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Office properties to see ‘a spreading of value’ this cycle, Denver assessor says

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Office properties to see ‘a spreading of value’ this cycle, Denver assessor says


Denver Assessor Keith Erffmeyer speaks at BusinessDen’s “The Future of Office Event” on Sept. 10, 2024. (Matt Geiger/BusinessDen)

The Denver official tasked with valuing the city’s real estate said Tuesday that office building valuations will likely bifurcate this cycle, with top-tier properties holding steady while less-desirable properties see significant declines.

“I think we’ll see a spreading of value unlike I’ve ever seen in Denver, going all the way from downtown to the Tech Center — Cherry Creek seems to be immune to anything, so that might not happen here — but that’s kind of what we’re looking at, is really a two- if not three-tier market,” Assessor Keith Erffmeyer said.

Erffmeyer made the comment at BusinessDen’s “The Future of Office” event, where he and five real estate executives discussed the office sector’s status and outlook. The event was held at the Clayton Hotel & Members Club in Cherry Creek.

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County assessors in Colorado value real estate every two years, and the figure directly translates to what an owner pays in property taxes. New valuations go out in May of odd years, and are based on the two-year period ending the previous June. The next notices of valuation will go out in May 2025.

This is the third valuation cycle since the pandemic hit in 2020. But Erffmeyer noted the previous two cycles had few data points to go off when valuing office properties.

“In 2021, our data value was June of 2020, so we were barely three months into the pandemic at that time,” he said. “And frankly, we didn’t know what the world was going to look like, what offices were going to look like, what schools were going to look like, what anything was going to look like. We did our best, quite frankly, to take the sales that preceded Covid and adjust them down for the uncertainty, the risk.”

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The 24-story Denver Club building at 17th and Glenarm sold in late 2022 for $52.80 a square foot. (BusinessDen file)

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The next cycle didn’t offer much more, as continued uncertainty around the sector resulted in few building transactions.

That’s changed somewhat in the last couple years. Buildings such as downtown’s Denver Club and The 410 have sold for cheap, while structures at 1401 Lawrence and Platte Street’s Riverview have fetched more respectable sums. The Denver Tech Center is also seeing transactions.

Erffmeyer joined the Denver assessor’s office as an intern in 1994 and assumed the top job in 2014. He noted he’s worked to value properties through the Great Recession and the dot-com bust.

“And this revaluation might be the toughest of all of them, just because there’s so many almost conflicting and just dissonance in terms of what we see in terms of sale prices — just in downtown, much less throughout, in my case, Denver, and, speaking for the other assessors, throughout the metro area,” he said.

“Prime” buildings — which tend to be newer and have top-tier locations — will “probably be just fine in terms of value, maybe even see some increases in terms of value,” Erffmeyer said. But as buildings age, “there comes a tipping point somewhere in there where it’s not a prime building anymore.”

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“And that’s when we start seeing this kind of bifurcation,” he said. “I’ve heard falling off a cliff, things like that in terms of value. And we read about sales transactions at less than $100 a foot, which just blows my mind when we have warehouses selling for more than $100 a foot.”



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Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines

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Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines


The new year in Colorado brought new restrictions for people who vape in Denver. As of January 1, a voter-approved ban on flavored nicotine products is now in effect in Denver, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products within city limits.

Just outside the Denver border, vape shops say they’re already feeling the ripple effects.

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At Tokerz Head Shop in Aurora, located about a block and a half from the Denver city line, owner Gordon McMillon says customers are beginning to trickle in from Denver.

“I was in shock it passed, to be honest,” McMillon said. “Just because of how many people vape in Denver. But we’re hoping to take care of everybody that doesn’t get their needs met over there anymore.”

One of those customers is Justin Morrison, who lives in the Denver area and vapes daily. He stopped by the Aurora shop a day after the ban went into place.

Morrison says the ban won’t stop him from vaping. It will just change where he buys his products.

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“I’m going to have to come all the way to Aurora to get them,” he said. “It’s pretty inconvenient. I smoke flavored vapes every day.”

The goal of the ban, according to public health advocates, is to reduce youth vaping.

Morrison said flavored vapes helped him quit smoking cigarettes, an argument frequently raised by adult users and vape retailers who oppose flavor bans.

“It helped tremendously,” he said. “I stopped liking the flavor of cigarettes. The taste was nasty, the smell was nasty. I switched all the way over to vapes, and it helped me stop smoking cigarettes completely.”

McMillon worries bans like Denver’s could push some former smokers back to cigarettes.

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“If they can’t get their vapes, some will go back to cigarettes, for sure,” he said. “I’ve asked people myself, and it’s about 50-50.”

While McMillon acknowledges it will bring more business to shops outside Denver, he says the ban wasn’t something he wanted.

“Even if it helps me over here in Aurora, I’m against it,” he said. “I feel like adults should have the rights if they want to vape or not.”

More than 500 retailers in Denver removed their flavored products. For many, they accounted for the majority of their sales. Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment says it will begin issuing fines and suspensions to retailers found selling flavored tobacco products.

Both McMillan and Morrison say they’re concerned the ban could spread to other cities. For now, Aurora vape shops remain legal alternatives for Denver customers.

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Despite the added drive, Morrison says quitting isn’t on the table.

“It’s an addiction. You’re going to find a way to get it. That’s why I don’t see the point of banning it here,” Morrison said.

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Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy

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Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy


Denver will be the site of the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy.

Funding for the project was approved by Denver voters in the Vibrant Denver Bond measure.

The vision is for the embassy to welcome Native people back home to Colorado.

On the snowy day of CBS News Colorado’s visit, Rick Williams observed the buffalo herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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“These animals are sacred to us,” said Williams, who is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “This was our economy. They provided everything we needed to live a wonderful lifestyle.”

Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, looks at buffalo at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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Williams is president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy.

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“‘Homeland’ is a special term for everybody, right?” Williams asked. “But for people who were alienated, for American Indians who were alienated from Colorado, they don’t have a home, they don’t have a home community that you can go to, this is it. And I think that’s sad.”

The First Creek Open Space — near 56th and Peña, near the southeast corner of the Arsenal — is owned by the City and County of Denver and is being considered for development of the embassy.

“To have a space that’s an embassy that would be government-to-government relations on neutral space,” said Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents northeast Denver District 11. “But then also supporting the community’s economic development and their cultural preservation.”

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Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore speaks from the First Creek Open Space in northeast Denver about the possibility of building the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy at the site.

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Gilmore said $20 million from the Vibrant Denver Bond will support the design and construction of the center to support Indigenous trade, arts, and education.

“That sense of connection and that sense of place and having a site is so important if you’re going to welcome people back home,” added Gilmore.

“What a great treasure for people in Colorado,” Williams said as he read the interpretive sign at the wildlife refuge.

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Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, reads a sign at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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He said the proposed location makes perfect sense: “Near the metropolitan area, but not necessarily in the metropolitan area, we would love to be near buffalo. We would love to be in an area where there’s opportunities for access to the airport.”

The Denver March Powwow could one day be held at the embassy.

Williams dreams of expanding the buffalo herd nearby and having the embassy teach future generations Indigenous skills and culture.

The concept for the embassy is one of the recommendations emerging from the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission, a group of American Indian leaders in Colorado who began to organize four years ago to study the history of Native Americans in our state.

And the work is just beginning.

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“We have to think about, ‘how do we maintain sustainability and perpetuity of a facility like this?’” Williams said. “So there’s lots of issues that are going to be worked on over the next year or so.”

Williams added, “One day our dreams are going to come true, and those tribes are going to come, and we’re going to have a big celebration out here. We’re going to have a drum, and we’re going to sing honor songs, and we’re going to have just the best time ever welcoming these people back to their homeland.”

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s staff sent the following statement:

“We are excited about the passing of the Vibrant Denver Bond and the opportunity it creates to invest in our city’s first American Indian Cultural Embassy. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with the Indigenous community to plan and develop the future embassy, and city staff have already been invited to listen and engage with some of our local American Indian groups, like the People of the Sacred Land. We are not yet at the stage of formal plans, but we are excited to see the momentum of this project continue.”

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Parker Gabriel’s 7 Thoughts after Broncos capture No. 1 seed, including Bo Nix barking at Sean Payton, then looking inward

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Parker Gabriel’s 7 Thoughts after Broncos capture No. 1 seed, including Bo Nix barking at Sean Payton, then looking inward


The Broncos are in prime position.

They didn’t wow many people Sunday, but they controlled a 19-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers from start to finish and in the process secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a first-round playoff bye and homefield advantage as long as they’re in the tournament.

They are two home wins away from playing in Super Bowl 60.

Head coach Sean Payton after the game did as much shrugging off of an offensive o-fer in scoring position as he’ll ever do.

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Players were business-like, but they can feel the inbound rest already.

As they arrived home Sunday night, there are 14 teams still playing in the NFL.

By the time they next take the field, that number will be eight.

Now the fun really begins.

Here are 7 Thoughts following Denver’s dominant defensive performance and a remarkable 14-3 regular season.

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1. Bo Nix asked Sean Payton for more urgency early in Sunday’s game. Afterward, he said he should have provided it himself.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix looked to the sideline.

Early in the second quarter, Denver’s trudging offense finally found a bit of a spark.

Tyler Badie had just taken a third-and-13 swing pass for 16 yards and a first down.





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