Denver Office Market Report

RiNo and areas around the core garner tenant interest. Denver’s office standing improves moderately relative to major U.S. markets this year. After entering 2024 with the third-highest vacancy rate among this cohort, the measure is expected to rank sixth by year-end. A tempered pace of vacancy expansion is a result of dynamics in CBD-adjacent zones and notable commitments in RiNo. The Northeast Denver, Southwest Denver and Midtown submarkets were the only metro areas with at least 1 million square feet of stock to record positive net absorption last year, which may carry over into 2024 as more employers look to smaller suburban footprints. Elsewhere, notable move-ins near and in the RiNo area also exhibit some returning leasing momentum for urban office space. Commitments here are headlined by World Trade Center Denver, Davis Graham & Stubbs, and Mortenson Construction — combining to lease about 750,000 square feet. In addition, Xcel Energy penned a 220,000-square-foot lease here with a 2025 move-in. Nevertheless, overall dynamics in downtown will remain challenged, as the area adds a notable count of speculative deliveries this year that weigh on near-term vacancy.