BOULDER, CO—Unico Properties LLC, Seattle, has has purchased an approximately 1.5 million-square-foot Colorado office portfolio from W.W. Reynolds Companies,

The deal includes a 1,013,443 square-foot portfolio in Boulder and a 507,005-square-foot portfolio in Fort Collins.

“This transaction, at approximately 1.5 million square feet, represents the largest real estate transaction by square footage this cycle and it elevates Unico's position in the market as one of the largest office landlords in the Front Range,” said Geoff Baukol, SVP, institutional properties, CBRE Capital Markets.

Shortly after closing, Unico sold the Fort Collins portfolio to Prospect Development Partners, LLC.

The Boulder portfolio is comprised of 27 buildings located in four of Boulder's premier office parks: Pearl East Business Park, Tierra Business Centre, Flatiron Business Center, and Highpoint Business Park. 

“We feel fortunate to have uncovered the opportunity to invest in this extraordinary portfolio.  This was a very large and complicated transaction that required significant creativity and ingenuity.  We're thrilled to be working with W.W. Reynolds, one of Boulder's premier real estate companies, and we look forward to a continued partnership with the company as they manage the portfolio for us,” said Ned Carner, Unico Properties vice president of acquisitions.

Unico purchased the Boulder portfolio in partnership with AEW Capital Management, L.P. (AEW), a global real estate investment advisor.  AEW acquired the property on behalf of AEW Partners VII, L.P., the seventh in the firm's series of opportunistic real estate funds.  The Boulder portfolio is located east of Foothills Parkway and is 90% occupied to a diverse roster of tenants, including some of the Front Range's top creative and technology companies. Unico plans to further improve the portfolio's reputation and quality for tenants looking for a premier corporate image in Boulder.

“Timing and the strength of the real estate market in Boulder and Fort Collins made this opportunity to sell a portion of my portfolio possible,” said Bill Reynolds, president of the W.W. Reynolds Companies. “Having personally developed all of the properties included in this sale, it was important to me that my company stay involved going forward.”

“We see tremendous opportunity in the Boulder market as a whole, especially in the areas surrounding Boulder Junction.  We are excited to continue our investment momentum with the acquisition of such a remarkable portfolio of office buildings.  This acquisition underscores our on-going commitment to growth, expansion, and long-term presence in Boulder,” added Carner. “We intend to invest significant capital into tenant spaces, upgrade the common areas, and enhance the amenity base of the parks in order to meet the needs of Boulder's dynamic creative, technology, and office tenants.  By modernizing the buildings, our goal is to help tenants attract and retain top talent and solidify the buildings' position as Boulder's premier office parks for its growing creative and tech tenant base.” 

Pearl East Business Park, a 453,424-square-foot business center is located in the heart of Boulder at the crossing of Foothills Parkway and Pearl Parkway.  At 93% leased, the 11 building campus offer floorplates ranging from approximately 5,000 to 38,000 square feet, significantly higher parking ratios than downtown Boulder, exceptional access to the 36 Corridor, and close proximity to retail amenities including the 29th Street Mall, Downtown Boulder and the Pearl Street Pedestrian Mall, and the soon-to-be constructed Boulder Junction.

Located just South of Pearl East, Tierra Business Centre, is a 205,180-square-foot business center that consists of six buildings and is 82% leased.  Tierra sits alongside one of Boulder's many municipal paths which offers Tierra's tenants and visitors direct access into downtown Boulder without ever having to get in their car.

With 168,619 square feet and four buildings, Flatirons Business Center is a premier, office campus within Flatiron Park.  At 90% leased, Flatirons caters to technology tenants.  Known as “Boulder's Technology Home,” the 1.4 million-square-foot Flatiron Park serves as the preferred location of technology firms ranging from startups to publicly-traded companies. 

Perched atop a hill overlooking Boulder and in close proximity to Boulder Municipal Airport, Highpoint Business Park is a 186,220-square-foot office park that consists of six buildings.  It offers unobstructed views of the city and Front Range Mountains with patios on the upper floor suites.  The property is 90% leased to a roster of long-term tenants including multiple Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous locally-grown companies.   

“Boulder offers a unique blend of strong economic drivers and incredible quality of life.  When we uncovered the off-market opportunity to buy a significant, institutional quality portfolio in a market like Boulder with very real supply limitations, a growing, dynamic tenant base, and ultra-low vacancy numbers, we couldn't pass it up,” said Austin Kane, vice president of Unico Properties' Colorado portfolio. 

This acquisition increases Unico's real estate portfolio in Boulder to nearly 1.4 million square feet, which also includes 14 buildings consisting of 354,000 square feet in Downtown Boulder, on or around the Pearl Street Mall.  

W.W. Reynolds will continue to provide leasing and property management services for this newly-acquired Boulder portfolio. Unico will continue to provide leasing and property management services for its other real estate holdings in Boulder.

The Fort Collins portfolio consists of 24 properties located in Prospect East Business Park.  The portfolio is a critical mass of real estate in the rapidly growing, tightening, and historically privately-owned market of Fort Collins. The portfolio is 95% leased to a diverse roster of research, technology, government, and energy tenants, most notably serving as the headquarters to Advanced Energy, a leading designer and manufacturer of power conversion products.  The portfolio consists of 24 buildings that are located approximately three miles east of downtown Fort Collins and Colorado State University, and it represents the largest business park of its kind in the Fort Collins market.  Shortly after closing, Unico sold the Fort Collins portfolio to Prospect Development Partners, LLC.

Unico's Denver office portfolio consists of two million square feet of class-A office properties, which include Writer Square, 17th & Larimer in Lower Downtown, the Root and Zang Buildings in the Platte River Valley, 1660 Lincoln in the heart of Denver's oil and gas community, Belleview Tower and Harlequin in the Denver Technology Center, and Centerpoint I and Centerpoint II at the intersection of I-25 and Colorado Boulevard. 

Unico Properties LLC is a real estate investor and full-service operator, focused on office and multifamily assets in the Western United States. AEW Capital Management, provides real estate investment management services to investors worldwide. The W. W. Reynolds Companies, Inc. is a growth-oriented, real estate service company focused on development, leasing and professional property management.