January 12, 2017
By Dees Stribling, Bisnow
The Southeast corridor has been a remarkable success story within the greater success of metro Denver — but what now? The speakers at our third annual Future of Southeast Suburban Denver yesterday said the pace of development and leasing, as well as growth of the area as a distinct place, is arguably going to stay strong. But a few factors (such as a dearth of financing) could upset things.
Denver South Economic Development Partnership CEO Mike Fitzgerald kicked off the event. He said the Denver South region’s one of the economic juggernauts of the country, even internationally. The region doesn’t have a precise definition, but it’s roughly 60 square miles, with a strong focus of activity within a half-mile or mile of I-25, which includes 20,000 businesses and over 20 business parks.
A healthy mix of business sectors are active in the region, including aviation and aerospace, telecom, healthcare, tech, engineering and more. Development is going on at a tremendous clip, with about 46M SF of existing commercial space growing 2% to 4% a year. Some 8M SF is planned along the interstate, mostly to take advantage of the light rail.
The region is still facing challenges, he said. One is providing enough housing affordable to Millennial workers who want to be here. If the region doesn’t have that, companies won’t keep coming. Also, congestion remains a persistent problem.
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