Morgan Stanley Inks HQ Lease in Denver

1601 Wewatta St.’s 7th floor. Image courtesy of Newmark

Solar energy company Pivot Energy has signed a 22,628-square-foot headquarters lease at Morgan Stanley’s 1601 Wewatta St. in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood. Newmark brokered the lease agreement on behalf of the tenant, while CBRE represented the landlord.

Pivot Energy will relocate from its current premises at 1750 15th St. and is scheduled to take up three quarters of the seventh floor at the 299,127-square-foot office building. Autodesk, Deloitte and NAVA Real Estate Development are part of the property’s roster, CommercialEdge reveals.

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The tenant’s new location will include a 4,000-square-foot touchdown space for hybrid and traveling employees, doubled by a private patio with outdoor seating and grills. The expansion is part of the company’s commitment to offering flexible work arrangements to its workforce.

The Class A, LEED-certified building came online in 2015 and features ground-level retail and restaurants, along with underground parking. The property is adjacent to the Union Station transportation hub, also offering connectivity to Interstate 25, RTD light rail and the nearby residential areas.

Senior Managing Director Andrew Blaustein and Associate Director Josh Pons led the Newmark team that brokered the deal on behalf of the tenant, while CBRE’s Senior Vice President Chris Phenicie and First Vice President Allison represented the landlord.

Slow market activity persists in Denver amid economic uncertainty

According to the latest CommercialEdge report, Denver had the highest vacancy rate among major Western markets. The rise in direct vacancy is a result of several factors, including a fluctuating economy in the Denver metropolitan area, prolonged decision-making processes among tenants, as well as ongoing employee preference for remote work, a recent CBRE market report reveals.

Despite the fact that the vacancy rate for Class B properties is still the highest, at 22.0 percent, Class A properties saw the largest increase in vacancy during the first quarter of the year, according to the same source. The rate increased by 60 basis points from the previous quarter and by 150 basis points from the previous year, reaching 20.2 percent.