2020 Lawrence
Retail Leasing & Restaurant Placement · Ballpark District · Denver
THE ASSIGNMENT
2020 Lawrence is a 10-story, 231-unit LEED Gold mixed-use development on the border of Denver's Ballpark and Arapahoe Square neighborhoods — Zocalo Community Development's second LEED Gold high-rise, capitalized in partnership with Berkshire Partners of Boston.
It was also our first assignment with Zocalo. The retail component at the base of the building needed to activate a corner that hadn't yet defined itself — Ballpark had residential momentum but was still finding its retail identity beyond game days. Ownership needed retail that would perform seven days a week, not just when the Rockies were home.
We were engaged to lead retail leasing for the ground floor.
THE COMPLICATION
The location worked against a certain kind of tenant. Ballpark's identity was tied to Coors Field — which meant strong seasonal traffic, weaker off-season demand, and a perception among restaurant operators that the neighborhood was game-day-dependent. National chains were skeptical. Local operators were interested but needed conviction that the building itself would draw traffic independent of the ballpark.
The retail also had to fit the character of a LEED Gold building marketed to residents who cared about sustainability, walkability, and neighborhood quality — not sports bars.
Ownership needed a restaurant concept that would anchor the ground floor for the long term and signal what the neighborhood was becoming, not what it had been.
THE APPROACH
Landlord representation — Agent
On the primary retail leasing assignment for the building, we represented Zocalo Community Development as their Agent — single-agency, single fiduciary duty. The scope included curating the retail mix, sourcing operators, and running the leasing process for the ground-floor spaces at the base of the building.
Restaurant placement — Transaction Broker (Lower 48)
The signature retail placement at 2020 Lawrence was Lower 48 Kitchen — a farm-to-table concept designed specifically to serve the Ballpark neighborhood beyond game days. We sourced Lower 48 directly for the space, matching their operating model to the building's demand profile and Zocalo's institutional standards.
Because we were the party who brought Lower 48 to Zocalo — rather than working across from a tenant broker on the other side — the transaction required a capacity conversion. In Colorado, when a broker is positioned to facilitate both sides of a transaction, agency ends and Transaction Broker begins. Colorado law prohibits dual agency. Transaction Broker is the appropriate licensed capacity, and it's the license we held on the Lower 48 deal.
Same building. Two roles. Both handled correctly.
THE JUDGMENT
The retail identity of a neighborhood-in-transition doesn't get built by taking whoever raises their hand. It gets built by identifying operators whose concepts belong there before the neighborhood catches up to them.
"The right tenant defines the corner. The wrong tenant defines the ceiling."
Lower 48 defined the corner. And the trust Zocalo extended on 2020 Lawrence became the foundation of a relationship that has now spanned three institutional-grade mixed-use developments and more than a decade of continuous work.
THE OUTCOME
2020 Lawrence opened with Lower 48 anchoring the ground-floor retail — a farm-to-table concept that helped establish the character of the building and contributed to the broader repositioning of the Ballpark neighborhood.
Years later, when Lower 48 needed to relocate, Zocalo brought us back to handle the exit. That subsequent assignment — a confidential, targeted disposition that secured an above-market price and preserved the space as a restaurant — is documented separately.
The full arc of the 2020 Lawrence retail — placement, stabilization, transition — was handled by the same firm across a decade. That's what continuity looks like when the work gets done right the first time.
Client: Zocalo Community Development (Agent, landlord representation)
Capital Partner: Berkshire Partners (Boston)
Anchor Tenant: Lower 48 Kitchen (Transaction Broker on the placement)