Longtime commercial landlord leaving the Springs

Mack-Cali Realty Corp., a New Jersey-based real estate investment trust that has owned Colorado Springs commercial real estate for nearly a decade, is pulling out of the market and the state. Mack-Cali announced this week it was selling its entire portfolio in the Springs and the Denver-Boulder area for $195.3 million to Westcore Properties, a private commercial real estate firm based in San Diego. The deal is expected to close near the end of the third quarter, according to Mack-Cali, which added it was selling to focus on its markets in the Northeast. Since 1997, Mack-Cali has owned three office buildings in the Briargate Business Campus, southeast of Interstate 25 and Briargate Parkway and one of three business parks on the Springs' fast-growing far north side. Two single-story buildings each have 47,369 square feet; a third building (above) is three stories and 115,250 square feet. The buildings are considered to be Class A properties because of a superior location and amenities. In all, Mack-Cali's Colorado holdings include 19 office buildings with about 1.4 million square feet, 7.1 acres of vacant land and a 1.6-acre parking garage.