

Patrinely Group LLC and USAA Real Estate have commenced the development of two projects that will add a collective 750,000 square feet of premier office space to the Denver and metropolitan Houston markets. The joint venture partners are building the 595,000-square-foot Block 162 high-rise in Denver, and the 149,600-square-foot City Place 1 in Spring, Texas.

Located at 675 15th St., Patrinely and USAA’s Block 162 will sit in the heart of downtown Denver. The 30-story tower will feature Class A offerings on 20 levels starting on the 11th floor, as well as 9,900 square feet of ground level retail space and a 10-story above-grade podium garage. Architectural firm Gensler designed the project, which will meet the requirements for LEED Gold certification. 

Block 162 is taking shape at a time when Denver office tenants are increasingly eager to secure state-of-the-art space to compete in the “tight war for talent,” as noted in a first quarter report by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The joint venture is on the same page, attesting that the market is primed for a state-of-the-art addition. “Given the continued strength of the Denver marketplace and the lack of available large blocks of Class A space, we recognized that now is the right time to bring a prestigious building like Block 162 to the urban Denver market,” Robert Fields, president & CEO of Patrinely Group LLC, said in a prepared statement.

Lone star state square footage

In suburban Houston, Patrinely and USAA are joined by CDC Houston, a subsidiary of Coventry Development Corp., on the development of CityPlace 1. Also designed by Gensler, the five-story, LEED Silver-certified project will encompass 122,700 square feet of office space atop a single-level, 26,900-square-foot retail base. Additionally, the building will provide a covered walkway connected directly to a five-level parking facility.

CityPlace 1 in Houston

Carrying the address of 1700 City Plaza Drive, CityPlace 1 will have a prominent position within the 60-acre CityPlace at Springwoods Village mixed-use destination, which will ultimately encompass a total  of 4 million square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of integrated retail, along with multifamily residences and a 337-key Marriott hotel scheduled to deliver by year’s end.

“With our existing and growing tenant base, it is becoming clear that employers are recognizing the benefits of CityPlace Springwoods Village’s location,” Warren Wilson, executive vice president of CDC Houston, said in prepared remarks.

Tackling the tenant rosters

At Block 162, Cushman & Wakefield’s Doug Wulf, an executive managing director, and Todd Wheeler, vice chairman, will spearhead leasing, with Patrinely’s Dennis Tarro, executive managing director, providing oversight. CityPlace 1’s office leasing will be handled by Chrissy Wilson and Russell Hodges, executive vice president and senior vice president, respectively, at JLL, Transwestern’s Crystal Allen, a senior vice president, and Chace Henke, a vice president, will oversee leasing of CityPlace 1’s retail segment under Tarro’s direction.

CityPlace 1 will be the first of the two Patrinely-USAA projects to hit the market, with general contractor D.E. Harvey Builders due to complete construction in the second quarter of 2019. Swinerton is the general contractor on Block 162, which is on track to deliver in December 2020.

Image courtesy of Gensler