A senior living facility in the works for more than five years has broken ground off Speer Boulevard in central Denver, but the company that planned it isn’t the one building the structure.
Houston-based Hines sold its 0.78-acre site at 96 N. Emerson St. for $14 million last month, according to public records.
And last week, the buyer — Denver-based NexCore Group — broke ground on the five-story, 112-unit building that Hines drew up, according to NexCore Chief Investment Officer Michael Ray.
Hines didn’t respond to requests for comment on the deal, and Ray said he didn’t know why the company opted to sell.
“For us, it was an opportunity to continue to invest in a market that we believe has runway in this space,” he said.
Dubbed Cherry Creek Reserve, the building will feature underground parking, a rooftop deck and three dining areas for residents. Ray declined to disclose the total development cost, but a valuation permit filed in the spring said the 141,000-square-foot building would cost $35.4 million to construct.
Construction is expected to take about two years, Ray said. After that, NexCore’s subsidiary Experience Senior Living will operate the building.
NexCore has acquired and developed 17.4 million square feet in real estate since its founding and entered the senior-living market in 2015. It owns medical office buildings and laboratories, as well, and manages nearly nine million square feet across the U.S.
“We’ve been headquartered and located in LoDo for all of our 20 years. We’re committed to the city and love it, but we’re also a national developer,” Ray said.
Hines purchased the development site in 2020 for nearly $8.8 million, records show. At the time, part of the site was home to a six-unit condominium building called Carmen Court, which some nearby residents initially sought to preserve. Hines demolished Carmen Court earlier this year.
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