DOWNTOWN DENVER ECONOMIC UPDATE
AUGUST 2014
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
News & Rankings
Residential development in Downtown and its city center neighborhoods continues at a brisk pace with almost 1,400 units created so far in 2014. Recently completed projects include AMLI at Riverfront Park, Verve and Element 47. Skyhouse Denver, one of the tallest proposed rental towers in Downtown’s history, was recently announced and will add 354 new apartments to the Central Business District when the 25 story project is completed in 2016. Another new rental tower, Eviva Cherokee, plans to break ground later this year in the Golden Triangle and will add 274 new units when it is completed. On the for-sale front there are 189 townhomes currently under construction or planned throughout the Downtown neighborhoods.
• The second satellite location of the U.S. Patent and Trade Office opened in Downtown Denver in June.
For more information about development in Downtown Denver see our Quarterly Development Map Updates at www.downtowndenver.com/ resources-downloads.
Downtown Neighborhood
For-Sale Units
Rental Units
Number of Projects
Auraria
-
-
-
Ballpark
-
541
3
Capitol Hill
8
419
5
Central Business District
-
776
3
CPV/Denver Union Station
-
2,763
10
Curtis Park/Five Points
73
369
7
Golden Triangle
17
938
5
Highland
36
431
6
Jefferson Park
55
332
3
La Alma/Lincoln Park
-
745
2
Lower Downtown
-
-
-
Uptown
-
372
1
189
7,686
45
Total
Sources: Downtown Denver Partnership, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, Denver Business Journal, Denver Post.
EMPLOYMENT
• Visit Denver reported a record year for Metro Denver tourism in 2013, with 14 million visitors spending over $4 billion. • Ardent Mills announced it is relocating its headquarters to Downtown Denver and expects to employ roughly 200 people at their new location.
• JobAdder.com, an Australian recruitment website has relocated its U.S. operations from San Francisco to Denver. • Denver was ranked as the third best city in the country for small businesses by Biz2Credit. • The American College of Sports Medicine ranked Denver the fourth fittest city in the country. • Denver has the ninth highest rate of bike commuters among the top 50 largest cities, according to a U.S. Census Bureau analysis of data from 2008 to 2012. • Denver was 10th on Forbes’ list of large city job growth in 2013. • The annual ParkScore from the Trust for Public Land ranked Denver the seventh best city for meeting their citizens’ need for parks. • A report by Jones Lange LaSalle concluded that Denver has the seventh fastest growing tech industry wages in the country.
Quarterly Summary
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
OFFICE MARKET
HOTEL MARKET
This report includes the most recent quarterly data available and covers economic conditions in three areas. The first and smallest area, the Business Improvement District (BID), is the core of Downtown Denver, The second area, “Downtown,” includes the BID as well as a few surrounding districts such as the Golden Triangle. The third area, City Center Neighborhoods, includes the BID, Downtown, and surrounding residential neighborhoods such as Uptown and Highland. Data in this report was provided by Development Research Partners. For questions or comments, please contact the Downtown Denver Partnership Research Department at 303-534-6161.
This report contains the most recent economic indicators available for Downtown Denver and the Business Improvement District. As of middle of 2014, data show that the Downtown Denver economy continues to improve. Employment levels are strong and consumers are spending at a healthy level. Office and Retail vacancy rates are down while lease rates are up. However, total home sales declined.
EMPLOYMENT Employment levels increased in both Downtown Denver and the Business Improvement District (BID) between the fourth quarters of 2012 and 2013, with employment levels rising 2.8 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. The natural resources and construction supersector reported the strongest growth, generating an additional 1,740 jobs overthe-year in Downtown Denver.
4Q 2013
+2.8%
Metro Denver
+3.2%
Colorado
+2.8%
United States
+1.8%
BID
DOWNTOWN DENVER Industry
Share
4Q13
4Q12
4Q13
4Q12
Professional & Business Services
31%
36,284
36,074
0.6%
32,301
33,504
-3.6%
Government
20%
23,367
23,444
-0.3%
21,157
20,479
3.3%
Leisure & Hospitality
15%
18,006
17,479
3.0%
12,964
13,116
-1.2%
Financial Activities
12%
14,596
14,095
3.6%
11,334
11,597
-2.3%
Natural Resources & Construction
8%
9,826
8,091
21.4%
9,261
7,940
16.6%
Information
4%
4,260
4,372
-2.6%
3,519
3,666
-4.0%
Wholesale & Retail Trade
3%
4,046
3,725
8.6%
3,029
3,031
-0.1%
Other Services
2%
2,839
2,780
2.1%
2,328
2,336
-0.4%
Education & Health Services
2%
2,681
2,672
0.3%
1,547
1,563
-1.0%
Transp., Warehousing & Utilities
1%
1,461
1,384
5.6%
1,380
1,309
5.4%
Manufacturing
1%
848
905
-6.2%
116
115
0.6%
115,020
2.8%
98,937
Total
118,215
Change
Change
98,656
0.3%
119,000
Employment Trends Downtown Denver
About This Report
RETAIL SALES
• Denver Union Station officially opened to the public in July. The historic station now includes a hotel, restaurants and shops and is surrounded by new plazas and public spaces.
• Layer3 TV announced it is relocating its corporate headquarters from Boston to Downtown Denver. The cable-TV startup will create over 300 jobs in coming years.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS PLANNED OR UNDERWAY AS OF AUGUST 2014
DOWNTOWN DENVER ECONOMIC UPDATE AUGUST 2014
117,000
DOWNTOWN DENVER HISTORICAL EMPLOYMENT
115,000 113,000 111,000 109,000 107,000 2Q09
4Q09
2Q10
4Q10
2Q11
4Q11
2Q12
4Q12
2Q13
4Q13
Sources: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Labor Market Information, Current Employment Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Development Research Partners; Downtown Denver Partnership,