S&P Global is relocating its Denver hub in a move that will cut its office space to just a fraction of its current size.
The publicly traded financial analytics firm finalized a 40,000-square-foot, multifloor deal at the Village Center Station office complex in the Denver Tech Center area. As part of the long-term lease, the New York-based firm will ditch its space in Englewood and relocate its regional hub to 6380 S. Fiddlers Green Circle.
"S&P Global has had a longstanding presence in Denver and will be relocating from its Englewood location to a new office space at the Village Center Station to support its existing workforce in the area," April Kabahar, the company's global head of corporate communications, told CoStar News.
She added that "this new space was chosen based on several factors such as providing our people with a modern workplace with strong transit access and accommodating collaboration and hybrid work needs."
The deal comes as companies nationwide have spent the past couple of years reevaluating and solidifying their real estate needs, often leveraging lease expirations or landlord negotiations as a way to dump unwanted space or, with increasing frequency, upgrade it.
That flight to quality has boosted occupancy at the newest and nicest properties but has decimated demand for many older, less desirable alternatives.
Primary office outpost
The index provider purchased the buildings at 15 Inverness Way E. and 7400 S. Alton Court in Englewood more than 25 years ago to house its substantial Denver operations. The suburban campus has been the primary outpost for the company's ratings, analytics and market intelligence divisions.
The company doesn't appear to have made any definitive moves to list the properties for sale or lease them out to another tenant. Yet its decision to take on space at Prime US REIT's Village Center Station echoes moves made by other companies across the country looking to economize their real estate footprints and dump large swaths of space along the way.
The national phenomenon of property reevalution has become increasingly acute in Denver, where a procession of recent relocations has resulted in significant cuts to tenants' previous footprints.
The two buildings that make up S&P's Englewood campus, for example, were constructed in the 1970s and are located in a part of town that has become increasingly industrial as a result of its proximity to a regional airport and major thoroughfares.
By contrast, the Denver Tech Center area is one of Colorado's most concentrated employment hubs and has long been a hot spot among technology, information, aerospace and energy companies.
Office properties in the area have benefited from access to multiple public transit routes, regional amenities and proximity to some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the state.
While all of that hasn't made the neighborhood immune to the lingering impacts of the pandemic, it has strengthened its position as tenants warm to the idea of shopping around for space.
"The neighborhood's transit-oriented, upgraded properties stocked with amenities will continue to win demand from leading corporates looking to bring people back into collaborative, experience-driven workplaces," Rahul Rana, CEO and chief investment officer for the manager of Prime US REIT, said in a statement to CoStar News on the S&P Global deal.
The Singaporean real estate investment trust acquired two Village Center Station buildings in mid-2019 for $235 million and recently pumped some additional capital into upgrading their amenity packages, common spaces and exteriors.
S&P Global's new lease, which kicks off this summer, will fill the fourth and fifth floors of 6380 S. Fiddlers Green Circle. The company will join Black & Veatch, an engineering firm that is scheduled to move into its 43,320-square-foot space sometime within the next few months.