So that allows workers to live downtown and commute elsewhere. And the new transit network is connecting downtown to many of these centers. Downtown Denver is the biggest employment center, but there are several other areas with tens of thousands of jobs clustered together. Just like most modern metro areas, Denver’s employment is dispersed across several major employment centers throughout the region. The cool thing about building a comprehensive regional transit network – exactly what Denver is doing with its $8 billion FasTracks program that will bring 140 miles of light rail, commuter rail, and BRT to the region over the next several years – is that it opens up new options for commuting patterns. Why is downtown Denver’s residential market booming so much? Well, urban housing is a growing trend in many major cities, but it’s really growing rapidly in Denver…so what’s different there? If I had to guess at the underlying cause, I’d say it is because of their regional transit system expansion. These projects include: 1,513 hotel rooms 5,211 residential units, 2.5 million square feet of office space, and 222,000 square feet of retail space. As of June 2014, June 2014 there were 29 developments under construction in downtown Denver and 18 more planned. Denverĭowntown Denver is also in the midst of a major construction boom, largely driven by residential development. There are plenty of additional high-rises and skyscrapers in the pipeline, soon to begin construction. And there is much more than meets the eye. It seems as though there are cranes hovering overhead no matter where you go in downtown Austin. You can hardly go anywhere right now in Austin’s central business district without being surrounded by construction activity. If anything, the city’s downtown development is accelerating. You’d probably have to go to Dubai to find a city whose skyline has changed more dramatically.Īnd the growth of Austin’s skyline is continuing at a break-neck pace. Please, correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think any other city in North America can say that. Or I can hit you with some insane stats…how about this one? Of the 8 tallest buildings in downtown Austin today, not a single one of them existed 10 years ago. You can just look at the photos above taken from a news article titled Austin’s changing skyline during ACL to get a sense of the enormous change that has taken place in Austin’s skyline over recent years. It had been over a decade since I’d spent any significant amount of time in Denver (I used to visit family in Denver each year as a kid) 1.
![denver city skyline denver city skyline](https://st3.depositphotos.com/1921043/18207/v/1600/depositphotos_182075438-stock-illustration-denver-colorado-usa-city-skyline.jpg)
I came away completely impressed by Denver’s downtown, and the transit system expansion – FasTracks – I’ve been reading about over the last several years. I actually chose to write this blog because I visited Colorado recently on a family road trip that included a 3-day stay in Denver and then another 3-day jaunt into the mountains to Crested Butte.
![denver city skyline denver city skyline](https://cdn.w600.comps.canstockphoto.com/denver-city-skyline-silhouette-vector-clipart_csp16016806.jpg)
![denver city skyline denver city skyline](https://static2.bigstockphoto.com/0/7/2/large1500/270320587.jpg)
I wrote here about Austin’s lack of a truly great public space.Īnyway, more about Austin’s skyline in a minute. And if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ve also noticed that I talk a lot about Austin…In fact, almost every blog post includes at least some mention of Austin, and many are in some way focused on Austin…but to be fair, I only give Austin credit where it is earned. If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve noticed I included Austin as the #1 city on this list. Without further adieu, here are 5 skylines that are undergoing massive transformations: But in the downtowns of a few special cities, the amount of new development under way and planned is so massive that you will literally not recognize these skylines in just a few short years. Downtown revitalization is a national trend impacting hundreds of cities across the U.S.