Etkin Johnson delivers 2 new CTC buildings, plans others

LOUISVILLE — Etkin Johnson Real Estate Partners, a Denver-based commercial real estate investment and development company, recently completed two new buildings in Louisville’s Colorado Technology Center: a nearly 110,000-square-foot FedEx distribution center and  136,610-square-foot speculative industrial and flexible-use building.

That flex space is the first of the three-building development Etkin Johnson has planned for the center. The development, called the Louisville Corporate Campus, will total about 400,000-square-feet, said Etkin Johnson vice president and partner Ryan Good.

The second building will break ground as soon as the newly delivered space is at least 50 percent leased, he said. Once permitted, the new buildings can be built in about nine months.

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“We are building the spaces to be flexible in nature to be able to accommodate users from manufacturers, to distributors, to offices for engineers,” Good said.

Etkin Johnson has developed a total of about 1.5-million square feet within the nearly built-out CTC.

The park, Good said, has proven attractive to both developers and tenants.

“From a developer’s standpoint, the CTC allows us to build buildings at a scale that is more cost effective than what you would see in Boulder,” he said. “Ultimately this leads to more economical lease terms for the end tenant.”

Good estimates that about 60 percent of tenants moving into Etkin Johnson spaces in the CTC are companies from Boulder.

“They just don’t have anywhere to grow within Boulder, so the next best alternative for them is the Colorado Tech Center.”

While the park isn’t in Boulder, its proximity to the city adds to its attractiveness.

“Louisville is still in Boulder County, so you can still say you’re part of the Boulder area,” Good said. That’s an important part of the branding a lot of these companies are going for.”

Because the center is nearly built out, developers are looking for an area that could become the next Colorado Tech Center.

“If we could find another CTC and build that pipeline out over the next 15 or 20 years, that would be our end goal,” Good said.

In August Etkin Johnson announced plans to sell off a large portfolio of industrial properties in Colorado. A buyer has yet to be identified.

“We are still marketing the 19-building portfolio,” Good said. “It’s approximately 2 million square feet of industrial and flex space. We are working through the process.”

Most of the assets for sale are located along the Front Range from Denver to Colorado Springs.

The portfolio sale represents “an opportunity to recycle some capital and go out to find new opportunities that work best for the organization long term.”