Denver Place Plaza Tower Hitting Market

Denver Place Plaza is one of the more unique properties in Downtown, as it includes a 31-story, 541,000-sf office tower at 1099 18th St.; the 337-room Embassy Suites Hotel; 193 luxury apartment units; and the Athletic Club at Denver Place. It is owned by Amerimar Realty Corp.

What is not part of the deal is an adjacent office building and retail center at 999 18th St. That's because the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest tenant in the building, will be moving into a new building to be developed at the former Post Office annex site next to Union Station in LoDo. However, the other tower, the one that is on the market, is about 93% leased. That makes it one of the best performing office towers in Downtown.

Another plus to the buyer could be that the Embassy Suites Hotel's management agreement expires in 2006. That would give a buyer an opportunity to upgrade the hotel and either sign a new agreement with Embassy Suites or forge a new one with another operators.

If the property is sold, the luxury apartments, which carry some of the highest rents in the metro area, could be converted to condominiums. Although no asking price has been set, local real estate experts estimate that it could sell for $175 million to $200 million. The complex is being listed by the San Francisco office of Eastdil Realty.

Flynn notes that Amerimar is under no pressure to sell the property. "We'll see what the market says," Flynn tells GlobeSt.com. "If we get a price we want, we'll sell it. If we don't, it's a great asset and we'll continue to own it." Amerimar, based in Philadelphia, is privately held. Also, it is possible Amerimar might retain a small equity stake in the property after the sale.

Amerimar would look at selling the complex as a whole or any combination of the office tower, hotel, athletic clubs and apartments. But Mary Sullivan, an investment broker with CB Richard Ellis, predicts one buyer will pay all of the components, diverse as they are. Her reasoning is that the sum of its parts is worth more than each part separately.