Curtis Fentress has unloaded two adjacent buildings on Broadway in Denver, including the longtime home of his architecture studio, selling to developers Magnetic Capital and Integra Land Co. for roughly $13 million. Public records show the parcels at 421 and 433 Broadway changed hands together in a deal that covers about 1.15 acres. The purchase was financed in part with a seller loan, and the buyers have already floated a rendering for a planned residential project, nudging a prominent stretch of Broadway closer to major redevelopment.
Deal details and financing
According to BusinessDen, public records put the sale price at $12.75 million, or about $253 per square foot for the roughly 1.15-acre site. The records also show a $9.6 million loan at roughly 5% interest from Fentress and his wife, Agatha Kessler, to the buyers. Loan documents reviewed by the outlet indicate a lease remains in place at 421 Broadway, and Fentress Studios still lists that address as its office. Magnetic Capital and Integra provided a rendering and told the publication they are planning a two-building, roughly 280-unit apartment project with parking, with at least one structure expected to carry the address 437 Broadway.
Fentress, Populous and the studio's future
Fentress Architects was acquired by global design firm Populous in June 2025 and rebranded as Fentress Studios, a shift the company outlined in a press release. Populous said the studio will continue operating out of Denver and Washington, D.C., even though ownership of the Broadway land has changed. The transaction moves the real estate to new hands while the design practice itself remains rooted in the city.
Plans, legal history and the parcel's shifting footprint
The Broadway holdings come with a tangled history. They were once part of a larger assemblage that included 375 Broadway, 445 Broadway and 448 Acoma, an effort that sparked litigation over a tenant's right of first refusal. BusinessDen previously covered that lawsuit and the follow-up deals that saw 445 Broadway sell on its own in 2023 for about $5.1 million. Those separate sales carved off pieces of the original assemblage and effectively narrowed the development footprint that Magnetic now controls.
Developer track record and neighborhood context
Magnetic Capital, led by Dan Huml, has been active downtown on adaptive-reuse and mixed-use projects in neighborhoods such as RiNo and LoDo, often teaming up on retail and entertainment concepts. Coverage from MileHighCRE and other outlets has tracked the firm’s recent acquisitions and repositionings. If the Broadway concept moves forward as described, it would inject hundreds of apartments into a corridor that has become a key piece of Denver’s multifamily development pipeline.
The sale marks a new chapter for a stretch of Broadway long filled with studios, small businesses and street-level storefronts. Magnetic’s plan still needs to clear city approvals and neighborhood review before any shovels hit the ground, and existing leases mean parts of the property could stay occupied during early project phases. For now, the real action will show up in permit applications and public notices, which will be the clearest sign that this project is shifting from glossy rendering to an active construction site.
