KENNA REAL ESTATE GROUP · COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Commercial Real Estate in Colorado

Commercial real estate starts with a different question than a home search:

What does the property need to do?

Before you buy, lease, sell, or invest, define:

the use the location range the physical requirements the all-in occupancy or ownership cost and the next constraint that could make the property fail

Start With Your Goal View Income Properties

A retail tenant may care about visibility, access, parking, signage, and neighboring uses.

An industrial user may care more about loading, power, clear height, truck access, outdoor storage, and highway connections.

An office user may be deciding how much space the business actually needs now, how employees and clients reach it, and whether the building justifies the total occupancy cost.

An investor has another set of questions involving leases, tenant quality, NOI, rollover, capital expenses, and the next buyer.

Kenna Real Estate Group helps commercial clients across Denver Metro and the Colorado Front Range identify those questions before the property or lease gets too far ahead of the plan.

Start With the Assignment

Commercial searches become much more useful once the objective is clear.

I Need Space for My Business

Decide whether you want to:

lease

own the property your business occupies.

Then define the operational requirements before searching by square footage alone.

I Want to Buy an Investment Property

Start with:

income
leases
expenses
tenant risk
capital requirements
financing
exit

Explore Colorado Real Estate Investing →

I Own Commercial Property and May Sell

The value discussion may depend on:

current leases
rent roll
tenant terms
operating expenses
condition
capital work
vacancy
redevelopment or owner-user potential
comparable transactions

I Want to Lease Out My Property

Now the questions include:

likely tenant
permitted use
market position
condition
tenant improvements
lease structure
operating expenses
timing

The property type matters.

The assignment comes first.

PROPERTY FIT

Can My Use Work Here?

Two 5,000-square-foot spaces can be completely different business locations.

RetailStart With How the Customer Gets There OfficeDecide How Much Office You Actually Need Industrial / FlexSquare Footage Is Only the Beginning MultifamilySeparate Small Residential Multifamily From Commercial Apartments LandThe Cheap Acre Can Be the Expensive Site

If You Need Space for Your Business, Start With the Use

Do not begin with:

“I need 5,000 square feet.”

Start with:

“What has to happen inside and outside this space every day?”

That may include:

employees
customers
deliveries
trucks
inventory
equipment
manufacturing
food preparation
medical use
outdoor storage
vehicle parking
loading
signage
public access

Two 5,000-square-foot spaces can be completely different business locations.

The useful commercial question is:

Can my operation actually work here?

Check the Use Before You Negotiate the Deal

A space being marketed as commercial does not mean every commercial activity can operate there.

For a Denver property, zoning and permitting can depend on the specific use, existing approvals, building occupancy, and work you intend to complete.

Denver's Community Planning and Development department reviews commercial projects for zoning, building, and related requirements, including tenant-finish work and changes of use.

City and County of Denver · Commercial Plan Review and Permitting →

If the property is outside Denver, use the applicable city or county.

Do not assume:

“The previous tenant did something similar, so my use is automatically approved.”

Verify the address and intended use.

Base Rent Is Not the Same as Occupancy Cost

This is one of the most important commercial-lease distinctions.

A listing may advertise:

$24 per square foot

$18/SF NNN

That number may not tell you what the business will actually pay.

Depending on the lease structure, the tenant may also be responsible for some combination of:

property taxes
building insurance
common-area maintenance
utilities
janitorial
repairs
management charges
other operating expenses

Ask for the estimated all-in occupancy cost, not simply the base rent.

If the Lease Uses NNN or CAM Charges

Ask:

What is included?

What was charged last year?

What is budgeted now?

Which expenses can increase?

Are there caps on any controllable expenses?

Which capital or repair costs can be passed through?

How are my charges allocated?

Commercial tenant VOC often gets very practical here:

“The base rent looked fine. Why did my NNN jump?”

That is the right question to resolve before signing, not after the first reconciliation statement arrives.

Have an attorney review the actual lease.

Tenant Improvements Can Change the Real Cost of a Space

An empty or outdated commercial suite can look inexpensive until you calculate what it takes to make the business operational.

Depending on the use, tenant improvements can involve:

walls
flooring
electrical
plumbing
HVAC
lighting
restrooms
accessibility work
kitchen or equipment infrastructure
fire and life-safety work
signage
permits
design

Then ask:

Who pays for the work?

A landlord may offer:

tenant-improvement allowance
turnkey work
free rent
another concession

Those are not automatically free benefits.

They may affect:

rent
lease term
required financial strength
personal guarantee
restoration obligations

Compare the entire lease package.

Retail: Start With How the Customer Gets There

For retail and service businesses, “good location” is not specific enough.

Ask:

Visibility

Can the intended customer reasonably see the business?

Ingress and Egress

Can customers actually get into and out of the property from the routes they use?

Parking

Is there enough useful parking for your operation?

Not just spaces on a site plan.

Look at how the lot works when neighboring businesses are busy.

Signage

What signage is available and permitted?

Co-Tenancy and Neighboring Uses

Do nearby tenants help, compete, or create a different customer pattern?

Deliveries

Where do vendors load and unload?

Use

Does the space already support the business, or are you underwriting a major change?

A RiNo storefront, Cherry Creek service location, suburban neighborhood center, and Parker or Castle Rock retail suite can solve very different customer-access problems.

Choose the property from the actual customer pattern.

Restaurants Need a Much Deeper Space Check

Do not evaluate a restaurant space like ordinary retail.

Depending on the property and concept, investigate:

permitted use
hood
grease interceptor
gas
electrical capacity
plumbing
floor drains
fire suppression
restrooms
occupancy
patio
trash
deliveries
parking
health review

Denver specifically requires zoning and multiple plan-review considerations for restaurant and commercial-kitchen projects, and a change from another building use can trigger additional review.

Denver · Restaurant and Commercial Kitchen Permits →

A second-generation restaurant space can reduce some work.

It does not mean the current concept can automatically open there.

Office: Decide How Much Office You Actually Need

The office question has changed.

Instead of beginning with employee count, ask:

How many people are actually in the office at the same time?

Then consider:

private offices
open workstations
meeting rooms
client visits
storage
parking
transit
employee commute
expansion
hybrid work
building amenities

Denver Metro office conditions can vary significantly between downtown, DTC/southeast suburban space, and other submarkets, so a broad “Denver office” search can hide substantial differences in vacancy, building quality, concessions, parking, and commute patterns. Current 2026 market research still shows elevated office vacancy across Denver even as leasing activity has improved. (CBRE)

That can create opportunity for tenants.

It does not mean every vacant office is a good value.

Ask:

Why is this space vacant?

and

What will make us want to stay here when the lease is renewed?

Industrial and Flex: Square Footage Is Only the Beginning

Industrial users often know this immediately:

5,000 square feet is not just 5,000 square feet.

A useful industrial or flex search may need to specify:

Loading

dock-high
drive-in
grade-level
number of doors

Clear Height

Can the business use the vertical space?

Power

Does the building have the service your equipment requires?

Truck Access

Can the vehicles you use enter, turn, load, and leave?

Yard or Outdoor Storage

Is it available?

Is the use allowed?

Parking

Employee vehicles, fleet vehicles, customer vehicles, trailers?

Office Percentage

How much of the building is office versus warehouse?

Fire Suppression

Does the building's system fit the intended use and storage?

Highway and Customer Access

A distribution user looking around the I-70/DIA/Aurora side of the metro is solving a different routing problem from a service business that needs smaller flex space close to south-metro customers.

Denver's industrial market is also not uniform: current market reporting continues to show strong interest in smaller and midsize industrial/flex requirements even while overall availability varies by submarket. (Cushman & Wakefield)

The useful question is:

Does this building fit the operation without forcing the business to work around the real estate every day?

Owner-User Purchase: Compare Ownership With the Lease You Would Otherwise Sign

A business buying its own property should not compare:

mortgage payment

against

base rent

and stop there.

Ownership can also involve:

down payment
financing costs
property taxes
insurance
maintenance
capital repairs
building systems
tenant-improvement work
reserves
opportunity cost of the cash invested

Leasing can involve:

base rent
NNN/CAM
rent increases
tenant improvements
deposits
guarantees
renewal risk
limited control over the building

The decision depends partly on how long the business expects to use the space and how specialized the property is.

SBA Financing May Be Worth Discussing for an Owner-User

The U.S. Small Business Administration's 504 program provides long-term fixed-rate financing for qualifying major fixed assets, including qualifying owner-user real estate.

It is not intended for speculative or passive rental real-estate investment. (sba.gov)

U.S. SBA · 504 Loan Program →

If the business is considering ownership, have a commercial lender determine which financing paths actually fit.

Kenna Real Estate Group can help connect the property search to those physical and transaction requirements.

Commercial Investment: Read the Lease Before You Read the Cap Rate

A commercial investment is often being purchased with existing leases.

That makes the lease part of the asset.

Before relying on reported NOI or a cap rate, understand:

tenant
remaining lease term
options
rent increases
reimbursements
CAM structure
security deposit
guarantees
renewal rights
assignment/sublease rights
landlord obligations
tenant obligations

Then look at the property.

A strong-looking cap rate can be compensating for:

short lease term
weak tenant
large rollover
deferred maintenance
roof or HVAC exposure
expensive tenant improvements
difficult re-leasing
specialized buildout

The question is not:

“Is this a 6 cap?”

It is:

“What income am I actually buying, and what has to happen to keep it?”

Normalize the NOI Before You Price the Investment

Seller-provided NOI deserves review.

Start with income.

Then check the expenses that belong to the owner under the leases.

Depending on the property, that can include:

taxes
insurance
repairs
management
common-area expenses
utilities
maintenance
reserves
other ownership costs

Then identify items that may not appear in one year's statement but still affect the investment:

roof
HVAC
parking lot
exterior
elevators
major mechanical systems
tenant improvements
leasing commissions
upcoming vacancy

A trailing statement can tell you what happened.

It does not automatically tell you what ownership will cost next year.

Explore Colorado Real Estate Investing →

Multifamily: Separate Small Residential Multifamily From Commercial Apartments

The word multifamily covers very different transactions.

Duplex Through Four Units

A duplex, triplex, or fourplex can often be evaluated through the small-residential-investment framework, including possible owner occupancy and residential financing when the borrower and loan qualify.

Read the Colorado Duplex and Multifamily Buying Guide →

View Colorado Duplex and Multifamily Homes for Sale →

Larger Apartment Properties

A larger apartment building generally requires a more commercial underwriting approach.

The analysis may include:

rent roll
trailing financials
unit mix
concessions
lease rollover
utility structure
vacancy
operating expenses
payroll
management
repairs
capital improvements
debt service
market rents

Do not underwrite a 20-unit building as though it were a bigger duplex.

Commercial Land: The Cheap Acre Can Be the Expensive Site

Commercial land is where listing price can be particularly misleading.

Before valuing a parcel for the intended development, investigate:

Zoning

Can the proposed use go there?

Entitlement

What approvals are still required?

Access

Is there legal and practical access?

Utilities

Where are:

water
sewer
electric
gas
communications

and what does it take to serve the site?

Drainage and Floodplain

Does water constrain the buildable area or site design?

Topography and Soils

What does the physical site require?

Off-Site Work

Will the project require:

road improvements
turn lanes
sidewalks
utility extensions
drainage improvements
other infrastructure

Development Yield

How much of the parcel can actually become the intended building, parking, circulation, landscaping, detention, and other required site components?

A 5-acre site does not automatically produce 5 acres of usable development.

Do not price commercial land from acreage alone.

Denver Use and Permit Checks Should Happen Before the Lease Becomes the Problem

For Denver commercial properties, the city says zoning review can apply to uses, tenant finishes, remodels, additions, signs, and changes of use. Commercial zoning and building review can also run together for applicable projects. (Denver Government)

This means a business looking at a space should ask early:

Is my intended use already approved?

Would this be a change of use?

What work do I need before opening?

What permits and plan review might apply?

Does my lease give me enough time and protection if approvals take longer than expected?

That is a much better question before signing than:

“How quickly can the contractor start?”

Property Taxes Should Be Checked by Parcel

Commercial properties can sit within different combinations of taxing jurisdictions.

Do not apply one Front Range property-tax assumption to every acquisition.

For an owner or investor, check the actual parcel, current tax bill, assessment information, and applicable jurisdictions.

Colorado maintains statewide parcel and property-tax mapping tools, but the relevant county's current property record should be part of the final verification for the specific acquisition.

Before You Sign a Commercial Lease

Use this screen before the lease moves from business decision to legal commitment.

Use

Can the business legally and practically operate here?

Term

How long are you committing?

Base Rent

What is the stated rent?

Additional Rent

What else is passed through?

CAM / NNN

What costs are included and how can they change?

Improvements

What needs to be built?

Who pays?

Who owns the improvements afterward?

Free Rent

When does rent actually begin?

Does free rent occur before or after construction?

Parking

How many spaces are actually available to your business?

Signage

What can you install and where?

HVAC

Who maintains and replaces it?

Repairs

Which building components belong to the tenant?

Guarantee

Is a personal or corporate guarantee required?

Renewal

What options exist and how is future rent determined?

Assignment / Sublease

What happens if the business outgrows the space or needs to leave?

Restoration

What must be removed or restored when the lease ends?

Then have commercial lease counsel review the actual document.

A good location can still become a bad lease.

Before You Buy Commercial Property

Use

Does the intended current or future use work?

Occupancy

Owner-user?

Tenant occupied?

Partially vacant?

Income

What is documented?

Leases

What rights and obligations transfer?

Expenses

What does the owner actually pay?

Condition

Roof?

HVAC?

Structure?

Parking?

Utilities?

Life-safety systems?

Capital Costs

What expensive work is likely during your ownership?

Zoning and Permits

Does the current or planned use require additional approvals?

Financing

Does the financing fit the property and plan?

Taxes

What does the parcel actually carry?

Exit

Who is the next likely buyer or tenant?

For an investment acquisition, use the same discipline you would apply to another income property:

document the income, normalize the expenses, inspect the asset, and understand the exit.

Use the Rental Property Buying Checklist →

If You Are Selling Commercial Property, Prepare the Information Buyers Will Ask For

A commercial buyer may need much more than:

price + square footage.

Depending on the property, prepare what is applicable:

rent roll
leases and amendments
operating statements
utility history
tax information
insurance information
capital-project history
service contracts
surveys
plans
permits
tenant information
environmental reports
title information
property-condition information

For an owner-user property, also think about:

vacancy date
equipment or fixtures included
transition timing
business relocation
permitted use

The cleaner the property file, the easier it is for a serious buyer to understand what is being offered.

Commercial Real Estate Across the Front Range Is Not One Market

The phrase “Denver commercial real estate” can hide very different property decisions.

A downtown office user is not solving the same problem as a DTC professional office tenant.

A neighborhood retailer is not choosing a location the same way as an Aurora/I-70 industrial user.

A south-metro service company may care more about customer and employee access than proximity to a freight corridor.

A multifamily investor may care about rent roll and capital work more than the owner-user business next door.

That is why Kenna Real Estate Group starts with:

use + transaction + geography + physical requirements

rather than sending every commercial inquiry into one generic property search.

Common Commercial Real Estate Questions

Should I Buy or Lease Space for My Business?

Compare control, flexibility, cash required, expected time in the location, buildout, financing, maintenance, and your alternatives.

Buying is not automatically better because you build equity.

Leasing is not automatically better because it requires less upfront cash.

The right answer depends on the business and property.

What Does NNN Mean?

A triple-net or NNN lease commonly shifts specified property operating expenses such as taxes, insurance, and common-area costs to the tenant in addition to base rent.

The lease itself determines exactly what you pay.

Do not rely on the acronym alone.

What Is CAM?

CAM generally refers to common-area maintenance charges.

The lease determines which costs can be included, how they are allocated, and how reconciliations work.

Ask for the actual budget and prior expense history when available.

What Is a Tenant Improvement Allowance?

A TI allowance is money the landlord agrees to contribute toward qualifying improvements to the tenant's space according to the lease.

The amount, eligible work, payment process, and effect on rent or term depend on the negotiated agreement.

Should I Use Cap Rate to Compare Commercial Investments?

Cap rate can be useful for comparing income-producing assets.

But first make sure the NOI is calculated consistently.

A cap rate based on optimistic rent or understated expenses is not a useful comparison.

Can My Business Use SBA Financing to Buy Its Building?

Potentially.

The SBA 504 program can finance qualifying fixed assets for eligible operating businesses, including qualifying owner-user real estate. It is not designed for passive speculative rental-property investment. (sba.gov)

Have an SBA/commercial lender evaluate the specific business and transaction.

Does Kenna Have a Public Search for Every Commercial Property Type?

Not on this site.

Retail, office, industrial, and commercial land require a more focused commercial search rather than being routed into unrelated residential inventory.

Tell Kenna Real Estate Group the use, location range, size, and transaction goal so the commercial search can begin from the correct criteria.