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Downtown Denver’s office vacancy rate nears 34%, believed to be a record

Changed work routines, downtown conditions cited among factors
Downtown Denver
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Redaptive, which works to make large companies’ facilities more energy-efficient, is growing and needed more office space. The company, which is committed to staying in Denver, is moving into the eighth floor of McGregor Square in Lower Downtown.

“I think it was important for us to double down on our commitment to Denver. Everyone’s looking for greener pastures,” said Redaptive CEO Arvin Vohra. “But the fundamental reality of Denver is that we’re a sustainability-forward city, and we’re a place that has a phenomenal talent base. It makes sense for us to continue to stick to that.”

Redaptive is bucking a trend of companies leaving the downtown Denver business district or downsizing their office space since offices shut down during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. A slow return to the office and people splitting their work weeks between home and office have sent vacancy rates to their highest point in at least a couple of decades.

The overall office vacancy rate rose to 33.8% in the second quarter of this year, up from 31.8% in the first quarter, according to the Denver office of the real estate firm JLL. The total vacancy rate metro-wide was 24.8%.

This is the highest vacancy rate on record, based on statistics dating to 1999, said T.J. Jaroszewski, director of Mountain Region Research at JLL. He said vacancies might have been higher in the mid-1980s during the region’s oil and gas bust.

Continue reading this article on The Denver Post


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