New 25 North Industrial campus in Thornton, CO signs 76,500 SF lease with groundbreaking alternative meat startup Meati Foods

Cushman & Wakefield announced today the firm has represented Denver-based EverWest Advisors LLC, an institutional real estate investment management firm, and Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager, in a new lease of 76,463 square feet of Class A industrial space at 25 North in Thornton (Denver), Colorado. The tenant is Meati Foods, a fast-growing alternative meat company locally headquartered in Boulder, CO which will occupy two-thirds of a brand new 114,700-sf building at 14831 Washington St that was constructed in 2020.  

In the space, Meati will house a large-scale, highly innovative “Urban Ranch” production facility, where Meati will build the capacity to grow millions of pounds its category-defining, protein-packed alternative meats – paving the way for a nationwide consumer launch next year.

“Scaling an innovative production method that’s never been done before is a big challenge, but we’re making fast progress and we’ll soon reach the scale necessary to make Meati available across the country,” said Meati Vice President of Finance Tim Thomson. “We’re excited to do this locally at 25 North, and we can’t wait to give more people the chance to eat delicious protein with no compromises – for their health or the planet’s.”

Steve Hager, Matt Trone and Joey Trinkle with Cushman & Wakefield in Denver represented the landlord in the transaction.   

“We are thrilled to welcome Meati among our first marquee tenants at the project,” said Steve Hager, Managing Director. “25 North is a strategic location in the high growth North Denver area, with outstanding accessibility and visibility as well as connectivity to Metro Denver, Boulder and Longmont. The project features new state-of-the art speculative buildings and build-to-suit opportunities, in a perfect setting for companies looking to establish, consolidate and grow operations in one convenient and strategic location.”

25 North is a 70-acre master-planned industrial development that will consist of approximately 940,000 sf of Class A industrial/warehouse/distribution/flex buildings when fully built-out. Three buildings totaling 340,200 sf have already been completed. Construction on the remaining 600,000sf is anticipated to begin in late Q3-2021.

“Invesco Real Estate is excited to partner with EverWest in bringing a market-leading investment like 25 North from concept to realization”, said Duncan Walker, Senior Director of Asset Management for Invesco Real Estate.  “Today, industrial build-to-core projects are one of the key strategies being employed for client portfolio construction.”

The project comprises a variety of building sizes and designs offering tenants cross-dock, front-park/front-load and front-park/rear-load configurations. All buildings have energy efficient construction and feature 28’ clear height, abundant natural light via skylights and clerestory windows, ESFR fire suppression, efficient column spacing and bay depths, large truck courts and generous parking ratios.

The location is approximately 20 minutes from Downtown Denver, with immediate access and visibility from I-25, with convenient access to E-470. The property is also nearby many amenities and an abundant diversified workforce.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the Denver industrial market reported a vacancy rate of 6.7% in the first quarter of 2021. The first quarter also produced a total of more than 3.7 msf of leasing activity driven by some large users, along with 718,000 sf of net occupancy growth to start the year.