STATE OF DOWNTOWN DENVER SEPTEMBER 2012 Downtown Denver Partnership, Inc. With support from: STATE OF 1 DOWNTOWN DENVER INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Letter .................................................1 Dear Downtown Denver Stakeholder, Key Facts ...............................................................2 Thank you for picking up a copy of the Downtown Denver Partnership’s annual State of Downtown Denver report, a fact-driven report that provides timely, Denver’s Downtown Area Plan ..............................3 objective and accurate data about Downtown Denver. This year we are proud Notable Rankings ..................................................4 to collaborate with Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross to bring you the most complete statistics and analysis about Downtown Denver. Office Market .................................................... 6-7 Employers & Employees ..................................... 8-9 In his 2012 State of the City address, Mayor Michael B. Hancock remarked that a vibrant downtown core is essential to the health of the city. At the 2012 Retail & Restaurants .............................................11 Rocky Mountain Urban Leadership Symposium, Governor Hickenlooper and Downtown Residents ..................................... 12-13 other leaders in the Rocky Mountain West stressed the importance of urban centers in creating strong place-based economies that attract and retain top Transportation ............................................... 14-15 talent. Downtown Denver is one of the nation’s leaders in this regard, with Students & Universities ........................................16 Denver being the number one city in the nation where young professionals are moving. This future workforce can be an incredible asset to our economy. Development & Investment ............................ 18-19 It is critically important that we work to attract and retain this future workforce Sustainability .......................................................20 by continuing to improve Downtown Denver’s amenities, high quality of life, transportation options, walkable urbanism, and its healthy and growing Culture, Entertainment, Sports, & Events ........ 22-23 rental market. Tourism ..............................................................24 Downtown Denver remains the hub of the region with approximately 112,000 Board of Directors ...............................................25 employees, 17,000 residents in the urban core, 65,000 residents in City Center neighborhoods, and 44,000 university students. Downtown Denver has seen approximately $3.6 billion of non-residential development in the last 10 years. Downtown Denver is also a leader in sustainability and we are proud to have helped launch Downtown’s new green business rating, Certifiably Green Denver, a certification program that allows businesses to showcase their environmentally sustainable practices. We invite you to turn the page and read the facts, figures and case studies in this report that showcase the current state of Downtown Denver. Please share this information with private sector leaders, investors, developers and decision makers and feel free to download additional copies of the report at www.downtowndenver.com. Sincerely, Tamara Door Cole Finegan President & CEO Board Chair Downtown Denver Partnership Downtown Denver Partnership Tami Door, President & CEO Cole Finegan, Board Chair 2 SEPTEMBER 2012 For the purposes of this report, “Downtown Denver” is defined by KEY FACTS the boundaries of the 2007 Downtown Area Plan and includes the following areas: Commercial Core, Cultural Core, Lower Downtown • Denver, with its amenities, highly educated (LoDo), Arapahoe Square, Ballpark, Central Platte Valley, Auraria population, transportation options and and the Golden Triangle. attractive urban center, is the #1 city # in the U.S. where the future workforce 1 The “City Center” encompasses Downtown Denver as well as its (ages 25-34) is moving. surrounding neighborhoods within a 1.5 mile radius. This includes • Downtown Denver covers approximately the distinct neighborhoods of Capitol Hill, Highland, Curtis Park, 1,800 acres and is divided into 8 districts. Five Points, Jefferson Park, La Alma and Lincoln Park and Uptown. • Downtown Denver has an office vacancy rate of 15.9%. • Downtown Denver has a 4.9% retail vacancy rate. • Annual Downtown Denver sales tax revenue increased 6.8% from 2010 to 2011. • Downtown Denver businesses generated over $34 million in sales tax revenue for the City & County of Denver in 2011. • About one third of all of the City and County of Denver’s jobs are located in Downtown Denver. E 37th Ave Schafer Park W 37th Ave W 37th Ave • Downtown Denver is home to 31 s t S Russell t d Park Lipan St Jason St Jason R Weston St 36th Ave Navajo St Navajo e E ll W 36th A i 35th St W 36th Ave ve Mariposa St v t e s C b kin o Ar 17,000 residents. This number l G Elizabeth St 34th St Marion St E 35th Ave 25% W 29th St W 35th Ave W 35th Ave 3 Lafayette St t City Of 3r S d E Bruce Randolph Ave Cuernavaca S E 34th Ave E 34th Ave grew over 25% in just the past year. n W 3 t 4th Ave o j Park e Clay St Brighton Blvd 32nd St Decatur St Decatur St Quivas Bryant St Alcott St St Vallejo Shoshone St Pecos St Osage St Zuni St Wyandot St T Vine St Vine High St Potter’s Row E 33rd Ave W 33rd Ave Historic District 31st St Gilpin St Race St HIGHLAND Gaylord St Elizabeth St r Denargo St Women’s 30th St Martin Luther King Blvd D Milwaukee St Franklin St t Market Denargo Bean Project W 32nd Ave n • Approximately 65,000 residents o George Morrison Sr Park m t 1 k 8 St Clayton W Argyle Pl S th c rie S o 29th St E t R The Denver t Mestizo-Curtis Figure 1: DowntownCt Lyle Denver Blake St S E 31st Ave E 31st Ave W Caithness Pl W 31st Ave 17th St t Enterprise Center Park nu t al 2 31st St S 8 W Hirshorn Park ny W th Columbine St a S Fillmore St live in the City Center neighborhoods. D lg Lafayette St u e t n D St York ke House ld Pl t t Denver Larimer St Sacred Heart E 30th Ave r S l S Skate Fox St 27th St Thunderbolt Huron St Huron a BALLPARK St Gilpin de tr Park t E 30th Ave Park ul n St Inca t S o e S e Vallejo St Vallejo B C 1 ta Lawrence St o Umatilla St Umatilla 9 t t h Elizabeth St Platte St h W 29th Ave a 26th St pa W 29th Ave S w Williams St N t e ra Black African E 29th Ave E 29th Ave Sp W A FIVE POINTS West Museum ee Highland r B lv Bridge l Fuller d The Larimer Street Market t P 25th St Curtis St St Marion Park u 29th St • Approximately 44,000 students attend a college or West 28th Avenue Platte River Bike Trail 1 tn W 28th Ave 9 s E 28th Ave Historic District th e St Vine S h Pedestrian t C Champa St Bridge Bassett St 24th St t S Stout St a KUVO Studio Coors ni W 27th Ave r St Milwaukee t fo St Josephine E 27th Ave S Park Ave W li Commons Park a university in Downtown Denver. 15th St n Field C e Pedestrian Curtis Park Historic District Glenarm Pl REI av The Ballpark le R CENTRAL PLATTE VALLEY Bridge Litt Market Welton St W 26th Ave 22nd St Humboldt St Humboldt Confluence St High t MaestasEddie S CURTIS PARK Park Millennium Bridge JEFFERSON PARK t Park t E 26th Ave 25 1700 co l 21st St Historic Five Points W 25th Ave A Sp Arts & Culture DistrictStiles e Wazee St 1600 E 25th Ave Bryant St er Water St B African American lv Impulse Blake St 1500 Heritage Center W Byron Pl d Wynkoop StTheater • Over $1 billion in public and private sector development Union Station 7th St Platte Valley Trolley Centennial t Museum of S Blair-Caldwell LOWER DOWNTOWN / El Chapultepec is Gardens Contemporary Art 20 rt African American th Cu Research Library E 24th Ave St Gaylord Oxford LODO Market St 1400 Downtown South Platte River Hotel 18th St St t St Race Eliot St. Decatur St Park S Sonny Lawson Aquarium a Rockmount Delgany St tt Museum Larimer St 1300 r a Jet ve W 23rd Ave i w Hotel 23rd A is scheduled to open in 2013 and 2014. Dr C e Williams St E Children's Museum nt s W Jefferson e e c Of Denver h Market California St Park s tc Lawrence St 1200 e li Downtown St Vine r Street Station E Children’s C h Playground Pedestrian 17th St Arapahoe St 1100 2t St 1 Bridge 22 Glenarm Pl 1 Welton Stnd Gilpin St Elitch Gardens 9 Franklin St 1 Ritz Carlton th S 4 Curtis St 1000 S t Tremont Pl Marion St t t h Skyline Park t S Tabor Center S t Westin Pepsi Hotel n Cleo Parker Robinson e Clay St Clay Dance Ensemble Studio d Center g • Over half of Downtown Denver r D&F ResidenceInn 9th St i Washington St Washington Clarkson St St Downing Emerson St O C 15th St Tower r Writer Square 16 Benedict Fountain e th Hotel City Bryant St Gates Crescent pp Larimer o St Mall Monaco Park Park W 20th Ave Park Ch Square E 20th Ave 1 Red Lion Inn 1 4 2 th M Champa St 900 th S i t l S e Marriott-Denver City Center commuters use transit, bicycle, walk or Magnolia E 20th Ave t Hotel H Courtyard Stout St 800 ig by Marriot E 19th Ave E 19th Ave h S Hotel t Teatro a The Curtis California St 700 Hampton Inn Exempla St Joseph d Larimer St CENTRAL Grand Hyatt iu Starz Film Center & Suites m Tivoli Student Union Denver Performing 500 Hospital C BUSINESS DISTRICT Race St share the ride to work.