Harbor Associates Pays $17.6M For Historic Downtown Building

A California company paid $17.6M for a historic office building in downtown Denver in an off-market, all-cash deal.

Harbor Associates, in a joint venture with Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Real Estate, has purchased the 115K SF Ideal Building at 821 17th St. in the heart of Denver’s financial district from Kesef LLC, an entity controlled by NAI Shames Makovsky. The partnership is renaming the building, home to The Broker Restaurant, The Vault.

NAI Shames Makovsky completed a major restoration of the bulding in 2001.

“This property represents one of our best achievements in the realm of historical restorations,” said Evan Makovsky, manager of the ownership group that sold the property. “Painstaking efforts were put into this property to restore it to the state that the original architects intended.”

The building’s anchor tenant, Colorado Business Bank, recently vacated the building. Harbor plans to renovate the 90% vacant building into one-of-a-kind creative office space with on-site food and beverage amenities in a historically preserved setting.

“This building is an incredible piece of Denver’s history and an exciting office choice for tenants who recognize and appreciate unique value,” Harbor principal Joon Choi said. “Its local legacy is perhaps best represented by the many impressive vaults on the building’s lower levels. That’s what’s inspired the building’s new name — the Vault. The Vault will honor the building’s rich history, created through the test of time, showcasing and protecting its original, spectacular features.”

Built in 1907 by Dome Investment Co. for Claude Boettcher to promote the capabilities of his Colorado Portland Cement Co., the building is listed on the National Historic Register as the first tower to be constructed of reinforced concrete west of the Mississippi. In 1927, as 17th Street became known as the Wall Street of the West, the Denver National Bank expanded the building to add a grand lobby that is heralded today as one of the top historic lobbies in the city.

The original concrete structure, marble finishes, oak windows, ornate artwork, vintage chandeliers and historic bank vaults will be core elements of Harbor’s repositioning strategy.

“We appreciate how special the opportunity is to breathe new life into one of Denver’s most architecturally significant buildings,” Choi said. “Our business plan is to retain the great history of the asset while adding the amenities and modern office and restaurant improvements required by today’s tenants.”

The project is the ninth value-add office acquisition for Harbor in the last two years and is the company’s first building in the Denver market.