The borrower was an affiliate of New York based Radiant partners and the investment banker was Eric Tupler of L.J. Melody & Company's Denver office. The initial rate was approximately 4.50% on the three-year loan, which is amortized over 25 years and represents 60% of value.

Tupler tells GlobeSt.com that it was a difficult deal to do because of the national publicity about Denver's high-tech and telecom downturn.

"We showed it to about 15 lenders, and while several showed interest, the reason they chose Washington Mutual is because of the flexibility of the loan," Tupler tells GlobeSt.com.

"North Valley Tech Center is one of Colorado's most successful adaptive reuse projects," says Rhett Nunnally, director at Washington Mutual's Denver's office.

But the transaction was challenging from the standpoint that over 50% of the leases are with telecommunications and technology companies, although the primary use is for back-office and call-center type operations. The majority of the tenants are large publicly-traded companies on long-term leases with staggered expiration dates."The property is currently approximately 95% occupied and has a competitive advantage in the marketplace due to its dual power feeds, large floor plates, fiber optics, high ceilings, strong floor load capacity and advanced telecommunications infrastructure," Nunnally says.