By Lucas High

“ElementProperties led an effort to create a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund to acquire the buildings,” Element co-founder Scott Holton told BizWest in an email. “We plan on making substantial improvements to the interiors and exteriors over the next several months to modernize the building systems and aesthetics to a Class A level and attract either life science or tech tenants seeking a central, Boulder Junction location.”

Element is one of the key developers of the nearby S’Park mixed-use project.

“The buildings sit directly across the railroad tracks from our S’Park project and represent an opportunity to effectively expand our footprint and bring the energy and design-forward ethic of S’Park east to Wilderness Place,” Holton said. “Likewise, as the construction of S’Park concludes in 2021, it will provide some much-needed walkable amenities such as retail, cafes and restaurants for surrounding businesses and residents.”

Brokers Scott Crabtree, Christian Smith and Liz Amaro with Crabtree Smith Team at the Colorado Group, Inc. represented the seller in the off-market acquisition deal.

Smith said despite the changes in how Americans work that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s “pretty bullish” on the Boulder flex-office market in the mid- and long terms.

“Office space is a struggling class right now, but Boulder checks a lot of the boxes” for technology companies looking to move away from more expensive markets on the coasts, he said.

Crabtree agreed, saying, “We are lacking large footprint [office spaces in Boulder], and I imagine that’s what’s going to first come back into demand on the office side.”

To Crabtree and Smith’s point, Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) signed a lease last month to take over 65,000 square feet in the S’Park neighborhood.