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Page 2 — Office Properties Quarterly — December 2017
Contents Letter from the Editor
C overing the office market
this year, I’ve noticed a
recurring theme of coming
change and the importance
of flexibility. In general, the
United State workforce is in a state
of fluctuation, as baby boomers
retire, Gen Xers and millennials
play larger roles in
business decision-
making and, as the
cover story out-
lines, we’re begin-
ning to usher the
iGeneration into
our workforce. All
of these changes
have major impli-
cations on the way
business is conducted, including its
commercial real estate decisions.
Locally, Denver’s office market
also is adapting. Since the Great
Recessions, we’ve seen a spike in
office development, which was
welcomed since most of the cen-
tral business district’s previous
office stock was constructed in the
1980s. The Denver market has been
able to keep pace with these new
developments, seeing relatively
steady absorption and healthy
vacancy rates.
A large part of this success is
due to our workforce – employees
who are well educated and find the
city to be a highly desirable place
to work and live. However, we’re
starting to see signs of small hic-
cups that could impact our future
success.
On face value, it’s hard to imag-
ine that low unemployment could
hurt the city’s reputation, but it’s
happening for some companies
considering relocations or expan-
sions here, Liz Osborne writes in
her article on Page 6. And, for the
first time in what feels like ages,
Denver did make a “best of” list
that seemed like we’d be a shoe-in
for – the MoveHub’s U.S. Hipster
Index, which ranked cities for their
attractiveness to young people.
Additionally, it was reported in the
Denver Post that in 2016, the num-
ber of people moving here dropped,
the first time in a decade, and a
record number of people moved
out of the state. The final tally
ended up in the plus column, with
30,000 new residents, but it’s less
than previous years.
Aside from being interesting indi-
cators from a macro level, these
factors all contribute to unknowns
for many companies. For example,
companies don’t know how quickly
they will grow, which can make it
difficult to assess how much space
they’ll need. As commercial real
estate professionals, by recogniz-
ing this need for flexibility, you can
help clients feel prepared for the
unknown. For example, on Page
18, Richard Smith shares how his
firm designs mindful spaces that
account for future expansion.
I’m interested to hear from you
about other techniques you’re
employing to help manage clients’
trepidation as the workforce and
workplace evolves.
303-623-1148, Ext.104
1 0 0 K S F O F
C O N T I G U O U S
S P A C E
N O W A V A I L A B L E
T O U R I T A G A I N F O R T H E F I R S T T I M E
NICK PAVLAKOVICH 303.813.6438
MATT GAUTREAU 303.813.6424