CREJ - page 85

June 15-July 5, 2016 — COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL — Page 5C
N ew residents are moving to
Downtown Denver and its
surrounding neighborhoods in
record numbers. Downtown Denver’s
core residential population is projected
to grow from 19,854 by 13% in the
next five years and Downtown’s City
Center neighborhoods are projected
to grow from 75,972 by 10%. In the
core of Downtown there has been
a 179% increase in residents since
2000. The City of Denver is one of
the fastest growing cities in the U.S.
with 682,545 residents which is 13%
increase since 2011.
Downtown Denver’s residential
real estate market reflects this strong
population growth. As of May 2016,
over 4,592 residential units were
under construction or planned in
Downtown Denver and its City Center
neighborhoods. Apartment vacancy
rates continue to remain low at 7.5%
and the overall residential real estate
market is surging. New rental projects
are being developed throughout
Downtown and range in scale from
smaller infill developments in Capitol
Hill like the 105 unit, 7-story, 7/S
Denver Haus apartment project to
mid-rise towers like the planned
Alexan Arapahoe Square, a 13-story,
355-unit development.
A unique aspect of the current
residential development cycle for
Downtown is the delivery of the first
high rise apartment towers to be
built in the core in decades. One of
the first of these towers, Platform at
Union Station, recently completed
construction and is a 21-story,
290 unit apartment community
in the burgeoning Union Station
neighborhood.
Another tower is Skyhouse Denver,
a 25-story, 354-unit apartment project
that is being constructed on a site in
the Central Business District at the
intersection of 18th & Broadway. The
tallest rental project in Downtown’s
history will be The Confluence, which
is a 34 story, 288-unit tower that
is currently under construction and
is scheduled for completion in early
2017. A new 19-story condominium
project, The Coloradan, plans to break
ground later this year and will deliver
342 for-sale units when it is complete.
These new towers will set the stage
for the next chapter in Downtown’s
residential market evolution that will
offer increased density on smaller sites
allowing future residents even better
access to all of the amenities that
are attracting people to live in urban
spaces.
New amenities continue to
enhance the quality of life for
Downtown Denver residents and
will spur the future development of
additional residential projects. The
Downtown Denver Expeditionary
School (DDES) welcomed it first
students in grades K-5 and opened
in its permanent home at 1860
Lincoln in April of 2014 and is
now seeing record enrollment.
Development of a Downtown Middle
School is underway that will provide
another educational option for new
residents and their families. A full
service urban format 46,000 SF
King Soopers grocery store opened
at 19th & Chestnut as part of the
Elan at Union Station project that is
adjacent to Denver Union Station in
September of 2015. Whole Foods
Market is constructing a 56,000
SF flagship store that will serve as
the retail anchor for the 580-unit
apartment Pivot project which is
scheduled to open in 2017 and will
provide another grocery option for
consumers in that quickly emerging
neighborhood.
RESIDENTIAL
Image courtesy of Trammell Crow Residential
Alexan Uptown, a 12 story, 372-unit apartment tower under construction in the Uptown neighborhood.
Image courtesy of Oz Architecture
DriveTrain, a 6-story mixed-use project that will feature 220 residential units is planned in the River North
neighborhood
Image courtesy of The Burgwyn Company
5280 Senior Residences, a 6 story, 99-unit apartment project under construction in the Uptown neigh-
borhood.
Image courtesy of McWhinney
SOVA, a 12 story, 211-unit apartment tower is planned in the Uptown neighborhood.
Alexan Uptown
DriveTrain
5280 Senior Residences
SOVA