Over the past two years, Colorado has received nearly $350 million in Recovery Act funding to convert federal buildings into high-performance green buildings and build new, energy-efficient federal buildings and courthouses.
The projects, selected based on their potential energy savings and speed of delivery, are helping to prop up the commercial real estate market as federal employees are relocated to temporary leased space while the work is being done.
“It’s a short-term phenomenon, but it helped our downtown market in turning the corner,” said Tom Lee, executive managing director of Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross.
The Colorado funding is part of the $5.5 billion the General Services Administration was appropriated to improve federal buildings nationwide. The work includes some projects outside the Denver metro area.
GSA provides workspace to more than 1 million federal civilian workers and oversees the preservation of more than 480 historic buildings.
In downtown Denver, for example, four projects underway have resulted in GSA’s signing five leases for temporary space totaling 370,000 square feet, with a contract value of $25.5 million, said Sally Mayberry, spokeswoman for GSA.
That’s in addition to the 30 leases for 950,000 square feet it occupies downtown, not counting the buildings it owns.
GSA occupies nearly 20 percent of downtown Denver’s office space, which totals 25.8 million square feet in 119 buildings.
“GSA is proud to provide more than 1 million square feet of leased space to federal tenants in downtown Denver,” said Susan Damour, GSA Rocky Mountain regional administrator. “Our goal is to lead the city in providing energy-efficient buildings.”
In Colorado, GSA owns 89 federal buildings totaling 6.79 million square feet. It leases approximately 4.08 million square feet in 157 buildings. Primary tenants include the U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management.
The largest Colorado project underway is the $154 million modernization of the 494,156-square-foot Byron G. Rogers Federal Building downtown. Employees have been relocated from the 18-story building, which is undergoing improvements to all major components, including structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and elevators as well as the abatement of asbestos and PCBs.
In addition to infrastructure and building improvements, the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood is undertaking a $39 million photovoltaic project. A 6-megawatt photovoltaic park using both roof- and ground-mounted units will be built throughout the campus.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
