Play to Win: All In on Downtown Denver | 2026 Annual Meeting Recap
- Downtown Denver Partnership
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
This morning, we were grateful to be joined by more than 300 downtown stakeholders, partners and community members for our Annual Meeting, where we celebrated the momentum and progress we’ve made and looked toward what 2026 will hold for Downtown Denver. By grounding our event in critical data, highlighting collaborative achievements, and previewing the bold work ahead, we're building the informed and engaged community that downtown's future requires.
Data-Driven and Downtown-Focused
Our Keynote Speaker, Liz Everett Krisberg, Head of the Bank of America Institute, opened the morning with a compelling national economic report-out in which Denver’s story shined.
Key highlights included:
Denver ranks among the top cities nationally for net population growth, drawing residents from Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., Miami, New York, Phoenix and the broader Sunbelt and reflecting its broad appeal across climates and affordability spectrums.
January 2026 spending growth reached its strongest year-over-year level in nearly two years, a promising signal of consumer momentum heading into 2026.
Payroll growth strengthened in January, with Bank of America's internal data suggesting jobs growth is rebounding.
Small business hiring rebounded at the end of 2025, with payments to hiring firms rising 7% above the 2024 average in December, reversing a mid-year slowdown.
The share of consumers paying off their entire credit card balance each month has risen across all income and age groups since 2019, a sign of improved financial health.
People are increasingly choosing smaller, comparatively less expensive cities, and Denver is near the top of that list, reinforcing its position as the anchor city of the Mountain West.
Downtown's Arc of Progress
Downtown Denver Partnership’s President & CEO Kourtny Garrett took the stage to share a comprehensive look at downtown's momentum, painting a picture of a city core that is steadily regaining ground.
Key highlights included:
Downtown reached a 90% average foot traffic recovery rate in 2025 with 73 million total visits throughout the year.
More than 90 days of programming brought people downtown, including record-breaking attendance on New Year’s Eve that brought 334K total visits to downtown , a 12% increase from 2024 and surpassing 2019 attendance.
72 new ground floor businesses opened in 2025, with 35 more already announced coming in 2026. Currently, 26K square feet of ground floor retail space is under renovation.
The reopening of 16th Street was a landmark moment, drawing 30K people to the Grand Reopening and delivering a 14% year-over-year increase in total corridor visits.
Downtown's residential occupancy remains at 88% with 468 residential units completed in 2025 and more than 1,600 currently under construction.
In line with the national trends signaling more office-to-residential conversations, Downtown Denver has seven active projects in the pipeline that could deliver 1,200 new residential units while reducing office vacancy by 11% or 1.3M sqft.
On the office side, 2025 saw active leasing wins — including Sasaki's 11-year commitment to downtown, opening of EGYM headquarters and the arrival of major firms like Marsh McLennan, Reed Smith and Gibson Dunn — as proof that companies continue to bet on Downtown Denver.
A Year Worth Celebrating
2025 Year in Review
Looking Ahead: Bold Action in 2026
The Downtown Denver Partnership has an ambitious 2026 agenda centered on maintaining a clean, safe and beautiful downtown, advancing smart policy, amplifying economic development and office recruitment, and continuing to tell downtown's story with the urgency and optimism the moment demands. While others see risk, we see opportunity, and we're playing to win.
How You Can Be Part of It
Downtown's success is built on collective action, and there are three meaningful ways to stay engaged:
Be a Connector. Know a great business looking for space? Connect them with us. Have a relationship with a company considering Denver? Make the introduction.
Be an Activator. Planning a company event? Bring it downtown. Host your team lunches at downtown restaurants. Make 16th Street your venue for celebrations.
Be a Champion. Share the momentum. Post about the new businesses opening. Talk about the investments being made. Counter the outdated narrative with today's reality, and most importantly, be present.
A special thank you to our Annual Meeting Title Sponsor, Bank of America; our Host Sponsor, Patrinely; and all of our Partner Sponsors and Downtown Denver Partnership Pinnacle Members — your investment doesn't just support our programs; it amplifies our collective impact.
Let's play to win. Let's make 2026 the year of bold action and forward momentum and prove that Downtown Denver is the best downtown in the nation.