One of downtown Denver’s most vacant office buildings could be sold to an atypical buyer.
Independence Plaza, a 25-story building at 1050 17th St., is under contract to sell to the University of Colorado, the school confirmed to BusinessDen Tuesday.
“The University of Colorado Foundation is currently doing due diligence on the potential purchase of Independence Plaza,” Jack Finlaw, president and CEO of the University of Colorado Foundation, said in a written statement.
“We carefully evaluate strategic opportunities that strengthen the university’s long-term success and its ability to serve students, communities, and the state. This is one such opportunity.”
The foundation, which has made other real estate purchases to benefit the university system, didn’t address what it plans to do with the property spanning a full city block along the 16th Street Mall between Curtis and Arapahoe streets.
The 567,000-square-foot Independence Plaza, which was built in the 1970s, is being marketed for sale by CBRE. The brokerage lists the building as just 21% occupied.
The current owner is Independence Plaza Investment Group Inc. The entity acquired the property in 2007 for $144.5 million, according to public records.
Any deal now, no matter the buyer, would likely be for a small fraction of that, given the property’s vacancy and the overall state of downtown office real estate.
The CU system already has some downtown property holdings. CU Denver’s business school is at 1475 Lawrence St. One block away on 14th Street are two more school buildings, including the 14-story Lawrence Street Center, home to the chancellor and provost offices.
CU’s purchase could bring needed activity to downtown, which has struggled since the pandemic. Office vacancy sits at 39%, according to CBRE, the highest on record.
Until now, most buyers of largely empty office buildings have been opportunistic investors or developers looking to convert them into apartments. The Denver Downtown Development Authority, a city affiliate tasked with investing hundreds of millions in bond funds into the city’s urban core, has awarded $92 million in loans to office-to-residential conversions.
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