LoDo Sexy Again

With the opening of Union Station after years of work, LoDo has been transformed into a place where office tenants want to be. (It's like the first kid to get a new video game system: all of a sudden everyone wants to be near him.)

Transwestern SVP Peter Thomas tells us that LoDo is the hottest office submarket in Denver right now. The anticipation of Union Station isn't the only factor. The revival of restaurants and entertainment in the area has helped, along with Coors Field (which is also a dining destination, with the addition of the 38k SF Rooftop bar and restaurant inside the park... despite the Rockies' record). Tenants are voting with their feet: as of June, Peter says, the direct office vacancy rate in LoDo is just a smidgen less than 4.7%.

This week, Comcast Cable Communications inked a deal to occupy 21k SF 1899 Wynkoop St, a block from Union Station. Peter, along with colleagues Andrew Piepgras and David Shapiro, repped landlord Cornerstone Real Estate Advisors. The trio will backfill the space that’s coming available next month, so that the property will remain 100% leased. Developed in 2000 as the first new building in LoDo in 15 years, 1899 Wynkoop is Energy Star certified and LEED Gold. Hartford-based Cornerstone bought the building in ’11 for $53M.

Snapped at Union Station’s grand opening last weekend: Sen. Michael Bennett and Union Station Alliance partners Will Isenberg, Jeff Hermanson, and Dana Crawford. The spanking-new Union Station now includes more than a dozen bars, restaurants, and retail stores, and the 112-room Crawford Hotel (though Alex Seidel’s Mercantile Dining & Provision isn’t quite open yet). New Union Station eateries include Stoic & Genuine, Kitchen Next Door Union Station, Snooze Union Station, Acme Burgers and Brats, and Pigtrain Coffee and the Milkbox Ice Creamery.