Upper Downtown: A Renewed Focus
The Downtown Denver Partnership recognizes the economic significance of the Upper Downtown District. With the area’s prime location—featuring a concentration of high-rise office towers, multiple mobility options, proximity to the Colorado Convention Center and city and state government complexes—Upper Downtown remains today the area with the highest concentration of jobs and tax base in the Metro Denver region.
As the commercial core of Downtown Denver, the Upper Downtown District will continue to grow as the primary business center of the region into a more complete mixed-use district with varying and unique experiences that contribute to its role as an economically thriving center for business, retail, residents, and tourism. This high-density, pedestrian-oriented area will bring a rich mixture of ground floor uses and activities, multi-modal streets, and attractive and distinctive public rights-of-way that connect well to adjacent districts, attractions, and amenities.
Upper Downtown Plan
The Upper Downtown is the thriving economic center of the Rocky Mountain West. Employees, residents, and visitors come for the vibrant concentration of iconic architecture, jobs and retail and they stay for the elevated experiences and one of a kind views, restaurants, and nightlife. Colorado authenticity and Denver’s most urban environment are fused together with a comfortable, walkable and memorable experience that cultivates exploration, collaboration, and innovation.
In an effort to energize this critical area of Downtown Denver, the Downtown Denver Partnership convened the Upper Downtown Stakeholder Group to lead a planning effort that:
- Identified clear strategies and next steps to enhance the economic and social vitality of the Upper Downtown District;
- Established a clear marketing plan, including new identity and brand for the District, that cultivates the identity of both public and private spaces and complements the established and emerging character of other Downtown districts;
- Identify specific strategies to improve the public realm through increased mobility options with coherent streetscaping that foster positive interpersonal interactions and community gathering, and thereby economic development;
- Enacted the vision and relevant strategies of the 2007 Downtown Area Plan with a focus on the Mid-point priorities in specific and actionable ways;
- Provided a clear path for implementation of the strategies it outlines, including a feasible outline of how to leverage public and private investments that ensure the timely implementation of plan recommendations.