One River North developers pay $9M for adjacent site
Two firms developing a Rino apartment building with a greenery-filled “canyon” now own an adjacent property.
The 3911 and 3963 Walnut St. parcels, which combined are 0.93 acres, sold last week to Washington, D.c.-based Uplands Real Estate Partners and Denver-based Wynne Yasmer Real Estate, operating as 40th & Walnut Project LLC.
The properties have a handful of industrial buildings on them. The sale price was $9 million, or $221 a square foot.
Uplands and Wynne Yasmer submitted development plans for the site in early 2022. Reached by Businessden on Monday, the firms declined to comment.
The two firms, along with two others, are wrapping up work on One River North, which is across the alley from the site they bought last week. The 16-story, 187-unit One River North is one of the most unusual structures built in Denver in recent years, with its front facade featuring a haphazard-looking gash that will be filled with greenery. The building will open to residents this spring.
The vision for the adjacent site is tamer. The latest version of development plans, submitted to the city in October, calls for a 16-story building with 305 units.
The structure will be dubbed “Amara,” according to Uplands’ website, which displays a rendering showing a relatively typical apartment building facade.
Davis Partnership Architects is the architecture firm listed on the project development plans. Davis also served as executive architect for One River North, where Chinese firm MAD Architects served as design architect.
The site at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets was sold by entities managed by Denver developer Mike Mathieson, who paid $3.51 million in 2015, records show. Last week’s sale price corresponds to a jump of 156% in nine years.
Mathieson did not respond to a request for comment. He still owns one site by RTD’S 38th and Blake Station — 3900-3926 Blake St., where he has proposed a 17-story residential project.
Deeper into Rino, Mathieson owns the former Yota Yard salvage yard property at 3134 Walnut St. He has proposed a retail development that would incorporate a distillery there but has also indicated he might sell the site. JLL’S Robert Bratley has been marketing the 0.34-acre property since January, according to the brokerage’s website.