Now, ROC has an owner that would buy the 14-story, 105,000-sf building for about $11 million. Eventually, the buyer could occupy the entire building. ROC officials say the value of the building would be $18 million and they would retain an equity interest in the building after the sale.

ROC officials declined to reveal the name of the potential buyer, but GlobeSt.com has learned it was Matrix Capital Bancorp, which currently has its offices two blocks away from Terracentre. Matrix plans to move its $1.6 billion bank from Las Cruces, NM to either Denver or Phoenix.

''Terracentre is our No. 1 choice,'' Mark Spencer, chairman of Matrix Capital Bank tells GlobeSt.com. ''A big decision on us moving here or not depends on our ability to buy that building.''

Guy Gibson, president of Matrix Bancorp, agrees.

''Terracentre certainly is at the top of our list,'' Gibson tells GlobeSt.com. ''''It has the type of marquee structure building with a good visibility that is an ideal situation for the headquarters and retail operation of a financial institution. We met with the economic people in the city this week to see what they could do for us. We've been in Denver for 10 years and there could be a lot of advantages to re-domicile our bank here.''

The move would bring 100 to 150 jobs to Denver, he says.

Spencer says he would like to see the city incorporate the Terracentre building into the convention center.

''They have talked about an office and retail component for the overall master plan for the center,'' Spencer tells GlobeSt.com.

When ROC Properties bought Terracentre it was only 19% leased and rental rates were running around $16.50 per sf. Today, it's about 70% leased and rates are averaging about $23 per sf. It was 87% leased, but a dot.com company bailed.

''We got dot.bombed,'' Bill Thorvilson, senior vice president at ROC, says.

Robert E. Collawn, managing partner and chairman of ROC, says he considers the building a Class A building because of upgrades they made when they bought it.

Katie E. Markman, a principal at ROC, says it is the best kept secret in Denver and provides some of the most stunning views of any building downtown.

Some brokers, however, say that it is a Class-B building because it only has about 65 parking spaces and it's several blocks from the 17th Street financial district in the CBD. To make up for the lack of parking, ROC provides valet parking for its tenants. Ironically, the building used to have an adjacent parking lot but that was acquired by the city for a previous expansion of the convention center.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Office Tower Faces Condemnation, Loss of Sale

Related Stories

Recommended For You