"Lincoln Center fits nicely within the fund's strategy for adding value to its acquired assets by repositioning, reinvesting in infrastructure and implementing aggressive lease retention and new leasing programs," says David Taran, co-founder of Divco West, theSan Francisco-based real estate investment company that created the $290-million Page Mill Properties fund. He says the firm was attracted to the building's proximity to the 16th Street Mall and mass transit; a "solid" corporate and government tenancy; positive space absorption in the CBD since the end of last year; a shrinking inventory for class A space; and rising rents.

"This is our first acquisition in Denver and we like the potential this market offers." Taran says. "We have consistently had success in Northern California and other markets buying properties like Lincoln Center and stepping up tenant services, working with tenants to renew their leases as a service oriented-owner, as well as making the required investments to upgrade common areas and signage."

Divco West co-founder Stuart Shiff says that a similar situation existed in another fund acquisition, the Market Center property on Market Street in San Francisco. "The Market Street towers were only 20% leased when we purchased them, and through similar proactive strategies we've already been able to bring occupancy at Market Center up to 61%," Taran says. He adds that unlike Denver's CBD, which he says is "coming out of its difficult times just fine," the San Francisco market at the time of the Market Street acquisition was "the national poster child for depressed markets." That market is now one of the hottest investment markets in the country, he notes.

The Lincoln Center property has undergone nearly $2.2 million in structural and systems capital improvements throughout the past four years. The building was constructed in 1972 by Myron Miller, then of Urban Investment and Development Co., a subsidiary of Aetna Life & Casualty. The office tower is built above eight floors of above-grade parking, providing attractive views for tenants.

Recently, the 1290 Broadway building sold Downtown for more than $34 million and several other Downtown buildings are scheduled to sell later this year. The biggest sale is expected to be Brookfield's Downtown office towers, including the 56-story Republic Plaza, the tallest building in Colorado. That portfolio is expected to fetch more than $500 million, making it one of the largest single commercial real estate deals in Downtown.