Zocalo Sells Denver’s Cadence Union Station Apartments

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Denver—Cadence Union Station, a 219-unit apartment community in the Mile High City, has been sold by Zocalo Community Development and Principal Real Estate Investors.  The property was marketed to a limited group of potential buyers interested in long-term ownership, and sold to an institutional client of Invesco Real Estate.  Zocalo will continue to manage and lease the property.

The first multifamily property to open in Denver’s emerging Union Station neighborhood, Cadence Union Station boasts unsurpassed amenities that include an 13^th-story rooftop pool, fitness center, and a community jazz room furnished with a baby grand piano and original classic album artwork. First residents moved in this January, and the community is already 20 percent leased.

Zocalo’s fourth LEED property, Cadence Union Station delivers on the company’s long-standing dedication to sustainable design and development.

It provides features like the Velo Room, a complete repair shop for bikes, skis and snowboards; one-to-one bike-to-auto parking; and an emphasis on indoor air quality and heating, cooling and lighting efficiencies that will likely trim utility costs for residents by a factor of 50 percent.

“These features and community-creating spaces make Cadence a wonderfully unique property, immediately distinguishable for its character and quality,” says Zocalo partner and director of real estate Susan Maxwell. “It’s an honor to continue to manage what we believe is Denver’s finest high-rise apartment for Invesco.”

Cadence Union Station is situated in or near the hub of the 20-acre Union Station redevelopment, slated to open in July 2014.  That means residents will not only be close to the historic Denver Union Station 250 feet away, but just steps from a number of light rail lines, most notably the Denver International Airport rail line.

“We had a distinct advantage by being the first to build in the Union Station neighborhood, acquiring what’s arguably the best location and building an asset that we believe will show itself to be one of enduring value,” says David Zucker, principal of Zocalo Community Development.  “Invesco’s focus on the strength of Union Station, the location of Cadence and its quality are aligned with our development ethics.  We sense in Invesco a shared commitment of stewardship, making them an apt purchaser of this incredible asset.”

Invesco’s investment in the Cadence Union Station apartments is evidence of the Denver Union Station redevelopment project’s transformational impact on the entire Rocky Mountain region, says Tami Door, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Denver Partnership.  Door notes the venerable train station has been transformed into a multi-modal transportation hub.

“This transaction confirms what many developers have known for some time,” she says.  “An investment in Denver Union Station is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can’t be missed.”