Pivot Denver, a new industrial and logistics park with four cavernous buildings, has opened on the former Denver Merchandise Mart site three years after it closed.
The project was speculative, meaning no tenants signed on ahead of time. But three companies have claimed a third of the space out of the gate, including Total Tool, a construction tool supplier, and Crescent Electric Supply Co., an electric wholesale supply and distribution company.
“It is a prime location and the site has great access,” said Matt Mitchell, a partner overseeing industrial projects for Westfield Co., the developer.
Just across Denver’s northern border in unincorporated Adams County, the location has a sales tax rate nearly half that of Denver’s. It is in an enterprise zone, which entitles tenants to state tax breaks, and it is within an Opportunity Zone, which provides its investors with federal tax benefits.
Total Tool, which is taking 59,000 square feet, and Crescent Electrical Supply, which is taking 25,000 square feet, will use the location off Interstate 25 and 58th Avenue to bring their products closer to the contractors who are their prime customers, Mitchell said.
With Furniture Row nearby, Pivot Denver included additional window space on the side of one building facing 58th Avenue to accommodate showrooms. A third undisclosed tenant has signed a lease to take 75,000 square feet and will take advantage of that feature.
Of the three tenants, Total Tool is the furthest along. Racks are up in its warehouse and work is almost complete on office space and a conference room ahead of an opening early next month.
Pivot Denver took Westfield nearly three years and more than $100 million to complete. About $8 million was spent on abatement for asbestos in the original building and remediating contaminated soils around tanks that had been removed earlier.
Another big expense involved installing a stormwater drainage system from scratch. The original Merchandise Mart didn’t have a containment system, allowing stormwater to run off the roofs and parking lots onto Washington Street and surrounding areas.
Demolishing the massive complex, about 800,000 square feet on 30 acres, took a lot of effort. And then came the construction of 427,800 square feet across four steel-framed buildings. In all, the project landed only two months behind schedule, Mitchell said.
While Pivot Denver might not be the biggest industrial project to rise in the metro area, its proximity to central Denver and three major highways allows it to command a premium in lease rates, Mitchell said.
The Denver Merchandise Mart, built in 1965, drew tens of thousands of locals yearly to exhibits as diverse as the Tanner Gun Show, the Rocky Mountain Antiquarian Book and Paper Fair, and the Colorado Chocolate Festival.
The Mart’s owners, however, failed to keep up the space and it struggled financially in its final years before shutting its doors in March 2021. Westfield, a local development company behind projects like the Mission Ballroom, purchased the site that June after winning approval in bankruptcy court.
All that remains from the original Merchandise Mart is the towering sign over Interstate 25, although it had to undergo major upgrades to the operating software and light panels.
Tenants in the park can advertise to the 225,000 vehicles that pass by each day, Mitchell said, and he promises the sign won’t annoy drivers with political or concert ads.
Cushman & Wakefield is handling the leasing of space at Pivot Denver.
