Parts of downtown Denver are old, tired and empty, but is it poised for rebirth?
Colorado Public Radio••business
Key Points:
- Downtown Denver is experiencing a stark divide: lower downtown (LoDo) thrives with low office vacancy and high demand near Union Station, while upper downtown faces high office vacancies (37.7%) and many distressed properties struggling to attract tenants.
- Upper downtown’s aging office towers, built during the 1970s-80s mineral boom, suffer from outdated design, high maintenance costs, and vacant retail spaces, prompting costly public interventions like the taxpayer-funded purchase of the Pavilions mall.
- Efforts to revitalize upper downtown include converting office buildings to residential use, supported by local investors and grants, though many buildings are not easily adaptable and require significant investment to be viable.
- LoDo’s resurgence is attributed to investments in public safety,
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