American Furniture Warehouse to Build Huge Retail/Distribution Facility in Douglas County.

Business Editors

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2000

American Furniture Warehouse, one of the fastest-growing retail furniture companies in the country, announced today that it will open a second retail/distribution center in the Denver area to augment its current headquarters in Thornton.

The 635,000-square-foot facility will be built in Douglas County near E-470 and Chambers Road.

&uot;Because our business is growing so rapidly and the key to our growth is customer service, we need this facility to support our stores in the southern part of Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo,&uot; said Jake Jabs, president of American Furniture Warehouse.

The new building will be the size of eight football fields and will include a 112,000-square-foot retail store featuring a full-service family restaurant. American Furniture Warehouse is currently negotiating to bring a major restaurant chain to the unique retail/hospitality facility.

Construction is scheduled to begin in March with completion projected for this November. The warehouse will include 67 dock doors for increased customer convenience.

&uot;We'll have a state-of-the-art furniture pick-up system and a comfortable lounge,&uot; said Jabs. &uot;We really want to concentrate on increasing our customer friendliness.&uot;

Opus Northwest, developer of many major projects in the Denver metro area, is building the giant warehouse and has a long-standing relationship with AFW. Previously, Opus Northwest built the American Furniture flagship store at 84th Avenue and Interstate 25, as well as stores in Fort Collins, Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Arapahoe County (Englewood).

&uot;We have a close professional relationship,&uot; said John Shaw, Opus Northwest vice president. &uot;We've learned to build to meet their specifications and unique needs.&uot;

The 40-acre site is located on the western edge of the Compark Business Campus, east of Centennial Airport and located between the Inverness and Meridian Business Centers.

Tony Leverett, director of real estate for American Furniture Warehouse, negotiated the purchase of the parcel from Omnivest International Inc., which owns an additional 35 acres west of the American Furniture site.

&uot;We specifically like that part of town near E-470 because of the convenience to Denver International Airport and Colorado Springs, and the fact that the new highway allows traffic to bypass the congestion in central Denver,&uot; said Hank Vanderryst, president of acquisitions and development for Omnivest.

Vanderryst said his firm purchased the Compark site in early 1999 because of its exceptional location and quickly learned that American Furniture was interested in purchasing 40 acres of Ominvest's 75-acre parcel.

&uot;Timing was everything in this deal, but we knew the site had tremendous potential,&uot; said Vanderryst. Leverett agrees that the new location is tailor-made for the retailer's long-range marketing plans.

Leverett also lauded Opus for its turn-key approach to design and construction.

&uot;Through the years we've grown to trust each other,&uot; Leverett said. &uot;It's been a good marriage with Opus. Their price is competitive, they build our facilities quickly and we like the quality of their work.&uot;

The $20 million facility will give AFW a completely new appearance from previous stores, he added.

&uot;It's quite an upscale look for us,&uot; Leverett said.

The structure will embrace a &uot;Colorado Rustic Style&uot; using log timbers, natural woods and stonework, not unlike the craftsman styling of the Park Meadows Mall in Douglas County. Although massive in size with a length of a quarter-mile, the warehouse will be built into a natural valley and be surrounded by native landscaping.

&uot;We are very excited about our new facility. The Compark location will be a nice place for our employees and our customers and will enhance our ability to serve this growing market for years to come,&uot; explained Jabs, who has built American Furniture Warehouse into the Rocky Mountain region's largest furniture retailer.

With the help of approximately 1,200 employees, AFW handles up to 10,000 pieces of furniture per day and is open seven days a week. Currently, AFW has five stores in the Denver metro area and one each in Fort Collins, Glenwood Springs, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Opus Northwest, the largest commercial developer in the country, is involved in a number of premier projects in the metro area with Compark playing a major role in current construction activities.

&uot;Our goal by the end of 2000 is to have under construction or completed a million square feet of industrial and commercial space at Compark,&uot; said Shaw.

Omnivest International Inc. is a major investor in apartments, office buildings, retail facilities and vacant land. The Compark Business Campus is an integrated-planned community that includes commercial, industrial, retail, residential and recreational uses.