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Records reveal little on tech campus deal

Even those close to sale don't know identity, they say

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The StorageTek campus in Louisville is seen from the air in 2005. Sale of the land, which was taken over by Sun Microsystems in 2005, was completed Friday to an unidentified buyer.

Photo by Daily Camera / 2005

The StorageTek campus in Louisville is seen from the air in 2005. Sale of the land, which was taken over by Sun Microsystems in 2005, was completed Friday to an unidentified buyer.

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"The eagle has landed."

That was how Sun Microsystems told broker Stew Mosko at 2:30 p.m. Friday that it had completed the sale of Storage Technology's former 432-acre campus in Louisville.

But last week's e-mail didn't identify the "eagle."

Records show that a company called ST Acquisitions LLC paid $55.6 million for the land.

The company was created Jan. 8 and the paperwork filed with the Colorado Secretary of State's Office by Denver lawyer Lee J. Darling of Darling Bergstrom & Milligan. Darling declined to comment Monday afternoon.

The articles of organization filed with the state also listed a Corporation Co. but gave no other details.

Sun acquired the land as part of its $4.1 billion purchase of Stor-

ageTek in 2005.

"I've spent hours trying to figure out why they wouldn't want to identify themselves," Mosko, a broker with Fuller and Co., said Monday. "On one hand, it is such a prominent property, you would think you would be so proud to own it (that) you would want to reveal it to everyone."

"But maybe it has to do with its employees," he said. "The only thing that makes sense to me is they don't want their employees to learn about it in the newspapers."

Because Sun Microsystems is leasing some of the 2 million square feet of building space on the campus for the next nine months, as it moves 700 employees working there to its Broomfield campus across U.S. 36, the buyer is under no pressure to reveal itself, Mosko said. The nine buildings are 75 percent vacant.

Louisville Mayor Chuck Sisk also doesn't know the identity of the buyer, even though he's met with the buyer's representatives.

The most recent meeting took place "within the last week," and Sisk said he knew the deal was imminent. "From the city of Louisville's perspective, it is a positive that the sale is in place."

Sisk told the representatives how Louisville about five years ago had rejected a redevelopment plan for the land that would have included more than 1,000 residential units.

"We made sure they had the temperature of not only Louisville but also Boulder County and the state," Sisk said.

Sisk said the city would like to see a mix of offices and possibly retailers, as well as "lots of open space," on the property.

"I was very impressed by their reaction," Sisk said. "My sense is they were very committed to understanding the fabric of Louisville. . . . But they were clearly holding most of their cards close to their vest."

Sisk said that when meeting with the buyers he wasn't searching for clues to their identity, offering that not knowing makes it easier to keep the secret.

rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5207