Cemco Leaves Burnham Yard as Broncos Move In

The Burnham Yard area is losing another tenant as the Denver Broncos continue eyeing expansion around the former rail yard.

Steel manufacturer Cemco is moving out of its space at 480 North Osage Street, The Denver Post reported. The California-based company recently purchased a 140,000-square-foot industrial property in Commerce City, north of Denver, for $29.3 million.

Cemco’s space at the North Osage location is less than a third of its future home in Commerce City, according to the Post. The company has operated at its Osage Street location for 22 years, but the firm’s “biggest issue has been a constraint on space,” CEO Tom Porter said in a statement.

Cemco purchased the 2.7-acre property in 2003 for $2 million, according to the Post. When looking for a new place to plant a flag, it was searching for a “decent-sized building with a yard and rail,” Mark Dwyer, broker of Lincoln Property Company who represented Cemco in its Commerce City purchase, told the Post.

As for who will end up in Cemco’s old Burnham Yard space, it’s believed the Denver Broncos will move in.

“That facility will likely get sold to the Broncos,” Dwyer said. “It’s part of that whole area.”

Over the past year, limited liability corporations believed to be linked to the Broncos have been buying up parcels near Burnham Yard, BusinessDen reported. Most of the LLCs are connected to the Broncos’ Walton-Penner Ownership Group. Walmart’s billionaire Walton family bought the team in 2022 for nearly $4.7 billion.

With the team’s lease at Empower Field at Mile High expiring in 2031, it has reportedly been considering various site options for a future home, though it has been tight-lipped on its exact plans.

“We are involved in a comprehensive process regarding the future of our stadium,” a team spokesperson told BusinessDen. “No determinations have been made as we continue to evaluate several options in and around the Denver metro area.”

Near Cemco’s Osage Street location, a warehouse at 575-577 Osage Street was sold last week for $10.7 million by Iowa-based construction company Kinzler Corporation.

The transaction, like other deals believed to be connected to the Broncos, was linked to an LLC with little public information available and was completed in cash and above market value. The building next door to that site, 475 Osage Street, was bought in a similar manner in March.

— Chris Malone Méndez