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DECEMBER 2017 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 59
W ith the economy healthy again after
the recession and rents on the rise in
urban centers, commercial office ten-
ants and developers are considering
alternative locations to the traditional central busi-
ness district. This trend is coupled with the millenni-
al generation growing up and reaching child-rearing
years. They aren’t ready to leave the city but some are
choosing to leave the urban core to start a family while
enjoying the conveniences of city living in alternative
urban locations.
It has been common in this tight labor market for em-
ployers to follow the talent pool and locate where their
employees want to be. One solution is to look where the
family ready talent wants to live and locate in office buildings near tran-
sit for commuting convenience in outlying urban neighborhoods or in
inner-ring suburbs. Shorter commutes mean happier and more produc-
tive employees.
A notable change in alternatives to downtown office locations is the
increased focus on near-transit buildings – often in suburbs and outly-
ing city neighborhoods – as regional transit systems expand. The office
building itself may be outside the CBD, but if it is located near rail lines,
it can attract tenants and their employees seeking urban walkability and
easy access to the amenities typically found in downtown office loca-
tions.
Making A Place
Across the Denver metro area, architects, planners and developers are
transforming streets into “places” by creating squares, parks and plazas
that serve as multiuse destinations and encourage informal marketplac-
es, pop-up events and gathering spaces to relax, unwind and socialize.
The design of surrounding buildings plays a leading role in creating and
supporting those popular public spaces. KTGY has been working with
Forest City tomaster plan such a place at Central Park Station in Denver’s
Stapleton neighborhood.
Comprising six city blocks the mixed-use complex combines an au-
thentic, distinctively urban feel with the added benefit of proximity to
transit, and therefore connection – through RTD’s FasTracks commuter
and light-rail network – to other desirable destinations throughout the
entire metro area. This connectivity, combined with Stapleton’s family
friendly neighborhoods, gives this location, at the midpoint between
downtown Denver’s Union Station and Denver International Airport, the
opportunity to attract the talent and tenants necessary to compete and
grow.
Terry Willis
Principal,
KTGY Ar-
chitecture +
Planning