Piazza d’Tango will mix office, retail on Arapahoe

BOULDER – Construction is expected to begin soon for Piazza d’Tango, a high-end office and retail building at 55th Street and Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder. The complex should be ready for occupancy in January.

Part of an existing building at the site will be demolished for the project, which is planned to have six units on the first floor and two units on the second floor, said Zane Blackmer, president of Rockrimmon Real Estate, project developer.

Of the eight units, at least two will be offices, and the rest will be shops, service businesses and restaurants, he said. “I expect one or two restaurants will locate in the building adjacent to the road; a coffee shop and lunch restaurant,” he said. “Approximately 45,000 cars pass by there a day.”VAGABOND ADRIFT: Yet another Boulder business is looking for a new home due to high rental rates downtown. Vagabond Travel and Luggage, owned for the last year by Paul Pantleo, is seeking a new home in Lafayette, mostly likely at the intersection of Arapahoe Road and 95th Street.

The travel agency is paying more than $4,500 a month at triple net for its space on 13th Street, whereas it can rent space in Lafayette for about half that amount. A triple net lease is a lease requiring tenants to pay all ongoing maintenance expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance and upkeep of the property. Vagabond Travel is trying to sublease its store space at 13th Street but has had no takers yet. Vagabond’s downtown lease does not expire until January 2003. LA SPORTIVA EXPANDS: La Sportiva North America, a distributor of footwear including rock-climbing shoes, mountaineering, hiking and backpacking boots, mountain running shoes and mountain sandals, has moved across the street from 3280 Pearl St. to 3850 Frontier. In so doing, the company has doubled its space from 8,000 to more than 16,000 square feet.

Jason Kruse of the Colorado Group represented La Sportiva.

Ed Sampson, president of La Sportiva, said while the move was an excellent opportunity for La Sportiva, with the slow economy, the company still is trying to sublease its previous space. COLONY SQUARE ACQUIRED: Income Property Specialists, a Boulder full-service commercial real estate firm, has acquired the Phase II commercial properties of Colony Square, located at 1100 West Dillon Road in Louisville. IPS purchased the property for $6 million. Eric Kimose of Marcus & Millichap was the broker for the seller. IPS acquired Colony Square Phase I in May.

Colony Square Phase II is a 28,000-square-foot center that includes the following tenants: Silverstone Mortgage, Fringe Hair Salon, Buy Back Games, Papa John’s, Everybody Loves Wireless, Wahoo Fish Taco, Bellco Credit Union, Colony Cleaners, Bear Naked Sports, Panera Bread Café and All About Fitness. There also is one 2,102-square-foot space available. BUSY IN DENVER: Income Property Specialists of Boulder sold an 8,151-square-foot, 17-unit apartment complex 1431 Pearl St. in Denver. The buyers of the property are Craig and Judith Schwartz and were represented by Matt Ritter and Jeff Johnson from Unique Properties of Denver.

Also, IPS has leased its space at 1700 Wynkoop (Streetcar Stables) in Denver to the new Adega Restaurant. Kelly Greene of Unique Properties and Evan Makovsky of Shames-Makovsky represented Adega.

Opening in April 2002, Ageda will offer more than 500 wine selections and French and American dishes. Ageda is expected to spend more than $1 million in tenant improvements. Semple Brown is the architect for this 6000-square-foot project. LOAN ARRANGED: John Richert and Marsha Blair of Terrix Financial Corp. have arranged a loan of $1.25 million for a local dentist and ophthalmologist to purchase an 11,250-square-foot office building at 1810 30th St. in Boulder. Royal Neighbors of America, which is represented in the Colorado market by Terrix Financial Corp. Miles King of the Colorado Group, provided the 10-year loan, which was fixed at 7.375 percent and amortized over 20 years, and Tom Kilinski of RE/MAX of Boulder facilitated the transaction. The purchasers will occupy more than half the building. LOAN SECURED: John Richert and Amy Gibson of Terrix Financial also have arranged a loan of $6.4 million secured by Coronado Apartments, a 124-unit apartment complex that was built in 1972. Coronado Apartments is located at 4977-4998 Moorhead in Boulder. The 10-year non-recourse loan was amortized over 30 years and carried a rate of 7.21 percent. The lender was PW Funding, who is represented in Colorado by Terrix Financial. The borrower is a local investor who used the loan proceeds to pay off a life company loan that was due. LOUISVILLERETAIL CENTER: Centennial Pavilion, an upscale retail development anchored by Walgreen, is expected to break ground this month at the northwest corner of McCaslin and Century Drive, next to Centennial Valley Business Park.

The approximately $15 million project will be developed by a limited liability company headed by Scott Pederson of Pederson Development Co., along with partners Steve Spohn and Jeff Smith of S.E. Spohn Construction Co.

Walgreen, which will have a prescription drive-up window, will occupy a 14,500-square-foot building at the southeast corner of the site. An approximately 13,000-square-foot restaurant and retail building will be built at the northeast corner, along with a 3,200-square-foot free-standing building for Champion Cleaners, which also will have a drive-up.

Siamese Plate, a Thai restaurant with a location in Boulder, will occupy space in the retail-restaurant building, which is being marketed by SullivanHayes brokers Liz Morgan and Kimberly Waldera. Approximately 8,500 square feet is available at $24 per square foot triple net. A triple net lease requires tenants to pay all ongoing maintenance expenses such as utilities, taxes, insurance and upkeep of the property. MIXED-USE PROJECT: Louisville city council recently approved plans for two 28,000-square-foot mixed-use shopping and office buildings at 917 and 901 Front St.

Developer Arlin Lehman of Pulmonary Data Services said he hopes to open the building at 917 Front St. in January 2002 ,and the building at 901 Front St. by fall 2002. Contact Amy Stogner at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail astogner@bcbr.com.

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