June 1-June 14, 2016 —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— Page 39
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Economic Development News
The Downtown Denver Part-
nership issued its 2016 State of
Downtown Denver report. The
annual report, funded in part by
the Downtown Denver Business
Improvement District, details
increasing investment, strong
office market fundamentals, a
growing and highly educated
workforce and residential popu-
lation in downtown Denver.
“Our center city’s strong
economy and dynamic energy
creates a place where people
want to live and work, and as a
result, it’s a place where compa-
nies want to locate,” said Tami
Door, president and CEO of the
Downtown Denver Partnership.
“Downtown Denver is a model
for what a great city can be as a
result of our collective strategic,
place-based economic develop-
ment strategy and the long-term
vision and commitment of pub-
lic and private-sector leaders.”
Development and
investment
Developers are responding
to increased demand propelled
by strong population and job
growth, as well as key public-
sector investments. There is $2.5
billion of investment is under
construction or planned for
downtown Denver, on top of
more than $634million of invest-
ment in 2015 that included 15
projects to create an additional
511 hotel rooms, 1,901 residen-
tial units and 333,000 square feet
of office space.
Office market and employers
In thepast 24months, 24compa-
nies have relocated or expanded,
and office market fundamentals
remain strong with a 9.5 percent
direct vacancy rate and $33.14 per
sf direct average lease rate. As of
the beginning of 2016, an addi-
tional 2.8 million sf of office space
was planned or under construc-
tion.
Workforce
More people are working in
downtown Denver than ever
before, totaling 123,548 at the
end of 2015. Employment has
increased 13.2 percent since
2010, surpassing the nationwide
increase of 8.5 percent. Denver
also is the seventh most educated
metro area in the country, with
more than 40 percent of Denver
metro area residents earning a
bachelor’s degree or higher.
Students and universities
There are 54,000 students who
attend public, not-for-profit insti-
tutions of higher education in
downtown Denver andmore than
10,000 students attend trade or
private institutions. The Auraria
Higher Education Center contin-
ues to see growth and investment
to help ensure businesses are able
to recruit qualified employees,
with new facilities including an
aerospace and engineering sci-
ences building at Metropolitan
State University of Denver and an
advanced manufacturing center at
theCommunityCollegeofDenver.
Residents
Ranked as the top place to
live in the U.S. by U.S. News &
World Report, 75,972 people live
in downtown Denver. Attracted
to vibrant walkable districts and
diverse residential amenities, this
number is expected to grow by
12.6 percent over the next five
years, compared to 3.7 percent
nationally.
Retail and restaurants
First-to-market and new-to-
downtown options create a
diverse retail scene, including
the second no-coastal location for
Uniqlo, which will open a 23,000-
sf flagship store later this year.
There were 53 percent of busi-
nesses along the 16th Street Mall
that are local businesses or local
chains contributing to the $45 mil-
lion in retail sales tax collections
generated in downtown Denver
in 2015.
Mobility
Multimodal transportation
options converge in downtown
Denver, where nearly 60 percent
of employees commute to work
via transit, walk, bike or ride share
and 21 percent of downtownDen-
ver residents don’t own a car.
Public Space and activation
Downtown Denver’s parks and
public spaces are an economic
asset for the community and help
transform an individual’s experi-
Longmont Economic Devel-
opment Partnership recently
announced the expansion, loca-
tion or startup of four primary
industry businesses in Longmont
since the start of the year.
Premium Powder Coating
opened in Longmont in late
January. The firm purchased a
61,100-square-foot building at
1850 LefthandCircle, where it pro-
vides powder coating and media
blasting services, and employs 21
people.
Mobile Assay, a startup com-
pany that was created at Long-
mont’s TinkerMill, the region’s
largest maker space, has invented
a lab-on-mobile-device platform
for diagnostic testing and now
employs three people.
XYMotion is another new com-
pany. It formed out of the inven-
tion of ForkCrane, a custom preci-
sion placement tool.
ExtractCraft is another compa-
ny that spun out of TinkerMill
and now occupies space on South
Sunset Street, where it employs
six people. Their first product to
market is The Source, the world’s
first at-home essential oil extrac-
tion and concentrate appliance.
s
Alliance Data, which provides
customcredit card andmarketing
services for major store brands,
opened its 52,500-square-foot cen-
ter in Westminster.
With the expansion, the firm
now has 117,000 sf of office space
at 122ndAvenue.
The Westminster facility is one
of seven Alliance Data customer
care centers in the U.S., support-
ing nearly 8.9 million phone calls
for credit customers annually.
“The expansion of our West-
minster customer care center is
a reflection of the company’s
continued growth and commit-
ment to provide best-in-class
service to deliver on our clients’
brand promises,” Sallie Komitor,
chief customer officer at Alliance
Data’s card services business, said
in a release when announcing the
expansion.
Updates…
n
The Denver Regional Coun-
cil of Governments awarded the
Westminster Station project a
2016 Metro VisionAward.
DRCOG’s Metro Vision awards
are presented to individuals and
programs that contribute signifi-
cant efforts to the Denver region
and its communities, and to
DRCOG’s programs and activi-
ties. The regional council has been
honoring outstanding achieve-
ments for more than 30 years.
The Westminster Station proj-
ect, currently under construction,
is designed to be a transit sta-
tion that will be not only func-
tional but also build and beautify
the community. It is located at
approximately 69th Avenue and
Grove Street.
n
Syncroness Inc., an engineer-
ing design firm based in West-
minster and specializing in rapid
product development for aero-
space, medical and consumer
markets, was named the 2016
Small Business of the Year by the
Denver Metro Chamber of Com-
merce.
The award recognizes small
businesses that have a history of
outstanding business practices in
the Denver community and hon-
ors the entrepreneurship, sustain-
ability, productivity and effort put
forth in a small business.
n
Remodeling is underway
at the Westminster Promenade.
Construction along 104th Avenue
will begin this summer with new
retail and restaurants slated for a
late 2016 to early 2017 opening.
Businesses, including AMC
Theatres, Bar Louie, Dave &Bust-
ers, Madcap Theater and Rock
Bottom Restaurant and Brewery,
will remain open during the rede-
velopment.
As part of the first phase of
redevelopment, the internal block
of buildings will be reconfig-
ured and remodeled to provide
improved parking and access.
Additionally, a new street run-
ning north and south will be con-
structed directly in front of the
AMC Theatres, providing better
connectivity through the area.
AMC Theatres also is proposing
a new enclosed ticket kiosk and
lobby area that will be situated on
the current promenade.
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