KBS, one of the largest investors in premier commercial real estate in the nation, announced that it has signed 102,928 square feet in leases at its Millrock Park asset in Holladay, Utah. These transactions included five new leases and two renewals with expansions.
The four-building, Class-A office plaza is located in one of the most desirable submarkets in the Salt Lake City metro area, which demonstrates that companies are continuing leasing activity despite the current environment, according to Tim Helgeson, senior vice president for KBS and asset manager of the property.
The five new companies to sign leases include Dyno Nobel, a global leader in commercial explosives; and WSP USA, a leading global engineering professional-services firm. Other new tenants at the property include Kensington Capital, Insperity, and Banyan Venture Partners.
“Given the current economic uncertainty, our ability to bring in five new tenants over the course of the last several months validates the strength of the local market, and the quality of our Millrock Park asset,” says Helgeson. “We repositioned the property in line with the demands of today’s top companies. These new leases highlight the strength of KBS and its comprehensive renovation strategy at the property.”
In addition to repositioning the asset to attract new tenants, KBS has also launched a unique spec-suite program at the property.
“We take a distinctive approach to our spec-suites, constructing fully furnished environments that are equipped with the latest in-demand amenities prior to having a committed tenant,” explains Helgeson. “This makes the process for new tenants seamless as they don’t have to build out their own space and can move right in. Often, it’s difficult for tenants to visualize what they want in their space, and because of our deep expertise in the office sector, we recognize what they are looking for and can show it to them in our build outs even before they move in.”
KBS has engaged award-winning architect Gensler to bring KBS’ successful spec-suite program to fruition at Millrock Park for the remaining vacant space at the property. These suites will be constructed to an extremely high quality and designed with today’s live-work-play tenants in mind.
Although activity in the region was sluggish in the third quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19, Salt Lake City’s office market saw increased activity in the fourth quarter of the year, according to Newmark Knight Frank. Leasing increased by 75.5% during the last quarter, and many office users are holding on to their space.
Salt Lake City was also one of the first in the country to have a governor-issued stay-at-home directive, which encouraged many businesses to permit employees to work from home. This measure, along with economic diversification in the Salt Lake City market, has allowed for the metro to weather the pandemic better than other areas of the country and set it on track to recover faster than much of the nation.
“Utah has been actively identified as one of the most diverse economies in the country and is likely to continue to see a strong migration of new business to the area,” says Giovanni (Gio) Cordoves, regional president, Western United States, for KBS. “Our newly launched spec-suite program and amenity center at Millrock Park strategically positions us to capitalize on this ongoing migration as companies begin to re-open and return to their offices and capture the attention of companies by providing something that they can’t find in a typical office property.”
Cordoves adds, “There is definitely a flight to quality underway as companies today are seeking office properties that aid in attracting and retaining top talent. Millrock Park incorporates creative amenities, open and outdoor community space and unique features that make it standout compared to other office assets in the region. The new spec suites will simply complement all these features.”
Clene Nanomedicine, a pharmaceutical company, and Buckner Insurance Services also recently renewed and expanded their leases at Millrock Park.
“These renewals and expansions speak to the strength of KBS as a hands-on asset manager,” says Cordoves. “We create environments where tenants experience a premier level of service and amenities, which is why we are not only attracting new tenants, but are consistently seeing existing tenants choose to grow within our properties.”
Jordan Wall, senior executive vice president of Colliers International, represented KBS in the leases.
“We understand firsthand the value Millrock Park brings to its tenants as we are a tenant here ourselves,” says Wall. “We are proud to be among the companies renewing and expanding within this innovative campus environment and are excited to welcome the new tenants to the property, as well as help current tenants grow their spaces.”
Millrock Park is situated along the “East Bench” of the Wasatch Mountain Range in Salt Lake City. Its location offers tenants easy accessibility to I-215, I-15, and Salt Lake City International Airport. The office park is only minutes from a variety of ski resorts, including Park City Mountain, Powderbird Heli Skiing, Canyons Village at Park City and more.
Please find photos of Millrock Park here.