Denver Skyscraper Testing Market Again; More Deals Keep Activity at High Level

By Alex Girda, Associate Editor

What was until recently called the Qwest building is now up for sale, according to The Denver Business Journal. The current owner, Public Service Enterprises Group Inc. of Newark, New Jersey has hired Cushman & Wakefield to handle the sale of the skyscraper. Located at 1801 California Street, the 52-story building is regarded as an important part of the city’s skyline. Out of the 1.28 million square feet of office space the building boasts, 850,000 square feet are currently occupied by the CenturyLink. This company recently bought former tenant Qwest and now holds a master lease for the space in the building, set to expire next year in June. The blue Qwest sign is also being removed from the 1982-built skyscraper.

DBJ reports that the listing for the building could surface some time during August and that the asking price would stand between $200 million and $230 million. Should CenturyLink leave the space it currently occupies, the building will require $60-80 million in tenant improvements. Although the building was put up for sale before, in 2008, and it failed to sell, the recent influx of investors to Denver through deals like the 1515 Wynkoop St. building and the 1800 Larimer St. property provide a certain degree of confidence that the property will trade hands soon.

Speaking of deals that have helped reinforce that belief, The Jackson National Life building sold for $41.5 million, that same Denver Business Journal reports. The six-story building is part of the Denver Tech Center and it offers 182,875 square feet of space, all of which were fully leased at the time of the sale. The largest tenant in the building at 7601 Technology Way is Jackson National Life Insurance Co.