Big deals: Institutional investors, lured by low prices, growth, snap up regional real estate

Outside institutional investors have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into commercial properties in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado because they see a market with prices that leave room for profits, either as a landlord or through a quick flip.

In the past 18 months, Goldman Sachs, Blackstone Group, Balfour Capital Management, Cress Capital and Crescent Real Estate, all deep-pocket investment groups based elsewhere, have acquired major portfolios in the region.

The Campus at Longmont, Flatiron Park in east Boulder, prime buildings in downtown Boulder and a bevy of buildings in Fort Collins have been…