The second-largest landowner in Colorado, The Colorado State Land Board, is preparing to fill the former home of the Colorado Ballet with at least two new tenants.
The State Land Board recently leased the top floor of the 92-year-old building to Solidifi. The state organization is still looking for another company to join the New York-based residential real estate valuation and service provider at the southeast corner of Lincoln Street and East 13th Avenue, said department spokeswoman Kristin Kemp.
"We are actively searching for a first-floor tenant(s)," Kemp said via email Thursday. "Solidify expects to take occupancy in mid-June."
The state is working with JLL to lease the property on Lincoln Street.
The State Land Board took over 1278 Lincoln St., as well as the rest of the properties on the east side of Lincoln Street between 12th and 13th avenues, in the mid-1990s through a land exchange with the Mountain West Farm Bureau. The southern portion of the block was sold in 1998 for $3.8 million. It now houses a parking garage and The Art Institute of Colorado.
The two-story building at 1278 Lincoln St. was home to The Colorado Ballet for about 25 years until the nonprofit moved to its own building along Santa Fe Drive in 2013.
"When the Ballet ended its lease, we renovated the building in an effort to secure new tenants," Kemp said. "The renovations are nearly complete and will be completed by the end of June 2017."
Renovations to the building include restoring and reinstalling the original stained glass, uncovering and restoring the curved ceilings in the original showroom and remolding most of the original pilaster capitals. (Those are the decorative crowns you see in the molded columns of older buildings.) The building's center fireplace and original paneling also remain. Other renovations include new storefront windows, floors, roof and mechanical and electrical systems.
The State Land Board’s manages 2.8 million acres of surface land and 4 million acres of mineral rights held in public trusts. The money from operating and leasing the property supports Colorado's public schools and other public institutions, according to the agency.
The agency generated $137.3 million for its trust beneficiaries in fiscal 2015-2016, according to its most recent Income and Inventory Report.
Due to a source error, the tenant leasing the top floor of 1278 Lincoln St. was misidentified in an earlier version of this article. The tenant is Solidifi which is not a Connecticut-based website design and development firm.
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Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or@adriandgarcia on Twitter.
