Subaru snags 550,000-square-foot office, warehouse facility

In a state where all-wheeldrive wagons are about as abundant as pines trees, Subaru needs more space.

Last week, the Japanese automaker’s domestic wing, Subaru of America, announced plans to move into a 550,000-square-foot building near Denver International Airport.

The built-to-suit project is expected to break ground later this year on the Majestic Commercenter industrial park northeast of the Interstate 70-Tower Road interchange in Aurora, according to a news release from the project’s developer,

Realty CO.

By the end of 2121, the building will house Subaru of America’s regional offices, parts distribution operation and a training center for Subaru technicians. The news release does not say how many people will work out of the facility, but the building will feature 115 dock doors.

The company will be relocating from a smaller building about 2 miles away, according to Majestic’s release.

Cushman & Wakefield broker Steve Hager represented Subaru in the deal.

“This was a decision driven by a number of key factors for the

Majestic long-term growth and success of our business and our employees,” Keith Metzger, Subaru’s director of corporate real estate, said in a statement.

The Majestic Commercenter, a 1,600-acre campus, is no stranger to big buildings. The 702,000-square-foot “Big Bomber” warehouse there was leased to Amazon in March, according to this week’s news release. Shamrock Foods is building a 1.3-million-square-foot food distribution complex there now, as demand for industrial real estate in the Denver metro area appears to only be getting stronger amid the pandemic.

Majestic is also developing a 32-acre patch near the intersection of East 32nd Parkway and Tower Road, where it plans to bring in retail tenants and at least one hotel to serve the broader industrial park, company officials said.

“The mix of building and property functions for employers and employees is already making a difference in our park as evidenced from Subaru’s decision to call the Commercenter home,” Majestic vice president Michael Kapoor said in the release.