As Downtown laments the collapse of the work-from-the-office economy, the RiNo Art District has seen office buildings rise.
Even so, many have been sitting empty — but not all of them.
The latest to rise and actually rent a few floors is Jordon Perlmutter & Co. and Rockefeller Group’s eight-story Paradigm River North at 3400 Walnut Street, an 188,000-square-foot building with 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space built in a quickly changing part of Five Points.
Until recently, the surrounding neighborhood was largely industrial, decorated with graffiti and scored with the sound of trains rumbling by. In recent years, hundreds of homes have been built on the site.
Paradigm was first conceived in 2018. Construction halted during the pandemic, but over the past two years, the exterior has been completed, and the finishing touches are underway.
Davis Graham and Stubbs, one of the city’s largest law firms, has already rented the building's top three stories. They committed to a contract early enough that their space was built to their needs.
The building’s management is in negotiations with a restaurant that would lease the entire first-floor space, though nothing’s been inked.
Otherwise, management is waiting to see who comes.
The building offers traditional five-day-a-week office space but also flexible meeting rooms for collaborations.
The developer is building out spec spaces on the second and now third floors, offering various-sized companies spaces they can rent on-site.
Most of the offices have yet to be unleashed, but Brian Heinze, director of development for Jordan Perlmutter and Co., is optimistic that will soon change.
As of now, the building offers wide views of downtown which will be preserved by current height requirements. However, the magnificent view of the mountains and multiple 14ers will eventually be obscured by other buildings going up.
Paradigm, designed by Tryba Architects, pays homage to the rapidly changing neighborhood's industrial character, with a brick exterior and windows that mirror the design of nearby structures.
Yet the building is equipped with smart-phone access, a high-end bike room, showers, luxurious outdoor patios on every floor, and eventually art curated by NINE dot Arts.
Though the building is near the 38th and Blake St. light rail station and bike trails and paths, it also offers valet-run, stacking parking, a necessity in a building constructed over the RiNo’s water tables, which makes digging deep futiley wet or prohibitively expensive.
Here's why the developer says this building is leasing while other offices aren't.
After the pandemic, companies trying to lure workers back into the office needed incentives, many companies looking to continue renting wanted an upgrade.
Heinze describes this trend as a flight to quality.
“This was that opportunity for them to redesign, reimagine what the workspace could be for their tenants that would allow them that flexibility of being in the office,” explained Heinze.
The question remaining: How long will it take to rent the rest of the building out.
