Now, it's another Midwestern firm's turn to undertake a giant Denver infill development. Late Tuesday afternoon, Ferdinand Belz, president of Cherokee Denver LLC, announced that Joseph Freed and Associates LLC of Palatine, IL, had been tapped to redevelop 24 acres on the west side of Gates. Cherokee is in charge of cleaning up the brownfield site and giving a clean site to Freed for the vertical development.
When completed, the development, in today's dollars is expected to have a value of $500 million to $750 million. It could include 565,000 sf of retail, 1,500 high-density residential units, and 200,000 sf of office.
Freed beat out seven other developers. "Freed's pioneering work in the Midwest shows that they understand transit-oriented development, successfully envisioning innovative methods in planning, design and construction," Belz says. "They bring an exciting new dimension to every development. The vision for this project will now be realized since the approval last month by city council of the project's public financing package."
Hickenlooper, for his part, says that Cherokee made and excellent choice with Freed. "This project represents a tremendous opportunity--not only for the surrounding neighborhoods--but for the entire city as we set a high standard for future mixed-use, transit-oriented development in Denver. We are excited that a high-caliber developer like Joseph Freed and Associates will be bringing their extensive experience to this important project."
Larry Freed, president of the namesake firm that started by making shelves for retailers in the 1940s, says that it isn't often that a developer can find a 24-acre site minutes from the Central Business District. Dennis Harder, senior vice president of development services for Freed, tells GlobeSt.com that the redevelopment will have entertainment flair to it. Freed says that he wants to bring some anchor tenants to the development that are new to the area, as well as a mix of other tenants that might already have a presence in the metro area, but not that close to surrounding neighborhoods. It's also important to bring a strong mix of local retailers and restaurants to the project, he tells GlobeSt.com.
In Chicago, Freed's holdings include the 1.1-million-sf Sullivan Office Center on State Street. Tenants in that 19th Century building designed by Louis Sullivan include the Carson Pirie Scott department store and 420,000 sf of office users. It also owns the 630,000-sf Streets of Woodfield, adjacent to the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL.
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