StoryBuilt's real estate project pipeline for sale
The $2 billion infill development pipeline of embattled real estate firm StoryBuilt is for sale.
The commercial and residential pipeline of PSW Real Estate LLC, StoryBuilt’s legal name, consists of 28 projects across Austin, Seattle, Denver and Dallas. The pipeline is available for purchase in its entirety or separately through a receiver sale by A&G Real Estate Partners and Onyx Asset Advisors, according to an Oct. 9 announcement. The pipeline is to be sold by the end of the year, according to the asset sale website.
“StoryBuilt’s history, design skills and management talent are strong, as is its pipeline of well-conceived and located assets, but like many other builders in recent years, the company ran into capital constraints,” stated Mike Bergthold, managing director at the court-appointed receiver, Stapleton Group. “For real estate investors, this truly is a unique and rare opportunity to acquire the entire company, inclusive of assets, people and quality brand and IP or the outstanding assets individually.”
StoryBuilt co-founder Anthony Siela did not respond to a request for comment.
StoryBuilt has been dealing with mounting financial issues, including lawsuits from both investors and condo owners, more than 100 employee layoffs and a voluntary receivership intended to fix the company’s finances.
StoryBuilt’s Lucy community at East 12th Street and Sarabeth Way, as of August 2023. Some buildings remain unfinished as the company is going through financial issues.
StoryBuilt’s pipeline consists of fully complete multifamily resident and mixed-use projects that are “generating millions of dollars in net operating income,” according to the announcement. It also includes partially- and nearly complete commercial and residential projects, plus land parcels in various stages of approval. Of the projects, 17 are in Austin, five in Seattle and three each are in Denver and Dallas.
“Some of these sites are essentially shovel-ready, with the municipality having already reviewed and green-lighted the plans,” stated K. Kevin Otus, managing partner of Onyx Asset Advisors. “It is a major advantage for developers looking to seize opportunities in these high-demand markets.”
Of the projects, 17 are joint ventures with other entities. For instance, in 2021, StoryBuilt secured a joint partner in Switzerland-based Partners Group AG with plans to spend more than $1 billion on development.
For those joint ventures, StoryBuilt has a 10% stake and handled design and construction, according to the announcement, and those offerings include StoryBuilt’s stake in those joint ventures.
The announcement did not list each specific property for sale but did note some examples.
In and around Denver, StoryBuilt’s assets include a parking lot at 2137 Glenarm Place and 22nd Street, which an LLC associated with StoryBuilt purchased for $3.75 million, where the company planned to build condos. Another LLC affiliated with StoryBuilt also owns a vacant property at 4190 W. Colfax Ave., where StoryBuilt had planned a five-story apartment project. In Wheat Ridge, the third asset associated with StoryBuilt is a vacant lot located at 5785 W. 38th Ave., which is approved for 55 townhomes, according to the Oct. 9 receiver sale announcement. At least the Wheat Ridge project is part of a joint venture.
In May, steel construction company High Plains Steel Services filed a complaint against StoryBuilt related to the property, alleging it is owed approximately $14,000 for work it completed at the site. High Plains also recorded a lien on the property in April.
In Aurora near the Stanley Marketplace, StoryBuilt is in a legal dispute over property it intended to purchase at 2481 Dayton St.
In July, a StoryBuilt employee told the Denver Business Journal he had left the company because projects were not moving forward. At that time the company did not respond to a request for comment.
Kate Tracy contributed to this story.
