JLL secures $124.6M refinancing for Elitch Gardens property

DENVER, March 16, 2020 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged a $124.6 million refinancing for the Elitch Gardens Theme and Water Park in the heart of downtown Denver.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, a partnership of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) and Revesco Properties, to place the five-year, floating-rate loan with Pacific Western Bank. Loan proceeds will be used to retire existing debt and fund ongoing pre-development work for the future River Mile project.

“We were extremely pleased to work with Pacific Western Bank and JLL on this transaction,” said Rhys Duggan, President of Revesco Properties and the Managing Member of the borrower. “The entire debt team worked extremely efficiently to get this refinancing closed quickly and on competitive terms.”

The ownership group acquired Elitch Gardens in 2015 and, over its ownership period, has completed numerous needed improvements to the park, including three new major rise attractions. The park will continue to operate as one of Denver’s premiere major attractions for the foreseeable future. The ownership group is also nearing completion of the future home of the 90,000-square-foot Meow Wolf attraction, which it is constructing on a neighboring site.

The ownership group has also undertaken an extensive re-entitlement process to secure new zoning rights to facilitate the ultimate redevelopment of Elitch Gardens into more than 14 million square feet of residential and commercial mixed-use space spread over 25 parcels. The development will also incorporate major improvements to the South Platte River to fully activate one mile of river frontage for a variety of active and passive public uses.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Placement team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Eric Tupler and Director Tyler Dumon. Pacific Western Bank, led by EVP | Regional Manager for Colorado Commercial Real Estate Lending Chris Erickson, served as the primary lender for the deal.

“We are pleased to partner with KSE and Revesco Properties on this meaningful redevelopment project,” Erickson said. “It’s forward-thinking projects like this that will continue to foster the growth and expansion of our city. We are actively seeking new opportunities to lend throughout the Denver area by partnering with proven developers like KSE and Revesco Properties on projects that help the city and surrounding area reach its full potential.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit the firm’s U.S. media center Web page: U.S. newsroom.

Revesco Properties is a focused, nimble and responsive boutique real estate investment and management firm. The company focuses exclusively on well-located yet often underperforming retail real estate assets in targeted U.S. and Canadian markets. Visit revescoproperties.com for more information.

Pacific Western Bank is a commercial bank with over $26 billion in assets, and 76 branches primarily located in California, with one in Denver, Colorado, and another in Durham, North Carolina. The bank provides comprehensive community banking, national lending and venture banking services and solutions nationwide. For more information about Pacific Western Bank, visit www.pacwest.com.