Janus has pulled out of the development because it says it no longer needs the space. The campus would have covered 800,000 sf to 1.2 million sf.
The redevelopment authority has begun to "strategize" on its next step for the 35-acre site, but likely won't have a new master plan in place until this fall, says Hilarie Portell, spokeswoman for the association. "This is a very important piece of property for us, as it accounts for about 40% of our business property," Portell tells GlobeSt.com. Because the authority had been "deep in negotiations" with Janus for two years, she says there has been no opportunity to look to other options.
Tom Markham, the authority's executive director, tells GlobeSt.com that Janus' decision allows them to get creative with the site. "Of course, we were disappointed," Markham says. "But this gives us an opportunity to look at the land in a different way. With all the rooftops being added at Lowry, we have a great need for more support services. Maybe we would use part of the land for more restaurants, or a daycare center or an athletic club."
Scott Garel, a broker with the Frederick Ross Co. commercial brokerage firm in Denver, says there is one bright spot. Janus would have vacated about 500,000 sf of office space in the Cherry Creek North/Glendale area, where it currently is headquartered. "All of that vacancy was cause of quite a bit of concern for that submarket over the next two years," he tells GlobeSt.com.
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