Etkin Johnson refinances CTC portfolio with $75M loan

LOUISVILLE — Denver-based Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners on Thursday said it has closed on a $75 million refinancing loan for its Colorado Technology Center II portfolio.

Dallas-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP arranged the 10-year, sub-4 percent fixed-rate loan with MetLife on behalf of Etkin Johnson, according to a prepared statement.

The portfolio consists of five properties in the Colorado Technology Center in Louisville, including 1900 Cherry St., 1960 Cherry St., 2000 Taylor Ave., 1900 Taylor Ave., and 633 CTC Blvd., totaling 535,787 square feet. A sixth 109,386-square-foot built-to-suit building at 2035 Taylor Ave. will be added to the loan once construction is completed this fall.

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Derek Conn, executive vice president and partner at Etkin Johnson, said the refinancing will allow Etkin Johnson to return “a significant portion of investors’ capital earlier than expected.”

HFF’s senior managing director Eric Tupler said it is one of the largest loans completed for a high-market-rate industrial project that has been closed in many years. “Lenders really understood the story and long-term market fundamentals of the project,” he said.

Conn said HFF identified a lender “who understood the significance of this transaction for Etkin Johnson and recognized the strength of Denver’s industrial market for an investment of this size.”

Etkin Johnson has been investing and developing in the CTC for nearly 30 years to accommodate what is called the Boulder Effect — tenants moving from Boulder to Louisville because they can’t afford higher rents in Boulder.

“Anticipating the growing demand for industrial space, we took a chance on developing speculative buildings in the CTC,” Conn said, adding that those properties leased quickly to growing companies.