Denver developer plans small-bay industrial space in Louisville

By Doug Storum — BizWest Journalist 

LOUISVILLE — Denver-based Comunale Properties said Wednesday it will construct a building with small-bay industrial and flex space in the Colorado Technology Center in Louisville. Summit at CTC is a 62,400-square-foot speculative project intended to be subdivided into 9,600-square-foot spaces and leased to multiple tenants that don’t require a large space. The project, being built at 486 S. Pierce Ave., is expected to be completed late this year. Cost of the project was not released.

“We are excited to get underway with Summit at CTC catering to smaller users that need modern Class A construction to efficiently run their businesses, which hasn’t been available in the greater Denver and Boulder markets,” said the company’s president and managing partner John Comunale. “The vast majority of new construction this cycle has been geared toward larger users in excess of 100,000 square feet, with 50,000-square-foot bays being some of the smallest we’ve seen. The core of our business is focused on the 10,000- to 25,000-square-foot user, and this is a niche we think will be well received in the Colorado Technology Center.”

Development features include 24-foot ceilings, dock-high and drive-in doors, a high-output, high-volume sprinkler system, and front and rear parking with three parking spaces per 1,000 feet.

Comunale is planning a second phase that will consist of a 40,000-square-foot building that could be built to suit or developed speculatively shortly after the groundbreaking of Summit at CTC.

The project represents Comunale Properties’ latest development as part of its 1 million-square-foot portfolio. The family-owned commercial real-estate investment, management and development company primarily focuses on industrial and flex assets in Colorado and Ohio.

Erik Abrahamson, a senior associate with CBRE Industrial & Logistics Service, said over the past several years that a significant amount of industrial inventory in Boulder has been redeveloped for other uses, making it hard for industrial users to stay in the area. Abrahamson, along with CBRE’s Tyler Carner, Jeremy Kroner and Jeremy Ballenger, are leasing agents for the property.

Lakewood-based Alcorn Construction Inc., is the general contractor, and Powers Brown Architecture in Denver is the project’s designer.