Helaba Lends $82M on Macy’s-to-Residential Conversion Project Near Denver 

Alliance Residential Company has secured $82.2 million of construction financing for its multifamily makeover of a vacant Macy’s department store in a Denver suburb, Commercial Observer has learned.

German commercial bank Helaba supplied the loan for Alliance’s 358-unit apartment complex at a former Macy’s store within the Streets at SouthGlenn shopping center in Centennial, Colo. Alliance acquired the shuttered department store for $11 million.

Jason Deck, director of real estate finance at Helaba, noted that Alliance has experience transforming Macy’s sites into multifamily and is redeveloping a similar conversion project in Hillsboro, Ore. Deck said the deal served as a win-win for both Alliance and the seller, PCCP, which owns the retail property as part of a joint venture. 

“It’s great for the seller as they’re going to bring 350-plus market-rate units to the center, and it’s great for Alliance because you have this built-in amenity set already there,” Deck told CO. He added that a Whole Foods grocery store was “a stone’s throw away” from the development.

Deck added that the Centennial submarket has strong multifamily fundamentals with its location 12 miles south of Downtown Denver. The project, which is slated for completion in September 2029, will have resident amenities that include a swimming pool, coworking spaces, a fitness center and a rooftop deck.

Alliance Residential did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com