December 2025 High Frequency Update: Downtown Denver Ends 2025 with 99% recovery rate

Capping off a year of positive momentum, Downtown Denver's pedestrian activity reached 99% of December 2019 levels in December 2025, marking a nine-percentage-point increase compared to December 2024. This strong performance wraps up a transformative year that saw the reopening of 16th Street and the adoption of the new Downtown Area Plan. 

December's robust performance can be attributed to extensive holiday programming and unusually warm weather throughout the month. In 2025, downtown’s average recovery rate reached 90%, two-percentage points higher than 2024 and representing an average of 3,400 more daily visits. 16th Street total visits increased 14% year-over-year, with individual visits up 9% from 2024 to 2025. 

The average return-to-office rate in 2025 was 66%, up three-percentage-points from 2024. The office market ended 2025 with a 29% vacancy rate on a flat trend line. While the market saw 700,000 square feet of negative net absorption, downtown recorded 1.7 million square feet of leasing activity across the core, with an average lease term of six years. 

Up from 2024’s addition of 50 new businesses, Downtown Denver added 72 new ground floor businesses in 2025, resulting in 39 net new openings. An additional 35 businesses have been announced and are expected to open in the coming months. 

Downtown’s residential market continued to show positive trends, with total occupied apartment units increasing by 1,200 units downtown and 2,600 units across the center city in 2025, surpassing 2024 occupancy activity. Year-to-date hotel metrics through November outperformed 2024 benchmarks. Complete December data will be available later this month. 

Additionally, New Year's Eve 2025 brought more than 330,000 total visits to Downtown Denver (a 12% increase from 2024), with approximately 260,000 visits during the celebration itself (between 8 p.m. and midnight), a 15% increase from 2024.  The fireworks celebration also showed strong activity along the now fully opened 16th Street, with nearly 40,000 total visits between 8 p.m. and midnight - a 50% year-over-year increase.  

The New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration, which is co-sponsored by Visit Denver and the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, was Downtown Denver’s highest-attended event of 2025, following the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Parade of Lights in December and surpassing Fourth of July celebrations.  

For complete data analysis, detailed charts, and additional insights, read the full December 2025 High Frequency Update report. Please reach out to Analise Lajeunesse (alajeunesse@downtowndenver.com) for data-related inquiries, and for media inquiries, please contact Apoorva Gundu (agundu@downtowndenver.com).