820 16th Street

Malman Real Estate has launched leasing at the Symes Building, the vacant eight-story office building at the corner of 16th and Champa streets, with office space priced at $5.00 per square foot NNN. The firm, led by 33-year-old broker Jake Malman, acquired the 1906 building through 820 16th LLC for $2.7 million and has asked the Downtown Denver Development Authority for $5 million to reposition it.

The price works out to roughly $27 per square foot across 98,577 square feet. California-based Harbor Associates paid $24.5 million for the property in 2018. An affiliate of Los Angeles lender Thorofare Capital took the building back at a February foreclosure auction for $6 million after Harbor's ownership entity defaulted on an $18.6 million loan originated in 2022.

Thorofare brought the building to market in July through Kenai Capital Advisors, which marketed it as a fully vacant, lender-facilitated sale with an approved site development plan valid through 2030 and access to historic tax credits. Kenai is a Littleton-based investment sales and capital markets firm founded by principal Jules Sherwood, who previously built the Rocky Mountain middle-market investment sales platform at HFF, now part of JLL.

Kanai Capital reports more than $6 billion in transaction volume across industrial, office, multifamily and retail assets. Director Canyon Law, who leads Kenai's office investment sales, was the listing contact on the offering.

"Our lender client wanted the strongest possible recovery without sacrificing surety of executing, and those two goals don't always line up in todays downtown office market" said Canyon Law

"By focusing on all-cash buyers who could move quickly, we were able to achieve a price that outperforms recent comparable trades and close in under 30 days."

The sale closes out a residential conversion that never got off the ground. Harbor had planned 116 apartments in the building, and in July 2025 the project was selected for a $17 million loan from the DDDA as part of the authority's $100 million pilot program.

The funds were never disbursed because the required financing and permits were not secured, and the foreclosure followed in early 2026. Harbor's affiliate sued the lender over the loan terms in September 2025, and in July a Denver District Court judge ruled the former owner does not owe the interest and carrying costs the lender sought.

Malman's plan keeps the building in office use with ground-floor retail. His DDDA application, submitted Sept. 25, puts total project cost at $7.7 million, with the $5 million request covering the full funding gap.

The scope includes a dedicated fitness floor, lobby and common-area renovations, exterior painting, elevator modernization, cosmetic work on the office and retail floors, and tenant improvement allowances. Permits are expected to be filed by the end of 2026, with construction running from January to July 2027. The application projects 90% occupancy in 2027, roughly 100 new jobs and an as-complete value of $13.77 million. The request is less than a third of the $17 million previously awarded to the residential plan, and the DDDA board has not announced a decision.

Leasing is underway under the name The George, which Harbor also used when it marketed the building to tenants in 2021. Office suites range from 1,174 to 12,728 square feet at $5.00 per square foot NNN, a rate Malman is marketing as the lowest in downtown Denver. Street-level retail units range from 1,963 to 5,276 square feet at $20 to $60 per square foot NNN.

Listed amenities include renovated conference rooms, a lobby lounge, secure bike storage, showers and a private rear terrace on the third-floor suite.

The building sits between Upper Downtown and LoDo on a 16th Street that recently wrapped a $177.4 million reconstruction, in the part of downtown the DDDA has prioritized for its funding.

Whether The George fills depends on a lease rate that undercuts the rest of the market and a public funding request the DDDA board has yet to take up.