Generation Development Jumps Into Office Projects With LoHi Building

While some developers pivot from office to residential projects as the fallout from Covid-19 continues to make waves, in Denver’s Lower Highlands neighborhood, Chris Lonigro and his company, Generation Development, are doing just the opposite.

Generation this week broke ground on 2926 LoHi, a boutique five-story office building offering 25K SF of office space in one of the Mile High City’s most in-demand neighborhoods.

Historically, Generation has developed condos, a difficult product type to execute in Colorado, but in spring 2020, pulled permits for an office development at 2926 Umatilla St. Then, of course, along came the coronavirus, the paradigm-shifting pandemic that changed the way we use just about every type of real estate, office included. 

“Obviously the market has changed, but we ran the analyses again and think that this boutique office building in a great, walkable location, is the best product for the site,” Lonigro, Generation's president, told Bisnow.

The company first purchased the land in 2018 and seeks to bring its experience with creating unique residential projects to the world of office development at a time when making the office feel a little bit like home is an attractive prospect for companies looking to bring employees back to the office after two years of remote work.

The LoHi area is a bustling one, packed with millennials and Gen Zers living in compact townhomes and apartments, many of which were constructed within the last decade. It’s well-known for its dining scene, with restaurants like Linger and El Five drawing steady happy hour and dinner crowds throughout the week. And with the flagship location of Little Man Ice Cream across the street from Hirshorn Park, it’s also a magnet for families.

One of the things the area isn’t known for is a base of office inventory. Generation seeks to change that with its new project but keep within the existing context of the neighborhood through its design efforts. Boss Architecture will combine exposed structural steel beams and columns with a glass curtain wall.

2926 LoHi will also feature smaller floor plates, ranging from 3,500 SF to 5,200 SF, and underground parking for 30 vehicles.

“People generally prefer to be in a smaller building with only a handful of tenants in it,” Lonigro said. “Where they can walk right out the door and have all the restaurants and other things that LoHi is known for. It’s a pretty neat use and we’re hoping that we can prove the concept and take it into other neighborhoods.”

Groundbreakings for office projects are rare right now in Denver as the commercial real estate market seeks to regain its footing as the pandemic seemingly wanes and determine exactly how offices will be used going forward. While multifamily and industrial developers restarted their engines last year, the pace of office construction has cooled considerably in the metro area in the last two years.

But, the prevailing sentiment among office brokers in the area is that although the daily usage of offices has changed, and is unlikely to get back to pre-pandemic norms, most companies will eventually bring their employees back, at least a few days a week, if they haven’t already.

And offices with a bit of design flair and a good location are seen as better-positioned to fill up than some of the city’s older, more staid products, according to panelists at a Bisnow event earlier this year.