Tami Door – “(Downtown’s) future is so bright, I gotta wear shades.”

The Downtown Denver Partnership this week released a new research report, Downtown Denver: A Magnet for the Future Workforce.

The report was released at the 2012 Rocky Mountain West Urban Leadership Symposium at the Ritz Carlton Denver.

The report details city building efforts—including amenities, transportation infrastructure, educated population, residential growth, innovation and entrepreneurship, and emerging green economy—that make the urban core of the Mile High City an attractive place for a new generation of workers. The report also discusses strengths and opportunities for Downtown Denver.

Denver appears to be well-positioned to reap the economic benefits of the millennial generation, in large part because of our community’s long-term commitment to comprehensive and collaborative planning that strengthens the center city.

A recent report by the Brookings Institution analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data notes, “To the extent they are moving at all, young adults are headed to metro areas which are known to have a certain vibe—college towns, high-tech centers, and so-called ‘cool cities.’ These “cool cities are places where “it is easier to consume less and live more sustainably.” They are places with transportation infrastructure, an educated population, and innovative business climates. Brookings goes on to name Denver as the number-one city in terms of attracting the future workforce from around the country to live and work.

Nationally, employers recognize that the millennial generation is more likely to choose to live and work in or near an urban center. Mountains and oceans have become secondary to downtown amenities. In response, strategically minded companies are leveraging downtown locations or proximity to downtown to attract and retain candidates. This is important to entire metropolitan areas because downtowns are, and will continue to be, hubs of economic activity.

“It used to be, ‘If you build it, they will come,’’ said Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “It is now, ‘If we build the right place, they will stay.’ Employers in Denver tell us that during the interview process, candidates are asking questions beyond benefits and salaries. They ask about the vitality of the city center, culture and amenities, including if an area is walkable or there are continuous bike lanes and bike paths to get them between home and work. Building both tangible and intangible infrastructure—including fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where innovation and entrepreneurship are valued—is a regional economic development tool.”

To read the report, please visit this link.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Denver Business Journal by Dennis Huspeni, Reporter

Date: Friday, February 17, 2012, 5:13am MST – Last Modified: Friday, February 17, 2012, 2:50pm MST

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Commercial Real Estate

This 2,577-square-foot home in Lakewood is on the market for $272,500, very close to the average price of a home sold in January.

It might not be a good time to be in the “For Sale” sign business – at least not in the Denver area.

The number of homes for sale in the Denver area plunged by a record 41.6 percent in January from January 2011, shows a report released today by independent broker Gary Bauer.

At the end of last month, there were only 10,443  unsold homes on the market – 8,356 single-family homes and 2,087 condos – compared with a total of 17,890 homes on the market in January 2011. It was the lowest number of unsold homes on the market in a January since 2001, when there were 9,540 unsold homes on the market.

Bauer said he wasn’t surprised by the dramatic drop. “I actually thought it was going to drop more,” he said. “I thought it would fall to 10,000.”

The inventory of unsold homes also fell by 5 percent from December, when there were 10,993 unsold homes on the market, according to Bauer, who bases his monthly housing report on Metrolist data.

“We were looking at those numbers this morning,” said Bruce Alexander, president and CEO of Vectra Bank Colorado. “There is only a 3.3-month of supply of homes on the market, which is unbelievable.”

Builders may help fill void

With relatively few new homes being constructed, and a dearth of resale homes on the market, is only a matter of time that home prices will start to rise, he said.

“Homebuilders are starting to make a move,” to build more homes to fill a void created by the lack of resale home, Alexander said.

And while year-over sales activity was strong – under contracts rose by 10.8 percent from January 2011 and closings increased by 14.6 percent, the overall housing market showed a drop in prices.

“You can tell we have really hit bottom,” and houses should start to appreciate, he said.

The average price of a home sold in January was $272,328 compared with $277,922 and $275,610 in January 2011 and December, respectively. The median price of a home  also was down to $218,855 in January from $225,00 in January 2011 and $230,000 in December.

But that doesn’t tell the whole story, Alexander said.

“That is true in the aggregate, but what I think you need to do is look at price point strata,” Alexander said. “My sense is there is a lot of demand for homes priced under $300,000, while when you look at homes priced at $1 million or above, they are selling for 30 percent or 40 percent from where they sold at the peak of the market.”

Doug Kincaid, of the Kincaid Realty Group with RE/MAX of Cherry Creek, said the low inventory is good or bad, depending on whether you are a buyer or a seller.

Listings needed

“It’s been a little bit of a problem for some buyers to find a home,” Kincaid said. “But three years ago, when we had a glut of homes on the market, buyers had an inability to make a decision because they were so overwhelmed with choices. But now is a fabulous time to be listing your home. I’m coaching people to get their homes on the market now, when there isn’t much competition.”

Peter Niederman, CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, described the inventory as “painfully low.”

Yet, he was pleased to see 3,486 homes placed under contract last month, a 23.1 percent increase from the 2,832 in December, and a double-digit jump from the 3,147 in January 2011. The 2,470 closings in January were down 21.7 percent from December, but up substantially from the 2,156 in January 2011. Closings represent housing activity from previous months, so they are a lagging indicator of the health of the housing market.

But home showings are a leading indicator, and those have been strong, Niederman said.

“Brokers are busy showing homes and a lot of contracts are being written,” Niederman said. “I think there is a little bit of urgency with buyers, especially for conforming loans below $417,000. That means homes that are selling as much as $450,000 to $500,000.”

One nice thing is that while sales are softer at the high end, there is activity in all price points.

“We’re seeing traction across the market, which was not true a couple of years ago, when most of the activity at the lower end.”

Stable stock market helps

He also said that the relative stability in the stock market bodes well for home sales.

“It has a psychological effect when there are these wild swings – down 300 points one day, up 500 points the next. Even if it results in a net gain of 200 points, it unsettles people to have such violent swings. We’re only six weeks or so into the new year, but so far the financial markets have been fairly stable and steady.”

While all markets are local, and Denver is doing better than most of the country, Niederman said the global economy is the wild card.

“I think if we were just talking about the U.S., we are moving in the right direction with unemployment dropping, which will lead to more consumer confidence. But global events are something we have no control over, but they still impact local markets. Right now, people are focusing on Greece. Who knows what will be next? I don’t want to sound like a cliche, but I am cautiously optimistic about Denver’s housing market. I think we’re going to see a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in sales and dollar volume this year over last year.”

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com

Lori Midson

The new site of Central Bistro and Bar.

​Last June, Lance Barto was working as the exec chef at Strings, but he was ready to make a move, which led him to Craigslist, and while he was scouring restaurant-industry gigs, he came across one advert in particular that caught his eye. 

“It said that it was a new restaurant that was looking for a chef with vision, a chef who would be at the heart of the restaurant, take hold of it and make it their baby,” says Barto, who’s currently working the line at Linger and still behind the burners at Strings on Sunday mornings, during brunch service. He applied for the gig, started the interview process in August, did a few tastings and was officially offered the job in January.

The restaurant? Central Bistro and Bar, a seasonally influenced New American bistro in Highland that’s the project of Denver real-estate developer Isiah Salazar.

“My food will be upscale, and we’ll do a lot of American classics, particularly in the starters, but we’re going to draw the line at $26 for entrees — nothing higher,” explains Barto, adding that his menu will include dishes like shrimp and grits, fried chicken, pork and beans and macaroni and cheese. “You’ll find fun, creative, seasonally driven American food that incorporates French techniques with great American cooking.”

And he’ll soon head off to the Big Apple to find inspiration. “I’m going to spend a lot of time doing research and development for Central, and I’m in the process of lining up several stages and reservations at Michelin-star restaurants in New York,” notes Barto, who says that Central will also pimp a classic cocktail menu, which means he’ll combine grubbing with imbibing while he’s in New York. “Our cocktail program will focus on classic cocktails — things like the Tom Collins, Moscow Mule, Old Fashioned, Harvey Wallbanger and Manhattan — and we’re definitely staying away from frou-frou cocktails with a ton of ingredients,” he promises.

Central’s beverage program will also focus on wines, but beer won’t be a big draw. “Beer will play a small part of what we do, and we’ll have three beers on tap, along with a selection of bottles, but the majority of our efforts will be driven by wine — including wines on tap — and signature cocktails,” says Barto.

The space, which will seat 65 to seventy in the dining room, an additional 25 in the bar and lounge and thirty to forty on the patio, is currently under construction, and when it opens early this summer, Barto insists, Denver diners will be impressed. “We spent a ton of time researching award-winning restaurant designs, and used those as inspiration for our own design. It’s a really cool mash-up of rustic, nostalgic and modern,” he says. And while Barto admits that it “sounds like it may be a hard bridge to gap,” he stresses that the “designers have done an awesome job.”

Central won’t open until late May or early June, but you can get a taste of what Barto has up his culinary sleeve much sooner than that. On March 9 and 10, Barto and his crew, along with Hush Concepts, will host a five-course pop-up dinner, paired with wines and cocktails, in an undisclosed location downtown; tickets are currently on sale for $115 per person at www.hushdenver.com/reservations.

“We thought it would be a great opportunity for us to debut with another organization that has a good reputation, and we also thought it would give us a good test-drive,” says Barto, who will cook alongside a potential sous chef candidate.

“I’m excited for the Hush dinner, and I can’t wait for the restaurant to open so people can see what we’re all about,” says Barto. “We hope to open a restaurant in Denver that’s different, and we’re working hard to create a unique, comfortable space that will really show our guests great hospitality.”

By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post

By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post