The building at 101 W. Colfax Ave. opened in 2006. (BusinessDen file)
A divided Denver City Council on Monday approved the financing arrangement necessary to purchase the former Denver Post building downtown, and the deal will close next month.
The council voted 9-4 to authorize the execution of certificates of financing, a form of financing that pledges city assets as collateral. Council members Flor Alvidrez, Shontel Lewis, Sarah Parady and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voted against the measure.
The council voted back in January to approve the purchase agreement for the deal, with the same vote count and the same members in opposition. But the deal couldn’t close without the financing vote that was approved Monday.
Denver will pay $88.5 million for the 11-story, 305,000-square-foot office building at 101 W. Colfax Ave., which was completed in 2006. It was custom-built for the Post and the Rocky Mountain News, which folded in 2009.
The Post moved operations from the building years ago but has a master lease for the entire structure through 2029. That will remain in place following the city’s purchase. The newspaper has been subleasing about half the building to the city and two other tenants, according to the city’s top real estate official.
New York-based American Properties, which bought the building for $93.42 million around the time it was completed, is selling the building.
The city is purchasing the building to allow for an expansion of the city and county court system.
In previous meetings, some council members had questioned whether the city was paying too much for the structure, as well as whether the city could instead take steps to reduce future need for courtrooms. They also noted that the purchase comes at a time the city is cutting services to free up money to deal with an influx of migrants.
The Post building is adjacent to the city’s main office buildings. The city also purchased the Rocky Mountain News’ longtime home in 2002 to expand the court system.
The building at 101 W. Colfax Ave. opened in 2006. (BusinessDen file)
A divided Denver City Council on Monday approved the financing arrangement necessary to purchase the former Denver Post building downtown, and the deal will close next month.
The council voted 9-4 to authorize the execution of certificates of financing, a form of financing that pledges city assets as collateral. Council members Flor Alvidrez, Shontel Lewis, Sarah Parady and Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez voted against the measure.
The council voted back in January to approve the purchase agreement for the deal, with the same vote count and the same members in opposition. But the deal couldn’t close without the financing vote that was approved Monday.
Denver will pay $88.5 million for the 11-story, 305,000-square-foot office building at 101 W. Colfax Ave., which was completed in 2006. It was custom-built for the Post and the Rocky Mountain News, which folded in 2009.
The Post moved operations from the building years ago but has a master lease for the entire structure through 2029. That will remain in place following the city’s purchase. The newspaper has been subleasing about half the building to the city and two other tenants, according to the city’s top real estate official.
New York-based American Properties, which bought the building for $93.42 million around the time it was completed, is selling the building.
The city is purchasing the building to allow for an expansion of the city and county court system.
In previous meetings, some council members had questioned whether the city was paying too much for the structure, as well as whether the city could instead take steps to reduce future need for courtrooms. They also noted that the purchase comes at a time the city is cutting services to free up money to deal with an influx of migrants.
The Post building is adjacent to the city’s main office buildings. The city also purchased the Rocky Mountain News’ longtime home in 2002 to expand the court system.
