We caught up with Savills-Studley research and analytic guru Keith DeCoster (here with colleague Steve Coutts) after ISCS last week, and he tells us that the Denver economy's fundamentals will be able to support considerable retail growth in the coming years. The trajectory is already positive: average household income in the metro area stands at over $138k/year, a 3.7% increase from one year ago and a 16.8% increase as compared to five years ago.

That average will be more than $165k/year by the end of this decade, while the number of households will increase by 10.9% by year-end 2019. Retail market fundamentals are responding: the latest Savills-Studley data notes that Denver-area neighborhood and community shopping centers ended Q1 2015 with a vacancy rate of 10.7%, down from 10.9% a year ago. Rents are edging up, too, ending the quarter averaging $17.52/SF, compared with $17.35/SF a year ago.