City Grill

Michael Leccese
Executive Director
Urban Land Institute (ULI) Colorado

“While there has been pain, the Denver market fared better than most during the pandemic. Multifamily remains strong with continued leasing and new projects announced. Industrial and flex is strong,” Leccese says. “Influx from both coasts boosted for-sale and rental housing. Downtown retail suffered, but specialty districts and smaller metro downtowns have been mixed, and municipal budgets survived. Business hotels are challenged, but leisure travel has supported others. Architecture, engineering and construction firms that made layoffs a year ago have rehired since. In commercial real estate, developers play the long game. Most plowed forward, assuming their projects will open in a post-COVID era. ULI members are optimistic that society will reopen and pent-up demand will drive economic strength. What will be different? Several hotels and museums are about to open using new health and safety protocols. Concerns linger over leasing office space, the ability of restaurants and entertainment venues to survive and the future of mobility, given transit cuts.”