Mile-High Metamorphosis: Denver Continues to Polish Its Downtown Model

 

This May, Denver announced a $500 million investment in downtown, including housing options, public spaces and strategies to attract businesses. 

“This is a major step toward restoring downtown and building a more vibrant Denver,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. “This transformative investment will spur growth and redevelopment throughout the urban core while expanding economic opportunity across the city.”

Union Station Leads the Way

This downtown metamorphosis is being sparked by an earlier investment in Union Station.

The expansion of the station, according to Lee Ann Benavidez, SVP and chief sales and services officer for VISIT DENVER, “has turned a nearly deserted building into a catalyst for development across Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo).”

The Colorado Convention Center, which falls within the boundaries of the new development, has also recently been expanded. 

Completed in 2023, it added the Terrace Level with the Bluebird Ballroom, featuring 80,000 square feet of new multifunction, column-free ballroom space, 35,000 square feet of prefunction space and a 20,000-square-foot outdoor terrace with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains and Downtown Denver. 

“The latest Colorado Convention Center expansion has welcomed 14 groups since March 2024 with nearly 100,000 attendees,” Benavidez noted. “The Bluebird Ballroom has been used to secure 21 conventions that without it that could not have met in Denver. Those groups are estimated to bring over $285 million in economic impact to Denver.”

Yet another project, the $149 million renovation of the I.M. Pei-designed 16th Street Mall, is underway and expected to be completed in late 2025. 

Denver’s downtown developments promise an ever-changing tableau for the meetings at the convention center for the next few years. With these changes, Denver is breaking what the Brookings Institute calls “the urban doom loop” that accelerated in U.S. cities following the pandemic. 

“Destination appeal and a walkable, clean and safe downtown are important to meeting planners and its convention attendees,” Benavidez said. “We see signs of positive progress every day in downtown Denver.”

[Related: How the Space Symposium Leverages All Colorado Springs Can Offer Meetings]

Already on Tap

Benavidez listed amenities already available to meeting groups.

“With more than 13,000 hotel rooms all within walking distance of the convention center, Michelin Star restaurants, and arts and cultural experiences, downtown Denver is the heart of the city and the ideal place to host meetings and events,” Benavidez said. “Within a mile radius, downtown Denver has three major sports stadiums, the nation’s second-largest performing arts center, an assortment of art and history museums, including the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado History Museum, and hundreds of chef-driven restaurants with diverse cuisine.” 

According to the recently published Longwoods International 2023 Annual Visitor Profile Study, downtown’s 16th Street Mall and LoDo, Denver Art Museum, Denver Performing Arts Complex, the Downtown Aquarium and all sports teams are among the most visited by overnight travelers, which includes meeting groups. 

“Denver’s tourism businesses, most of which are small and locally owned, rely on these visitors to fuel their success, which allows them to continue to hire employees—almost 74,000 across the metro area in 2023—and to generate millions in state and local taxes,” said Richard W. Scharf, president and CEO of VISIT DENVER.

"And with direct rail [and bus] access to Denver International Airport,” Benavidez added, “most meeting attendees take advantage of the city’s accessibility and all that it has to offer.”

New Infrastructure Benefits Groups 

Part of the progress is the Union Station transformation that included a new Regional Transportation District bus depot, as well as preservation and renovations inside the existing historical building that allows travelers to conveniently and comfortably access downtown from Denver International Airport. Meeting attendees can access the train from the south end of the airport by the Westin Denver International Airport Hotel. Trains leave every 15 minutes between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. and every 30 minutes outside those hours. It’s about a 40-minute journey From DEN to Denver Union Station.

Speaking of the airport, DEN is expected to reach 100 million passengers by 2027, five years ahead of projections. This success is attributed to its being a globally accessible destination, particularly for meetings and events. 

“Denver has become more attractive to corporate international groups due to its accessibility and wide range of travel options,” Benavidez said. “DEN serves 31 international destinations in 12 countries and over 180 domestic destinations.”

[Related: Plan Environmentally Friendly Meetings and Events in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs]

Great Hall Sets Completion Date

The $2.1 billion Great Hall expansion, which began in 2017, is now scheduled to open in 2028. The Great Hall project will add 31,000 square feet of space to the Jeppesen Terminal. The project also built two new security checkpoints on level 6 to enhance the passenger experience. In addition, DEN completed a 39-gate expansion in 2022, increasing overall capacity at the airport by 30 percent. The new gates on all three concourses allow DEN’s airlines to grow and accommodate new airlines, including international carriers.

Accolades for the Mile High City extol its business-friendly atmosphere, arts and passion for sustainability. The Events Industry Council (EIC) recently announced that VISIT DENVER has achieved Platinum-level certification to the EIC Sustainable Event Standards—the first destination to achieve the highest level of certification. With more than 37 million visitors in 2023, Benavidez said, “We are thrilled to welcome new businesses, downtown employees, visitors and meeting attendees every day.”  

World’s First Cannabis Spa Opens in Denver

Although it has yet to be federally legalized, legal cannabis has become a familiar and popular medication at the state level. With Colorado having been a proponent since 2014, it should come as no surprise that, on September 14, the first-ever “canna-spa” opened in the Mile High City. 

Pure Elevations is the brainchild of proprietor Rebecca Marroquin, who first envisioned the business in 2013. 

“Officially, we started talking to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) in January 2022,” she said. “In November of 2022, we were able to submit our application for the business license. We’ve been working tirelessly then and day out, from then until today and tomorrow.”

The goal of the spa, Marroquin said, is “to reintroduce cannabis as a beneficial wellness tool—without opioids and or pharmaceuticals—to the people. Before it got prohibited, doctors used to prescribe it for numerous things, from menstrual cycles to acne to anxiety. Used topically, it helps with everything from pain inflammation to skin rashes like psoriasis and eczema. It’s just an all-around medication, and what I’m trying to reintroduce is not something to get you high, but something that can benefit your body, mind and soul.”

“All services are infused with CBD or THC,” she continued. “We offer massages, mani-pedis and specialized body treatments like sugar scrubs, body wraps, ‘bacne’ treatments, hair care and more.”

Pure Elevations offers four treatment rooms.

“One of them is a couple’s room,” Marroquin said. “So, we have five treatment beds. We also have two hair salon stations and one mani-pedi station. We can handle groups of up to seven people and welcome birthday parties, bachelorette parties and business events.” 

“I’ve got phone calls from people all the way from Hawaii who are planning their bachelorette birthdays here in Colorado, just for this spot,” Marroquin added.

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