Denver’s downtown has skilled a vital shift in recent times. As soon as a extremely wanted vacation spot, lots of its place of business constructions at the moment are sitting vacant or simplest in part occupied.
“Downtown Denver has observed a dramatic shift downward in call for,” actual property agent Jim Merrion of Coldwell Banker Realty in Denver tells Realtor.com®. “Place of business area emptiness reached 38% on the finish of 2025, which means over 1 in 3 constructions sit down vacant. This has brought about a noticeable drop in call for for the downtown residential market.”
Consistent with Merrion, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant affect on place of business occupancy, with a majority of companies transferring to near-fully far off paintings for a number of years. “Many massive employers have left downtown, with TIAA relocating 1,000 jobs to Texas and Xcel Power downsizing its HQ and transferring out of downtown altogether,” he says.
However proper at the fringe of downtown, neighborhoods like Cherry Creek and Washington Park are seeing robust call for and inhabitants expansion.
Costs hovering in downtown-adjacent neighborhoods
House costs proceed to climb sharply in residential neighborhoods close to downtown.
“Neighborhoods that supply the walkability of an city core however the really feel of a suburban neighborhood are extremely fascinating for consumers, particularly younger households,” says Hannah Jones, senior financial analysis analyst at Realtor.com®. “Having all the comfort of a large town at your fingertips with out sacrificing the suburban, small-town really feel interprets into excessive house values.”
The median checklist value in Cherry Creek used to be $1.4 million in March—up 37.2% in comparison with pre-pandemic ranges. In Washington Park, the median value used to be $2.1 million—up 47.4% as opposed to 2019.
“House values in those neighborhoods had been nicely above the Denver median all the way through the knowledge’s historical past, however the sustained expansion in comparison to pre-pandemic ranges means that those neighborhoods proceed to draw pageant whilst the bigger Denver marketplace cools,” says Jones.
Denver’s median checklist value is these days $537,000, up simplest quite from its pre-pandemic median of $531,000.
Downtown’s decline
Whilst the pandemic is in large part answerable for downtown Denver’s downturn, Jeffrey J. Peshut, assistant professor of finance and director of the actual property program at MSU Denver, says emerging rates of interest also are a contributing issue.
“Upper rates of interest after 2022 greater the weighted value of capital and lowered construction values for homeowners that had bought and financed constructions previous to 2022,” he tells Realtor.com. “The Fed’s resolution to start expanding rates of interest within the first part of 2022 slowed employment and put further drive at the occupancy and apartment source of revenue of place of business constructions.”
Merrion additionally issues to the sixteenth Boulevard Mall reconstruction, introduced in 2022, as a significant disruption to downtown’s restoration.
“Denver’s resolution to rip up the sixteenth Boulevard Mall for a large, multiyear infrastructure improve in 2022, simply as downtown companies have been improving, used to be a deadly error,” he says.
Consistent with Merrion, the growth of the area’s transit community used to be some other think about Denver’s downtown decline. “The expansion of the RTD Gentle Rail has made it more uncomplicated for citizens to are living further from downtown whilst nonetheless keeping up somewhat fast get admission to to places of work when wanted,” he says.
He says Cherry Creek’s place of business marketplace continues to peer somewhat low emptiness, however there is been an inflow of companies that in the past operated downtown. “This interprets into tough call for for residential properties in Cherry Creek, with costs proceeding to realize regardless of rate of interest will increase,” he says.
Consistent with Merrion, Washington Park—at once south of Cherry Creek—has additionally endured to realize in worth whilst providing a extra suburban-feeling city way of life.
“The proof obviously displays that whilst many of us worth proximity to Denver’s facilities, they’re opting for to are living in spaces that require riding or transit to succeed in downtown,” he says.
The enchantment of Cherry Creek
Merrion says the spaces seeing the most powerful call for are the ones with parks, walkability to group eateries, and lower-density housing.
“For this reason Cherry Creek has observed bizarre value steadiness regardless of the wider marketplace slowdown, and home properties are anticipated to realize a minimum of some other 5% this 12 months, mirroring 2025,” he says. “More than one housing value tiers make it extra obtainable to consumers, and it’s nonetheless somewhat not unusual to peer more than one provides on well-positioned listings.”
He compares Cherry Creek’s vibe to Chicago’s Lincoln Park.
“It appears like an overly walkable but luxury-oriented hub with eating places, artwork galleries, high-end buying groceries, and home dwelling all inside blocks,” he says.
Washington Park is booming
Washington Park is seeing emerging purchaser pastime and stable value expansion.
“Washington Park continues to peer robust call for, with many houses going below contract in below 3 weeks and four% year-over-year appreciation,” Merrion says. “It draws citizens concerned with walkable and colourful town dwelling.”
Identified in the community as “Wash Park,” the group is anchored via one in all Denver’s hottest parks, that includes lakes, a sport middle, and intensive working and cycling paths.
“It’s additionally stuffed with historical properties that includes architectural main points hardly ever observed in fashionable development,” he says, “together with quite a few native eating and buying groceries inside strolling distance.”
