Vectra Bank hasn't yet issued a return-to-office mandate, but with the recent completion of its gleaming Denver headquarters, the company isn't struggling to convince workers to make the commute.
The Colorado community bank's $67 million corporate hub at 7222 E. Layton Ave. in the Denver Tech Center not only exemplifies the pandemic-related changes companies are making to their physical workspaces but is also expected to bolster the office market in one of the city's largest employment centers. Those attributes helped solidify the roughly 127,000-square-foot tower's standing as the 2023 winner for the CoStar Impact Awards' commercial development of the year for the Denver market, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The nine-story office along Interstate 25 at Belleview Station broke ground in late 2020, a point in the national office market when a majority of the corporate workforce was operating from their homes and companies were furiously offloading space they assumed was no longer needed. For Vectra, however, the development was part of a long-term play in which the company would be able to save on lease expenses by consolidating its corporate footprint and becoming an owner-user.
"People say, ‘Well, why would you spend that much money during a recession?’" Vectra Bank CEO Bruce Alexander said of its recently opened headquarters. “And it really was a better deal for us.”
About the project: With an emphasis on accommodating a hybrid, pandemic-era workforce, the building includes numerous conference rooms, hoteling workstations available to reserve on a daily basis, touchless bathroom facilities, a hospital-grade ventilation system and an on-site cafe. What's more, the site gives Vectra Bank the opportunity to grow, such as potentially converting the top level of the adjacent parking garage into additional office space.
What the judges said: "Even under the most difficult of market conditions, this building met the needs of a tenant who was consolidating multiple locations to better serve their employees and customers," CoStar Impact Awards judge Sara Croot, a client manager and executive director at JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. "It’s an incredible addition to the greater Bellview Station development. The macro-economic environment, changing dynamics in office properties and challenges with building materials and supply chain issues created a perfect storm, but Confluent was able to deliver an incredible building with an innovative design."
They made it happen: Vectra Bank CEO Bruce Alexander, Senior Vice President of Property Management Jim Yankovich and Chief Financial Officer Ashley Comstock spearheaded the headquarters consolidation plan for the community bank. The project was developed by Denver-based Confluent Development, led by CEO Celeste Tanner, and included help from Front Range Land & Development Co. Vice President Brooke Bansbach Maloy, Open Studio Architecture Principal Blake Mourer, Weitz Co. director of operations Shad Cloeter and Dave Morrison, the senior project manager for Provident Construction.
