Chipotle Mexican Grill is moving its headquarters to a building under construction in Lower Downtown.
The Denver-based restaurant chain is the first tenant to sign a lease in any of the three new office buildings planned for the neighborhood.
Chipotle will move into 43,000 square feet of space on the fifth and sixth floors when the building at 1401 Wynkoop St. is completed in fall 2008. Its existing headquarters is a block away at 1543 Wazee St.
“It validates the market, and it’s a huge statement by someone like Chipotle,” said James Mansfield, real-estate director for Opus Northwest LLC, which is developing the building. “A lot of leases signed in 2000 and 2001 were coming from upper downtown. This is an existing tenant making a renewed commitment to LoDo.”
Other projects announced for LoDo include a 335,000-square-foot, 18-story office tower being developed by Trammell Crow Co. at 1900 16th St. and a 260,000- square-foot building being developed by international real-estate firm Hines at 1515 Wynkoop.
The Opus project, designed by Shears Adkins Architects of Denver in cooperation with Opus Architects and Engineers, will have a total of 300,000 square feet of office space in two buildings. A 200,000- square-foot building at 1400 Wewatta St. is designed to appeal to corporate tenants, while the 100,000-square-foot building at 1401 Wynkoop targets creative companies, said Marshall Burton, vice president and general manager of Opus’ Denver office.
The project also includes 21 luxury condominiums atop the Wynkoop building.
Opus is seeking LEED (Ledership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the project.
“Opus has emerged as a leader in sustainable design on speculative projects, as well as build-to-suit projects such as the EPA building,” Burton said.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
