The 1900 Lawrence office tower in January 2025. (BusinessDen file)
Downtown’s newest skyscraper has a little more breathing room.
The $242 million loan that financed the construction of 1900 Lawrence has been extended for an additional 18 months, until mid-2027, according to the building’s developer.
The loan from Bank OZK had originally been scheduled to mature on Dec. 15, records show. Maturity refers to the date by which a loan must be paid off.
As part of the extension agreement, Chicago-based developer Riverside Investment & Development and equity partner Convexity Properties have agreed to put in $34 million. That money won’t be used to partially pay down the loan, but rather to “accelerate the leasing program” at the building, which is 7% leased.
Riverside Chief Financial Officer Rob Stanek said that will primarily be spent on tenant improvements, the buildout that companies do before occupying a space. Some will also go toward building spec suites, which are more basic, move-in-ready spaces. A half floor of spec suites is already in the works, and additional floors could be built out.
The extension comes at a time when maturity defaults have become common in the broader office sector, with landlords unable to secure new loans or strike deals to modify their existing ones. Some office properties, like downtown’s Civic Center Plaza and 1660 Lincoln St., have been surrendered to a lender voluntarily. Others have gone back through foreclosure.
The 30-story, 700,000-square-foot 1900 Lawrence tower is the only major downtown Denver office building built entirely after the onset of the pandemic.
Riverside bought the land in December 2021 at the same time it took out the loan from Arkansas-based Bank OZK. Stanek said it’s a floating-rate loan but declined to disclose the current interest rate. Riverside broke ground on 1900 Lawrence in April 2023, and the building was completed in June 2024.
Leasing, however, has been slow. Only one tenant — the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher — committed while the tower was under construction, taking the 31,000-square-foot top floor.
Since the tower was completed, insurance firm Marsh McLennan has since taken about 12,000 square feet, and local developer firm Monfort Cos. has taken another 7,000, according to Stanek.
As of the end of the first quarter, downtown Denver had total office vacancy of 35%, according to CBRE. That figure includes both direct vacancy and space listed for sublease.
But Riverside said 1900 Lawrence is seeing “significant leasing momentum” this year, with more than half the building in active negotiations and a deal imminent.
“We are about to sign another lease for a full floor here — today, tomorrow, Monday,” Stanek said.
Stanek said Riverside focused on “elephants” that would take a full floor or multiple floors while the building was under construction, but it now more focused on partial-floor deals. The loan extension is important, he said, because it shows prospective tenants that Riverside has the financial backing needed to build out their space.
Stanek said 1900 Lawrence likely needs to be at least 50% to 60% leased when its new maturity date approaches in order to refinance. The hope, however, is to be higher than that.
Riverside Vice President Greg Pierce noted that there is a benefit to the fact that no one else has followed 1900 Lawrence in building a downtown tower.
“We do expect this to be the best building in Denver for quite some time,” Pierce said.
While Riverside still feels some pressure, so too does its lender. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that dozens of projects that Bank OZK financed were half or almost entirely empty. CEO George Gleason has pledged to diversify lending beyond construction and development loans. Earlier this year, the bank took back some of the land for Sterling Bay’s massive Lincoln Yards project in Chicago, according to Crain’s.
The 1900 Lawrence office tower in January 2025. (BusinessDen file)
Downtown’s newest skyscraper has a little more breathing room.
The $242 million loan that financed the construction of 1900 Lawrence has been extended for an additional 18 months, until mid-2027, according to the building’s developer.
The loan from Bank OZK had originally been scheduled to mature on Dec. 15, records show. Maturity refers to the date by which a loan must be paid off.
As part of the extension agreement, Chicago-based developer Riverside Investment & Development and equity partner Convexity Properties have agreed to put in $34 million. That money won’t be used to partially pay down the loan, but rather to “accelerate the leasing program” at the building, which is 7% leased.
Riverside Chief Financial Officer Rob Stanek said that will primarily be spent on tenant improvements, the buildout that companies do before occupying a space. Some will also go toward building spec suites, which are more basic, move-in-ready spaces. A half floor of spec suites is already in the works, and additional floors could be built out.
The extension comes at a time when maturity defaults have become common in the broader office sector, with landlords unable to secure new loans or strike deals to modify their existing ones. Some office properties, like downtown’s Civic Center Plaza and 1660 Lincoln St., have been surrendered to a lender voluntarily. Others have gone back through foreclosure.
The 30-story, 700,000-square-foot 1900 Lawrence tower is the only major downtown Denver office building built entirely after the onset of the pandemic.
Riverside bought the land in December 2021 at the same time it took out the loan from Arkansas-based Bank OZK. Stanek said it’s a floating-rate loan but declined to disclose the current interest rate. Riverside broke ground on 1900 Lawrence in April 2023, and the building was completed in June 2024.
Leasing, however, has been slow. Only one tenant — the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher — committed while the tower was under construction, taking the 31,000-square-foot top floor.
Since the tower was completed, insurance firm Marsh McLennan has since taken about 12,000 square feet, and local developer firm Monfort Cos. has taken another 7,000, according to Stanek.
As of the end of the first quarter, downtown Denver had total office vacancy of 35%, according to CBRE. That figure includes both direct vacancy and space listed for sublease.
But Riverside said 1900 Lawrence is seeing “significant leasing momentum” this year, with more than half the building in active negotiations and a deal imminent.
“We are about to sign another lease for a full floor here — today, tomorrow, Monday,” Stanek said.
Stanek said Riverside focused on “elephants” that would take a full floor or multiple floors while the building was under construction, but it now more focused on partial-floor deals. The loan extension is important, he said, because it shows prospective tenants that Riverside has the financial backing needed to build out their space.
Stanek said 1900 Lawrence likely needs to be at least 50% to 60% leased when its new maturity date approaches in order to refinance. The hope, however, is to be higher than that.
Riverside Vice President Greg Pierce noted that there is a benefit to the fact that no one else has followed 1900 Lawrence in building a downtown tower.
“We do expect this to be the best building in Denver for quite some time,” Pierce said.
While Riverside still feels some pressure, so too does its lender. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that dozens of projects that Bank OZK financed were half or almost entirely empty. CEO George Gleason has pledged to diversify lending beyond construction and development loans. Earlier this year, the bank took back some of the land for Sterling Bay’s massive Lincoln Yards project in Chicago, according to Crain’s.
