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Thermo Development, Inc.
is the primary real estate affiliate of the Thermo Companies and was formed to
identify real estate opportunities in the western United States. In the mid
1990's, the company purchased two city blocks located in the lower downtown
area (LODO) of Denver, Colorado. LODO was experiencing a robust residential
building boom with many former warehouses being converted into residential
lofts. With the popularity of downtown living at an all-time high, retail and
office demand also increased substantially. One of the blocks acquired by
Thermo housed the Union Pacific Freighthouse and is located adjacent to
Denver's new Coors Field baseball park. It served as the regional headquarters
for Union Pacific Railroad until 1978 when it was abandoned. The building
deteriorated over the years until Thermo acquired it. The company refurbished
the Freight house to accommodate restaurant and retail uses and to become
Thermo's corporate headquarters. It currently houses one of Denver's most
popular restaurants, The Denver Chophouse & Brewery, a nightclub called
Sing Sing, and Fado, an upscale Irish pub. The remaining vacant land around
this building was rezoned to allow for residential use and became the site for
the One Wynkoop Plaza loft project developed by Thermo. The project is sold
out.
The Ice House, formerly the Beatrice Cold Storage facility,
occupies Thermo's other downtown Denver block and is another example of an
historic property redeveloped by Thermo. In a joint venture with a local
developer, the company has converted the upper seven stories of the vacant
190,000 square foot building into residential loft units ranging in prices from
mid- $100,000's to over $500,000. The building is fully occupied.
The
first and lower levels of the Ice House comprise 40,000 square feet and have
been converted to retail and restaurant uses. Tenants include a Brazilian
Steakhouse, a neighborhood tavern, a nightclub and a gourmet cooking
school.
Phase II of the Ice House redevelopment took place on the
adjoining 35,000 square foot parking lot. Construction of 180,000 square foot
office tower along with ground level retail was completed and initially
occupied in May 2000. Today the property is 100% leased.
Through 2004,
the company also owned the block bounded by 7th, 8th, Grand and Olive Streets
in downtown Los Angeles, California. This land was acquired for long-term
future redevelopment when the market warranted. However, the residential market
in downtown Los Angeles suddenly blossomed and the three vacant buildings on
the 7th Street side of the block were sold as rental and for sale residential
lofts. The block benefited from being the only fully assembled block in the
central L.A. financial district and its close proximity to the convention
center and the new Staples center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball
team and the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.
The company also purchased a
1920's vintage office building known as the Roosevelt Building in downtown Los
Angeles. Plans called for another adaptive re-use project for this 300,000
square foot architectural masterpiece. However, due to the strength of the
marketplace, the company decided to sell the property when an unsolicited offer
was received at double the acquisition price.
The company also owns
approximately 110 acres of prime development land in the resort town of
Breckenridge, Colorado. Special conservation easements have been obtained which
will limit the amount and nature of development allowing any final plan to take
full advantage of this picturesque site overlooking the ski mountain.
In summer 1999 construction was completed on the $93,000,000 Colorado
Oceans Journey Aquarium. Financing was made possible when Thermo provided a
$17,000,000 letter of credit facility to enable the sale of tax-free bonds to a
group of institutional investors. The 17-acre site is adjacent to LODO and was
considered by Thermo and others to be integral to the successful redevelopment
of the Central Platte Valley and LODO. Ocean Journey was a non-profit
corporation dedicated to educational and environmental issues.
In
summer 2005 Thermo acquired Gallatin Preserve, a 1,632-acre parcel of land
located in Big Sky, Montana and situated between the restricted enclaves of the
Big EZ, The Yellowstone Club and the Club at Spanish Peaks. Approximately 40
minutes south of Bozeman, Montana and only 15 miles from Yellowstone National
Park, Big Sky is the fastest growing winter and summer resort area in the Rocky
Mountains. Thermo repositioned the property which is now comprised of ten 160
acre private mountain ranch parcels each with a five acre building site. The
private and gated Gallatin Preserve includes a unique equestrian and gathering
center, hiking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing trails, and fly fishing on
the South Fork of The Gallatin River for West Slope Cutthroat Trout all while
enjoying outstanding views of Montana's Spanish Peaks and Lone Mountain.
Through a unique agreement, a Yellowstone Club member's only road originates on
Gallatin Preserve and continues into Yellowstone club making Gallatin Preserve
parcels accessible and available to those members for future private enclave
development. Home to bald eagles, grizzly and black bear, deer and elk, The
Preserve is contiguous to the 1.8 million acre Gallatin National Forest and is
situated well within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest intact
ecosystem in the continental United States. |
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