Denver leasing begins to recover, despite Delta’s impact on return-to-office timelines
The Denver office market exhibited renewed signs of life as leasing activity accelerated in the third quarter. Companies have begun to re-engage the market as tenant-favorable conditions provide a unique opportunity for companies to capitalize on highly flexible terms. Despite the Delta variant causing some companies to pause office re-opening efforts, more companies are codifying their real estate strategies to bring employees back to the office. With 1.9 million square feet (msf) leased in the Denver Metro area, the third quarter saw the strongest demand since Q4 2019, and an increase of 30% in volume over the previous quarter. Leasing activity has flourished in the Central Business District and LoDo / RiNo / Platte submarkets where deal volume doubled to 0.6 msf. Among the largest deals of the quarter, ARES (formerly Black Creek Group) leased more than 67,000 sf in LoDo at Tabor Center. As the downtown market starts to return to its former vibrancy, office leasing in Denver is slowly creeping back to pre-pandemic numbers.