NexCore Continues Hines’ Senior Living Plans in Denver

NexCore Group is picking up a senior housing development where Hines left off.

Denver-based NexCore started construction on a five-story, 112-unit housing project for seniors at 96 North Emerson Street, the Denver Post reported. The 141,000-square-foot project comes a month after Houston-based Hines sold the nearly 0.8-acre site to NexCore for $14 million.

The development, named The Reserve Cherry Creek, will feature underground parking, a rooftop deck and three dining areas for residents, all housed in a single building. The firm hasn’t disclosed total development cost, though a valuation permit filed in the spring noted that the building would cost $35.4 million to construct.

Hines bought the development site in 2020 for nearly $8.8 million. A portion of the site at the time housed a six-unit condominium building called Carmen Court. Some nearby residents initially sought to preserve the building, but Hines demolished it earlier this year.

Purchasing the Reserve Cherry Creek site in Speer, south of Lower Downtown and other urban neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Civic Center, was a no-brainer for NexCore.

“It was an opportunity to continue to invest in a market that we believe has runway in this space,” NexCore chief investment officer Michael Ray told The Denver Post. “We’ve been headquartered and located in Lower Downtown for all of our 20 years. We’re committed to the city and love it, but we’re also a national developer.”

Construction on Cherry Creek Reserve is expected to take two years. NexCore subsidiary Experience Senior Living will operate the building once construction is complete.

Senior living properties are highly occupied nationwide, and construction is losing pace, setting the market up for a supply imbalance, according to NIC MAP.

Since its founding in 2004, NexCore has acquired and developed 17.4 million square feet in real estate across the country. The Denver-based firm entered the senior-living market in 2015. In addition to residential properties, the company owns medical office buildings and laboratories across the country and manages nearly 9 million square feet nationwide.

— Chris Malone Méndez