Will investors continue to be attracted to Denver? Will there be even more coworking space developed in the city? And will office buildings keep adding hospitality-style amenities in an effort to attract workers?
That depends on who you ask.
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Tributary Real Estate Senior Vice President Amy Aldridge and Unico Properties Associate Regional Director Sarajane “SJ” Goodfellow agree that investors will continue to be interested in Denver, but they have differing opinions on other aspects of the future of Denver’s office market.
“Investors are really bullish about Denver in general,” Aldridge said. “I think it will continue down that path.”
Goodfellow said while many people have expressed fear about a recession in 2019, she doesn’t see investment in Denver slowing this year.
“We’re going to be moving upward,” she said.
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Aldridge predicts Denver’s office market will swing back to a more traditional model.
“Beer is leaving the building,” Aldridge said. “There are a lot of places to go get beer near the office, and the question is at what point is it the employer’s obligation to provide it?”
Goodfellow suggests that owners will continue to increase their offerings of hospitality-style amenities. Hospitality-style amenities, she said, are key to leasing a building and owners will become more sophisticated in terms of what they offer.
“We’re becoming more and more of a dog city, but how do you cater to that audience?” she said. “You have to create a strong presence from the minute a person walks into the building, whether it’s a concierge or a security guard acting as a concierge. There have to be conference rooms and well-equipped gyms. You can’t just get away with a rudimentary basement gym anymore.”
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While Aldridge predicts that coworking will expand in the foreseeable future, she said it is a trend that she doesn’t believe will last.
“It’s a conversation in the industry — what’s next?” she said. “But I see a shift back to the old workplace — something more traditional or something in between.”
Goodfellow doesn’t see coworking vanishing so much as adapting to market demands.
“You have to be careful about what percentage of your asset is coworking,” she said. “If you have too much in one asset, it can have a negative impact. It should be about 15 to 30% of a building.”
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