Colorado Real Estate Journal - June 1, 2016
Downtown Denver is known for a high quality of life, diverse outdoor activities, and a highly educated and active community. A mile-long pedestrian promenade serves as the heart of Downtown and is lined with outdoor cafes and stores that serve a downtown workforce of more than 123,000. After enjoying a meal or happy hour special, downtown workers, residents and visitors can walk to a game at one of three professional sports stadiums, stroll through a restored historic Lower Downtown (LoDo) district, visit a collections of museums, or shop in one of Downtown’s shopping districts. Downtown Denver Development Over the past 20 years, there has been an incredible amount of investment in downtown. Catalytic projects include the construction of Coors Field and Pepsi Center, two expansions of the Colorado Convention Center, the completion of the 1,100-room Hyatt Regency Convention Center hotel, the renovation and expansion of the Denver Art Museum, and the completion of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver and the Clyfford Still Museum. Going forward, the redevelopment of Denver Union Station will serve as an anchor and complement an increasingly more pedestrian friendly environment that will infuse Downtown with continued public and private investment. Downtown is currently experiencing a development boom with more than 2.7 million square feet of office space and several residential projects planned or under construction. Various developments include 1144 Fifteenth Street, The Confluence, 1401 Lawrence and SkyHouse Denver. Downtown’s multifamily residential market is also booming with 1,900 units completed in 2015 and another 4,500 under construction or planned. Several projects throughout downtown’s city center neighborhoods are in varying stages of development that will continue its evolution into a vibrant 24/7 community. Denver is ranked as the No. 1 place to live in the country with its amenities, highly educated population, transportation options and attractive urban center. Colorado ranks as the seventh most educated metro area in the country with its percentage of the population that have a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the midst of downtown lies the Auraria Higher Education Center, home to the University of Colorado at Denver, Metropolitan State University and Community College of Denver, with a combined enrollment of more than 54,000 students. Downtown Denver Tourism In addition to the increasing number of residents, office workers, and students, tourism is bringing an increasing number of visitors to the Downtown area with over 15 million people traveling to Downtown each year. Those visitors ranked the 16th Street Mall as the No. 1 tourist destination in Denver. Denver continues to gain in popularity as a convention and meeting destination. Tourism and convention activity is expected to continue increasing and is significantly bolstered by conventions such as the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show, which recently signed an 11-year commitment, the largest convention booking in Denver’s history, bringing 19,000 attendees to downtown Denver each year over the next decade. Downtown Denver as a Model for Transit In 2004, voters approved FasTracks, a multibillion dollar comprehensive transit expansion plan to build 122 miles of new commuter rail and light rail, 18 miles of bus rapid transit service, 21,000 new parking spaces at light-rail and bus stations, and enhance bus service for easy, convenient bus/rail connections across the Rocky Mountain region. The hub for this multimodal system is the redeveloped Denver Union Station, which opened to the public in 2015. The first component of the plan, the 12.1-mile West Line, opened in 2013. The University of Colorado A Line opened in April and provides a commuter rail connection to Denver International Airport. Three more line will open in 2016, enhancing connections to surrounding communities. Currently more than 32,000 people get on and off at downtown light-rail stations each weekday and total weekday ridership on the entire lightrail system is averaging 68,000 passenger trips per weekday. A Look Ahead Currently, Downtown has a population of 75,972 residents that live throughout its 15 city-center neighborhoods. By the year 2021, it is projected that the residential population will grow by 13 percent and increase to 83,817. By 2027, the workforce is projected to add an additional 35,000 jobs. The Downtown Denver Partnership is dedicated to telling the story of downtown Denver’s growth and development and to ensuring that this vitality and vibrancy continues for years to come. For more information on Downtown Denver, please visit www.downtowndenver.com