A rendering of a building at First Aurora Commerce Center.

AURORA, CO—First Industrial Realty Trust has initiated development of the 1.9 million-square-foot First Aurora Commerce Center to be located in the Denver I-70 East/Airport submarket here.

The Chicago-based industrial real estate firm states it has commenced phase one of the development, which includes construction of a 555,840-square-foot state-of-the-art logistics center. The development cost for the building will be approximately $38.3 million. First Industrial acquired the 138-acre site, which can accommodate five buildings, for $8.8 million.

Located near the intersection of E-470 and I-70 in Aurora, the first building will feature a 36-foot clear height, 109 dock-high door positions, four drive-in doors, 174 trailer stalls, 278 auto stalls, ESFR sprinklers and LED lighting. Phase one is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019. First Industrial plans to develop the remaining land on a speculative basis with buildings ranging in size from 130,000 to 587,000 square feet.

“First Aurora Commerce Center is well-located to serve businesses that require convenient and efficient distribution channels, as well as access to a large pool of highly skilled labor from Aurora, Denver and the surrounding area,” says John Strabel, senior regional director for First Industrial. “We are excited to enhance our portfolio in the growing Denver metro area and expand our position in this key logistics submarket.”

First Industrial's team for this development, in addition to Strabel, includes Peter Schultz, executive vice president and Jim Knopka, senior director of construction services. The JLL Denver Supply Chain and Logistics Solutions team of Mitchell Zatz, SIOR, and Carmon Hicks, SIOR, will assist First Industrial with the leasing of this project, the company states.

The firm back in August announced it was beginning to develop First Park 121, a recently acquired 84-acre site in Lewisville, TX in the Northwest submarket of Dallas.

The company stated at the time it would break ground that month on phase one of the park will be comprised of two rear-load facilities of 219,808 and 125,267 square feet, respectively. Total estimated investment for these two buildings is $27.5 million. In total, First Park 121 can accommodate four warehouse/distribution buildings totaling up to 727,000 square feet.

Instant Insights /

First Industrial to Begin Major Distribution Center in Denver Area

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