This is not your ordinary conversion from office to multi-family. 4340 S. Monaco is a newer building by the Denver Tech Center standards, built in 2001 versus most of the office buildings built in the 80s. So it will be interesting to see how this turns out. Kudos to Shea for the opportunistic investment
Lack of Affordable Housing Pushes Developer to Pitch Denver Office Conversion Plan
Shea Properties Moves on Push to Overhaul Property Near Affluent Employment Hubs
By Katie Burke, CoStar News
It has some of the highest rents in the city and a construction pipeline stuffed with luxury developments, but the Denver Tech Center neighborhood could get a more affordable alternative with one developer’s plan to overhaul a long-vacant office building.
Shea Properties, a Southern California-based developer with an extensive track record in Colorado, submitted a preliminary plan to convert a four-story property at 4340 S. Monaco St. into housing, according to information filed with the city and county of Denver. Yet rather than take the high-end route most stakeholders investing in the area have preferred, Shea would focus its proposal on creating a rare option for lower-income renters.
As pitched, the plans call for overhauling the roughly 120,000-square-foot building — which sat vacant for the past five years — and subdividing it into 143 units. The reimagined apartment complex would cater to tenants making between 30% to 70% of the area median income, which has climbed to about $105,000 a year, according to CoStar data.
Shea Properties is currently under contract to purchase the building, Executive Vice President Peter Culshaw confirmed. It was last sold to Orion Office REIT as part of a 94-property portfolio acquisition that closed in late 2021, according to CoStar data. If the deal goes through and Shea’s conversion proposal proves feasible, it would be the firm’s first office-to-residential project in its extensive development pipeline.
If all goes well, Culshaw said future tenants could occupy the property as early as 2026.
Faced with an unprecedented amount of empty space, office-to-residential proposals have sprouted up across the United States as city officials, developers and landlords contend with how to adapt to post-pandemic demand.
