Portman Holdings Acquires 1801 Wewatta

DENVER—Portman Holdings has acquired a development site at 18th and Wewatta Streets in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood (LoDo), across the street from the new Union Station multimodal transit terminal.

The project is currently in pre-development, with plans to break ground in fall 2014. Current plans for the property include a 200,000 square foot mixed-use development featuring office space and a hotel. John Portman & Associates will provide architectural services and intends to differentiate the building through an architecturally significant design and a proposed public outdoor space facing 18th and Wewatta Streets. General Contractor Hensel Phelps plans to complete construction within 18 months of breaking ground.

“This location is unbeatable,” said Ambrish Baisiwala, CEO of Portman Holdings. “Denver is just the type of market we are bullish about, and we appreciate the dynamics of the Union Station neighborhood as well as the walkability and integrated transit.”

Denver has recovered 110% of jobs lost during the recession, and as of December 2013 there was $1.5 billion under construction in Downtown alone. In addition to the favorable dynamics of the overall Denver and downtown Denver markets, the superior location of the site led the development partnership to purchase the land. The Union Station neighborhood, is seeing a spike in development activity. The neighborhood is home to a $484 million infrastructure project—Union Station multimodal terminal—and is within walking distance of Denver's riverfront, the new 17-acre Commons Park, Wynkoop Plaza, the Wewatta Pavilion, Coors Field, and some of Denver's most popular attractions.