WHAT ARE THE TWO DENVERS?

August 2, 2012 | 8:00 am ET Staff Reporter

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. That’s essentially how Cassidy Turley Fuller’s CEO Greg Morris describes the Denver office market.

“I guess I can describe it as the Tale of Two Cities,” Greg says. (So, long and a little confusing?) The downtown/suburb divide has caught his eye, though he admits "worst" isn't the word he'd use. The CBD has been a strong performer since pulling out of the recession, with occupancy tighteningand rents on the increase faster than in the suburbs ($40/SF-plus for prime Class-A space). And CTF has been responsible for some huge deals this year, including MarkWest Energy Partners’ 215k SF lease for the entire Tower I at Park Central (broker: CT's Doug Wulf). But Greg questions whether companies will pick up activity in the fall, given the amount of uncertainty across the US. “With the election being in November, I think a lot of tenants are in a wait-and-see mode,” he says.

Here’s the new home for MarkWest. On the industrial side, Greg sees steadiness. It helps that CT helped ink the largest industrial deal in Denver this year: the 554k SF build-to-suit for United Natural Foods at Gateway Park (broker: CT’s Alex Rhodes). Will possible industrial redevelopment be in play? He says keep on an eye on "the obsolescence of certain properties in key locations," estimating that as much as 8% of Denver’s 275M SF in the sector probably doesn’t work for a modern warehouse user anymore. “When is it time to tear these down?” (Where's Reagan/Gorbachev when you need 'em?)