1 Produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership | downtowndenver.com Table of Contents Year in Review pg. 03 Rankings pg. 05 Employment pg. 07 Office Market pg. 10 Talent pg. 12 Development & Investment pg. 14 Mobility pg. 16 Residents pg. 18 Retail & Restaurants pg. 20 Public Realm pg. 22 Tourism pg. 24 Benchmarking pg. 26 Impacts of COVID-19 Addendum The State of Downtown Denver: A Vibrant and Resilient Center City This year’s State of Downtown Denver report This year’s State of Downtown Denver offers us tells the story of a thriving downtown. It’s an opportunity to more deeply understand how the story we have been fortunate to be able we move forward and continue to build our city to tell for the last decade, as our city has to be more resilient and more inclusive, and experienced unprecedented, record-breaking how we innovate to build a place for the future. growth year-after-year. It is a reminder of decades of intentionality and building with vision that led to economic To be reporting on numbers that tell a story of strength and vibrancy. It shows us that great economic success amid a worldwide pandemic cities are resilient cities. that has had dramatic economic impact might Letter from Tami Door, seem counterintuitive. Though the numbers And, it is a reminder that this same President and CEO of the in this report are recent, they are from a time intentionality and vision will help us return to Downtown Denver Partnership that for many of us feels so far away. the levels of success outlined in this report. Just as we have been proud to share the In these challenging times, the Downtown stories of our collective success through this Denver Partnership remains deeply committed and other reports in recent years, we remain to building an economically healthy center city. proud to share this report, and we will continue As you read this State of Downtown Denver to take pride in sharing the stories of our city. report, I urge you to remember that just as our Over the course of time, all great cities grow growth and successes are key to our story, so and slow, take on new life and characteristics, are our challenges. As we look back, we will adapting and reacting to myriad factors – see that the course of our city will be shaped some of which can be controlled or guided and by how we all respond, together. others (such a global pandemic) that simply cannot. 3 Produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership | downtowndenver.com 38TH ST Boundary Map 38TH AVE E 37TH AVE E 36TH MARION ST MARION LAFAYETTE ST LAFAYETTE City of BRIGHTON BLVD E 34TH ZUNI ST Cuernavaca PECOS ST PECOS Park RINO GILPIN ST HIGHLAND 30TH ST FRANKLIN ST BLAKE ST Curtis Park LAFAYETTE ST LAFAYETTE CURTIS PARK/ E 30TH AVEST GILPIN 2 WILLIAMS ST 0 E 29TH AVE N T FIVE POINTS SP H EE PLATTE ST S ST MARION R T 25 CENTRAL CHAMPA ST COORS PLATTE VALLEY FIELD South Platte River Park Commons ST HUMBOLDT JEFFERSON BALLPARK PARK AVE S P DENVER E 25TH AVE E UNION PARK E R STATION E 24TH AVE Sonny CentennialGardens 16TH ST MALL LawsonPark C LODO h ARAPAHOE e Jeerson r ry Park C re SQUARE GILPIN ST e WILLIAMS ST k PEPSI Skyline Park Gates CENTER ST DOWNING Benedict Crescent ST LINCOLN 20TH AVE Park FountainPark FEDERAL BLVD FRANKLIN ST FRANKLIN E 19TH CENTRAL E 18TH AVE MILE HIGH STADIUM AURARIA BUSINESS UPTOWN DISTRICT Civic ST HUMBOLDT Center GILPIN ST Sta- COLORADO CONVENTIONCENTER W COLFAX AVE ST WILLIAMS W COLFAX AVE Civic Center Park E 13TH AVE Rude Park E SPEER BLVD GOLDEN B GRANT ST GRANT RO Lincoln TRIANGLE ST HUMBOLDT Park A D CAPITOL LA ALMA/ W A HILL LINCOLN PARK Y SUN VALLEY SANTA FE DR FE SANTA Sunken Gardens Park W 8TH AVE E 8TH AVE HUMBOLDT ST HUMBOLDT A I GILPIN ST L L I E 6TH AVE FRANKLIN ST W Center City Downtown All data in this report Neighborhood Denver uses the Downtown Boundary Legend: Denver boundary, Boundary Boundary unless otherwise noted. Rankings Downtown Denver is at the center of a top ranked city and state Colorado 1ST Highest increase in personal income in 2019 3RD Best state for business 3RD Best state for entrepreneurs and startups 1ST Best state for promoting innovation 1ST Best state for women entrepreneurs Denver 3RD Hottest job market 5TH Fastest growing city 4TH Most popular city among millennial homebuyers 1ST Most searched location for out-of-state movers Top City best-positioned to recover from coronavirus 10 Sources ( from top to bottom): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall Street, The Motley Fool, Consumer Electronic Show, FitSmallBusiness, The Wall Street Journal, WalletHub, Lending Tree, Apartment List, Moody’s 5 Produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership | downtowndenver.com Downtown Denver The vibrant and vital economic hub of the Rocky Mountain region Employment Employment growth jumps 4.7% downtown Downtown Denver added 6,563 new jobs last which makes up a third of all downtown employment, year, resulting in record high total employment of a growing high tech sector which has doubled since 145,077. This 4.7% job growth was fueled by a host 2010 and represents 9% of all downtown jobs, and of new company locations and major expansions--13 Oil and Gas which remains an important part of the announcements in total. Key employment growth downtown economy supplying 6.8% of the jobs. sectors include Professional and Business Services, Employment Growth by Area Downtown Employment Growth Year over Year growth, Q3 2019 145,077 150K 140K 4.7% Downtown Denver 130K 120K 2.6% 110K Metro Denver 100K 90K 2.4% NUMBER OF JOBS 80K Colorado 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 1.2% United States Source: Q3 2019 data, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 7 Produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership | downtowndenver.com Relocations and Expansions Companies that have announced a headquarters relocation, new office, or expansion in Downtown Denver this past year include: Bitly Propeller Blitz Robinhood Concord SalesForce Facebook Silicon Valley Bank We chose Denver because it’s a talent hub, Frontdoor Snapdocs filled with diverse and entrepreneurial- Lyft ViewRay spirited people. The culture of Denver aligns PointsBet VF Corp with many of our own operating principles, like empathy, innovation and pragmatism. We’re excited to be a part of the Denver community and to build a team here.” Aaron King, Founder and CEO, Snapdocs Downtown Denver’s Diverse Economy 32%Professional and Business Services – 32% Downtown Denver has enjoyed extraordinary economic growth • Professional and Business Services is by far Downtown Denver’s largest over the past 10+ years that has resulted in unprecedented industry sector, with twice the total employment as the next largest sector, economic diversification. Professional and Business Services, Leisure and Hospitality. This broad category of jobs includes lawyers, a broad category made up of accountants, lawyers, scientific accountants, scientific research, and advertising. researchers and marketing specialists, provides over one third • Over the past two years, almost half of all new downtown jobs are in this of all jobs. Oil and Gas remains a strong component, with nearly sector. 7% of downtown employment. Importantly, high tech jobs have more than doubled since 2010 and now make up about 9% of all • National research shows this sector is expected to be the most resilient to downtown employment. Add to this a mix of hospitality, finance the recession. and retail jobs and it is easy to see the positive impact of this new economic diversification. 7%Oil and Gas - 7% Downtown Employment by Industry • The Oil and Gas industry remains an important part of the Denver economy, employing nearly 10,000 people and leasing approximately 4.3 million square feet of office in Downtown Denver. • The industry’s share of the economy has declined over the past two decades, with the percentage of downtown employment decreasing from a high of 9.1% in 2014 to 6.8% currently. • Recent turmoil in the industry suggests further office consolidation and employment losses is likely throughout 2020. High Tech - 9% 32% Professional & Business Services 18% Government • There are over 13,000 high tech jobs in downtown, the share of which has 15% Leisure & Hospitality increased from 5% in 2010 to 9% in 2019. 12% Financial Activities • High tech jobs are found across all industries, specifically in Professional and 7% Natural Resources & Construction Business Services, Financial Activities, and Information. 4% Wholesale & Retail Trade • Innovation drivers in downtown include: The Commons on Champa , Denver 4% Information Startup Week, United States Patent and Trademark Office Rocky Mountain 8% Other Regional Office, and nearly 50,000 college and university students on the Auraria Campus. Source: Q3 2019 data, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages 9 Produced by the Downtown Denver Partnership | downtowndenver.com Office Market Over $1.3B invested in the office market Driven by demand for space from existing companies 2 million square feet; however, according to CoStar, expanding (e.g. 2U, KPMG, Salesforce) and new net absorption in 2020 is projected to be negative companies moving to the market (e.g. Checkr), for the first time since 2016. The office investment the downtown office market remained strong with market reflected the strong performance, as existing stable average lease rates ($35.32 per square foot) players doubled down on their investments and new and vacancy rates (10.3%). A positive 400,000 ones entered the market for a total of $1.3B in office square feet was absorbed in 2019, bringing the investments.