JAG Logistics Center @ DEN, a prominent 250-acre industrial park located immediately south of Denver International Airport (DEN) has signed its first two tenants, only eighteen months after the development’s conception and more than two months prior to the completion of its first building. While the economic impact of COVID-19 continues, Aurora’s core industries remain strong as indicated by companies continuing to locate and expand in the community.
JAG @ DEN is within one of Aurora’s five Opportunity Zones and was one of the first industrial opportunity zone projects out of the ground in the United States. The development provides the closest and most direct access to the airport cargo tarmac of any current or future business park around DEN.
Taking advantage of the valuable proximity to DEN’s cargo tarmac, Air General and a second international cargo and logistics company have signed leases for a combined 127,000 square feet (nearly 70 percent) of JAG @ DEN’s “Trade 1” building, the first of many to be developed at JAG @ DEN. These companies will bring important jobs, critical capital investment, and new tax revenue to the community.
Both companies fit with Aurora and Adams County’s strengths and burgeoning distribution and logistics sectors. “As the Aurora Economic Development Council anticipated, JAG Logistics Center @ DEN is a unique and valuable project in the region that is important to the future economic development in the northeast portion of Aurora and Adams County in the aerotropolis,” said Wendy Mitchell, president and CEO of the Aurora Economic Development Council. “While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the economy, long-term we believe we are positioned to come out of this stronger and with more primary employers and high-quality jobs for the region’s talented and diverse workforce. The Opportunity Zone census tract that includes Porteos and JAG @ DEN will aide in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs in the future.”
Access points to the property are located at 64th Avenue (a critical corridor adjacent to the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center) and 68th Avenue as well as direct access to DIA via Jackson Gap Road. As advancements in eCommerce distribution and advanced manufacturing occur, the Aurora Economic Development Council anticipates that the amount of cargo moving through DEN will increase. JAG Logistics Center @ DEN offers space in a currently limited market that will further enable cargo growth at DEN.
JAGreen Development LLC (JAG) is known for its prominence in the airport-adjacent development niche and its product is specifically suited for smaller to medium size tenants that often get overlooked by other industrial developers.
“We specialize in this type of airport-adjacent development with buildings that are designed to maximize efficiency of freight logistics for our clients and we have built a strong brand in this arena,” said Daniel Green, CEO and co-managing partner of JAG. “These are exactly the types of clients that we are targeting and we are pleased to see that even in the current climate, there are companies that understand our value and are moving forward.”
The entire development will contain over 3,000,000 square feet of class A cross-dock warehouse space. Trade 2, a 188,000-square-foot cross-dock and column-free warehouse, is currently under development and will be ready for occupancy Q1 2021. JAG is already receiving inquiries from potential Trade 2 tenants. Future buildings will be able to accommodate tenants ranging in size from less than 10,000 square feet to more than 1 million square feet.
In addition to owning the property, JAG is a vertically integrated company and acts as their own developer, general contractor, and property manager. Alec Rhodes, Tyler Smith & Aaron Valdez of Cushman & Wakefield have been retained on an exclusive basis to handle the leasing of Aurora’s largest freight forwarding and logistics park in the greater Metro Area. Mike Camp and Jim Bolt from CBRE and Mike Viehmann and Jesse Clifford of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenants in these recent deals.
