Tuff Shed founder buys company HQ office complex at huge discount

Tuff Shed has permanent housing.

The founder and CEO of the shed manufacturer on Thursday bought the Denver office complex at Interstate 25 and Colorado Boulevard, where the company has been headquartered for three decades.

Tom Saurey, who founded Tuff Shed in 1981, bought the Centerpoint I and II buildings at 3900 E. Mexico Ave. and 1777 S. Harrison St. for $23 million, his firm announced.

The two office towers total 374,000 square feet, making the deal worth $61.50 a square foot.

Saurey bought the buildings from his former landlord at a huge discount. The seller, Florida-based TerraCap Management, paid $77.5 million for them in late 2019. At the time, they were 89 percent leased.

The towers were 70 percent leased as of last week.

Saurey founded Tuff Shed in Idaho, moving the company to Denver in 1986. Tuff Shed moved to the Centerpoint complex in 1994, taking 2,500 square feet initially, according to his company. It now occupies 29,000 square feet in the 16-story 1777 S. Harrison building, having recently renewed its lease.

Its space includes a large indoor showroom and sales center on the first level, as well as two floors of office space. Tuff Shed leases about 8 percent of the complex.

In a statement, Saurey said he’d “always wanted to own the building that houses our corporate office.”

“This isn’t just a strategic move; it’s an investment in a place that Tuff Shed has called home for more than 30 years,” he said. “We’ve grown our business in these buildings, and to own them is a significant step.”

Saurey didn’t respond to additional questions relayed through a spokeswoman.

Tuff Shed said it has 59 production facilities across the country, and 187 brick-and-mortar retail storefronts. Its products can also be found in places such as Home Depot. The company said it has approximately 1,700 employees. Just over 100 work out of the headquarters.

CBRE marketed Centerpoint I and II for sale. Tributary Real Estate brokered the deal on behalf of the buyer. Tributary and Dunton Commercial have been tapped to be the property’s asset manager. Dunton will handle day-to-day property management.

The towers were built in 1980 and 1982, according to marketing materials prepared by CBRE. There are 62 tenants overall between them. The weighted average lease term for the complex, which measures how much time is left on a property’s various leases, is 3.2 years.

TerraCap didn’t respond to a request for comment on the sale. The firm financed its 2019 purchase with a $57 million loan from Bank of America, records show.