Colorado Real Estate Journal - March 18, 2015

Residential

New residents are moving to downtown denver and its surrounding neighborhoods in record numbers.

Downtown Denver’s core residential population is projected to grow from 18,914 by 14.3% in the next five years and Downtown’s City Center neighborhoods are projected to grow from 69,872 by 10.6%. In the core of Downtown there has been a 164% increase in residents since 2000. The City of Denver is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.

In the past three years, Denver’s population has grown by 8.2%.

Downtown Denver’s residential real estate market reflects this strong population growth. As of January 2015, over 3,973 residential units were under construction or planned in Downtown Denver and its City Center neighborhoods. Apartment vacancy rates are at a record low of 4.6% 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 64 unit, 6 story, MOTO project to entire city blocks in Uptown like the recently completed One City Block, a 4 building, 5 story, 292 unit development.

A unique aspect of the current residential development cycle for Downtown will be the delivery of the first high rise apartment towers to be built in the core in decades. The first of these towers, Cadence, recently completed construction and started welcoming its first residents and is a 13 story, 220 unit apartment building located at 17th & Chestnut in the Central Platte Valley neighborhood.

Another tower, Platform at Union Station, is a 21 story, 290 unit apartment community that is under construction and scheduled for completion later this year. The tallest rental project in Downtown’s history will be The Confluence which is a 34 story, 288 unit tower that recently began construction and is scheduled for completion in early 2017. The newest high rise tower to break ground is Skyhouse Denver, a 26 story, 354 unit apartment project that is being constructed on a site in the Central Business District.

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.

Recently three highly sought after amenities were added or announced that 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. A new urban format 47,000 SF King Soopers grocery store will open at 19th & Chestnut as part of the Elan at Union Station project that is adjacent to Denver Union Station later this spring. In November of 2014, Whole Foods Market announced that they would open a new 56,000 SF flagship store that will serve as the retail anchor for the 640 unit apartment 17W project which is scheduled to open in 2017 and will provide another grocery option for consumers in that quickly emerging neighborhood.