The pandemic may have wreaked havoc on office development projects across the country, but for one in an up-and-coming Denver neighborhood, it was a chance to fine-tune plans to adapt to seismic shifts in how people choose to work.
Pennybacker Capital's The Amp boutique office building transformed a 1980s-era property into an eclectic, 79,000-square-foot hub designed to cater to flexible working environments in a part of Denver becoming increasingly popular for both employers and employees alike. The building at 1580 N. Logan St., which the Austin, Texas-based development firm acquired in late 2019, was already 30% leased once construction was completed in mid-2022, a noteworthy milestone that helped it earn a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The Gensler-designed project was paused in the early months of the pandemic, but Pennybacker revisited its plans in late 2020 as part of a goal to make the office building somewhere workers would want to return.
“Office is experiencing this pretty intense flight to quality, and older commodity buildings are really struggling to get tenants back,” Pat Rippe, managing director with Pennybacker, said of the Uptown redevelopment. “If you’re developing or renovating the best building in the market, the market will understand that and will lease it up. My goal was to make this feel like the best building in Denver.”
About the project: Originally built in 1983, Pennybacker gutted the nine-story property and installed a mix of amenities that were both quirky and focused on health, flexibility and convenience. Those include bird cage-style conference rooms, ionization technology, tenant lounge and beverage station, bike storage and architectural sightlines that spotlight some of Denver's iconic monuments.
What the judges said: The Amp "blends street-front charm with modern standards" said CoStar Impact Awards Judge Steve Kawulok, a managing director at SVN/Denver Commercial. Fellow judge Jeremy Ballenger, an executive vice president with CBRE, added that the project "brings a unique activation to the Uptown neighborhood with a lens on arts and professional uses, which could help attract more consistent office users back to the city."
They made it happen: Pennybacker Capital Managing Director Pat Rippe and Senior Associate Rachel Vogel led the redevelopment, while a team of Transwestern executives including Whitney Hake, Grace Lessard, Linda Meadows and Halsey Hill have helped with marketing and leasing efforts. Gensler Design Director Lindsay Malison, Designer Cecilia Batistsa and Sarah Marvez, an associate, were all responsible for The Amp's design.
