The Gates headquarters is a 10-story building with about 285,000 sf. Jones calls it a "first-class," building and one of only a few world headquarters based Downtown. Gates was founded in Denver at Broadway near what is now Interstate 25, but now is a subsidiary of London-based Tomkins plc. About 400 people work in the building.

Jones says that with the planned $1-billion redevelopmentof the Denver Union Station and surrounding land, the new EPA regional building under way, and a number of buildings on the drawing board in the area, it is important to have an advocate in place for both Kennedy and Gates. In the running for the management job were two much larger organizations: the existing manager of the building and its developer for Kennedy, Legacy Partners; and Trammell Crow Co. Greg Skinner of Kennedy says that all three of the finalists were extremely well-qualified. He declined to give specifics of why Jones was chosen.

As part of the deal, the Jones Realty Group also will manage the parking lot across from the Gates headquarters that Kennedy Associates bought last month for about $14 million. The site, which Skinner says covers 3.5 acres, could accommodate two office buildings with a total of 683,000 sf. At this time, however, Skinner emphasizes that plans only include operating the site as a surface parking lot for Gates' employees.