Saunders to build DaVita’s Denver Headquarters

As reported in the Denver Business Journal on July 15, 2010 – DaVita announces plans for new Denver Headquarters.

Thursday, July 15, 2010, 7:39am MDT  |  Modified: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 9:30am

DaVita details plans for Denver HQ building

Kidney-care company DaVita Inc. confirmed Thursday that it plans to build its downtown Denver headquarters on a site near Denver Union Station at the northwest end of the 16th Street Mall.

The 270,000-square-foot building is to rise on a lot near the Millennium Bridge. Construction will start early next year and DaVita (NYSE: DVA) plans to move in during the second half of 2012.

DaVita paid $11 million for the land and estimates construction costs at $90 million.

The building will house hundreds of headquarters executives and staff members as well as be a training site for the company, a program it calls “DaVita University.”

In a statement Thursday, DaVita said it has created nearly 200 jobs in the Denver area since deciding to move its headquarters here and “expects to continue to grow that number.”

“We’re excited to be building a headquarters that will be a good home for DaVita teammates,” said Kent Thiry, DaVita chairman and CEO. “Equally exciting is the fact that it will be a great place for thousands of our teammates from all over the country to attend DaVita University classes each year.”

Denver Business Journal real estate writer Paula Moore reported in her “Real Deals” blog July 7 that DaVita was close to finalizing a deal for a 16th Street building site, according to local real estate sources.

DaVita, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest kidney care providers in the United States, announced in May 2009 that it would move its executive staff to the Denver area from its existing El Segundo, Calif., headquarters.

In January of this year it leased temporary headquarters space at the Gates Corp. building at 1551 Wewatta St. It also has office space at the Denver West office park at 1627 Cole Blvd. in Lakewood.

Saunders Construction will act as the general contractor for the Denver headquarters project, DaVita said. It said MOA Architecture is designing the building and will partner with Acquilano Leslie to produce the interior design.

USI Real Estate and CresaPartners handled the local site search and real estate negotiations, DaVita said. CresaPartners will assist in overall project management and Trammell Crow Co. will provide development management services.

DaVita’s decision to move its headquarters to Denver has been applauded by local officials at a time when other companies, such as First Data and Qwest Communications International, have moved or plan to move their headquarters elsewhere. Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper cited DaVita’s arrival as a key economic victory for the city in his “State of the City” address Tuesday.

As of March, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,544 outpatient dialysis facilities, serving about 119,000 patients.
Compiled by the DBJ’s Mark Harden | Paula Moore contributed reporting | denvernews@bizjournals.com