Trammell Crow Residential Planning New Peña Station Project
Trammell Crow Residential plans to build a 578-unit apartment property called Alexan Peña Station northeast of Denver, marking the latest development along the Regional Transportation District’s A Line commuter rail.
The project is planned to be built in two phases consisting of 12 buildings at the southwest corner of 64th Avenue and Dunkirk Street, according to a release from Berkadia, which arranged $81.2M in joint venture equity to fund the project. Alexan Peña Station will include 46 units restricted to those making 60% of the area median income or less.
MBK Rental Living, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., provided the equity. In addition to strong market fundamentals, the established reputation of TCR helped secure financing in difficult capital markets terrain, according to Berkadia.
The development is the latest in the area surrounding Peña Station, the closest stop on the A Line to Denver International Airport. Peña Station Next is one of the more successful transit-oriented developments on the line, beginning with a futuristic Panasonic smart city and continuing with multifamily and hotel projects. This cluster of buildings stands out on an otherwise open stretch of prairie between Denver and the airport.
Alexan Peña Station will join a host of other Trammell Crow Residential properties with the same branding that have gone up around the Denver metro area in the last 15 years. TCR, along with many other large national developers, was particularly active in the area in the mid-2010s, escalating development volume to keep pace with waves of millennials moving to the city and suburbs.
Now, however, the multifamily market in Denver and other large U.S. cities could be tipping back in the other direction. Large quantities of new supply are expected to come online this year, with 17,500 new units likely to open in the Denver area in 2024, up from 10,500 in 2023.
Although vacancy rates are also expected to climb, apartment landlords in the city, especially those with brand-new product, are still charging rents well above historical averages for Denver. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city is roughly $1,500, according to Apartment List, although homes in desirable areas can go for much more.
