Origin Investments Joins Aspire of Westminster Multifamily Project

WESTMINSTER, CO—Chicago-based Origin Investments has joined Sherman Associates in the development of the 226-unit Aspire Westminster multifamily project that broke ground last month.

Origin Investments is providing $18 million in preferred equity through the Origin IncomePlus Fund to the project being developed by Sherman Associates of Minneapolis. Aspire Westminster is the second multifamily development by Sherman Associates in Downtown Westminster and another major component of the massive Downtown Westminster Redevelopment initiative.

Of the 226 apartments to be developed at the five-story Aspire, 203 units will be market rate units, including studio, one and two-bedroom dwellings. A number of the two-bedroom units will feature two-story living spaces. In addition to the market rate apartments, Aspire of Westminster will feature 23 affordable/workforce housing units.

The development also will include two levels of underground and structured parking inclusive of 370 spaces. Ground-floor commercial space will total 34,500 square feet. The developer is currently in advance lease negotiations for a market hall concept, Origin Investments reports.

The Class A property, with 34,500 square feet of ground floor retail space, is expected to be ready for occupancy by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Among the planned amenities at Aspire Westminster will be luxury, hospitality-quality amenities including a rooftop amenity deck with pool and hot tub, club and fitness rooms, a yoga/fitness studio, a sports simulator room and free wi-fi in the common areas. Unit amenities will include electric ranges, in-unit washers and dryers, balconies or patios and smart home technology.

“The Downtown Westminster Redevelopment is a dramatic and exciting revitalization, with the multifamily projects being developed by Sherman Associates serving as a cornerstone of what is to come,” says Tom Briney, director of Acquisitions, Origin Investments. “At Origin, we are bullish on the Denver metro area and excited to be joining with Sherman Associates as an investment partner in Aspire.”

The 2.4-acre Aspire of Westminster development site is part of the broader 105-acre Downtown Westminster master planned development. The area, which once was a regional shopping mall, encompasses more than 22 designated blocks with 18 acres of parks and public spaces. The first phase of development in Downtown Westminster includes a 1.2-acre public plaza, Alamo Draft House, Origin Hotel, retail and office space and a mix of both market rate and affordable housing. A commuter rail line has been proposed and is currently under consideration.

When completed, the City of Westminster expects the redevelopment will include approximately 2,300 multifamily and condo units, 300 hotel rooms, 2 million to 3 million square feet of office space and 750,000 square feet of retail space. In total, the City of Westminster projects that more than 10,000 people will be employed there at full build-out.

Sherman Associates’ first project in the Westminster redevelopment is Ascent, a five story, 255-unit apartment building. Sherman expects a summer completion and move-in for the development that also includes more than 22,500 square feet of commercial space and nearly 390 parking spaces. According to Sherman Associates, 77% of the commercial space is in various stages of lease negotiations.

Aspire Westminster represents the second ground-up multifamily development and third asset in the Denver metro region for Origin Investments. Last August an Origin-led joint venture started construction of Connect at First Creek, a 150-unit, $35 million, garden-style multifamily development in a burgeoning corridor of Denver, which will see its first units deliver in the summer of 2019.  These developments combined with its 2018 acquisition of Fletcher Southlands, builds the firm’s Denver area portfolio to nearly 700 units.