For the past three years, foot traffic in downtown has stayed consistent at nearly 90% of what was occurring before the pandemic brought activity to a crashing halt.
Now that the face-lift of 16th Street has been completed, city officials and downtown advocates are hoping that 2026 sees activity start to pick up and push past that three-year plateau. If the renovation of the former “mall,” with fewer cone zones, attracts more out-of-market visitors, they may see a bump in activity. But the staying power of remote work, which is driving high office vacancy rates, has also restricted the return to 2019 foot-traffic levels and put up a significant hurdle to the central business district getting back to pre-pandemic activity.
In 2019, downtown saw 60.6 million out-of-market visits, but that figure dropped to 26.3 million in 2020, according to from the Downtown Denver Partnership. By 2025, that number had rebounded to around 53 million out-of-market visitors and has remained around that range since 2023. Throw in two other categories, what the DDP calls Extended Inbound Commuters and Resident Visits, and downtown saw from 71 million to 72.5 million visits annually in that time frame.
Thatap a level well above the pandemic-related low of 2020 but still millions short of the numbers seen in 2019 and earlier. For the officials who are desperate for more workers to return, and for the businesses that actively try to incentivize office work, it could be an uphill battle in Denver, where remote work is still more prevalent than in other metros across the U.S.In the Denver area, 22.6% of workers ages 16 and older work from home, while Boulder that percentage is even higher at 28.7%, according to the latest available data from the Census Bureau.
Both rates are well above the national average of 13.3%.
In comparison, just 14.9% of workers in the Los Angeles area and 12.9% in the New York area work from home.
“What makes Denver so unique is that people come here for a kind of live, work, play lifestyle, and it’s very outdoor forward. And for those reasons, I think our downtown office market post-COVID has just seen more challenging times than some other markets, and maybe a slower return to normal than some would like to see,” said Harrison Archer, senior vice president with CBRE’s occupier leasing services group.
That slower return has continued to weigh on office demand. Denver’s total downtown office vacancy rate at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 35.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2026, the downtown total office vacancy rate reached 38.9%, according to .
Many businesses downtown, forced to reset to the era of hybrid work, are exploring what changes might be needed to bring workers and foot traffic back to the city’s core.
Taking the reins
Denver-based education benefits company is one of those companies. At the start of the year, it launched a voluntary “Denver Density” program that encourages city-based employees to work from the downtown office three days a week.
Employees who opt in receive perks, including a $125 monthly stipend for parking or public transit and lunch three days a week through Relish. Those who choose not to participate, however, face no penalties.
“We didn’t want to create anything that would be restrictive,” said Alana Brandes, Guild’s chief people officer, who joined the company late 2020 during a pivotal moment in Guild’s growth, a time shaped both by rapid expansion and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company launched in 2015 as a fully in-office, Denver-based organization, and Brandes said it now sees itself as playing a stewardship role in helping bring energy back to the downtown economy.
During that period, Brandes said the shift to remote work left Guild “craving” deeper relationship and community building, along with faster decision-making and smoother collaboration.
She said the company conducted surveys to gather input on what works best for each employee, their preferred work styles, and what conditions enable people to do their best work.
“We didn’t want to relocate people and their families. We didn’t want to have to displace people from their jobs. We believe that it is possible to work effectively in a hybrid setting with some curation to that,” she said.
A key feature in the program is what Guild calls “magnet week.” Once a month, all senior directors and above are flown into the Denver office. During this week, the team holds key meetings such as quarterly business reviews and CEO-led fireside chats, making the most of everyone being in one place.
Guild has about 850 employees in total, with roughly 40% based in Colorado. Since launching the program, it has already surpassed expectations. Over 120 employees have opted in, well above the 75 the company had anticipated, Brandes said.
Impact of technology
The tech industry has been one of the biggest adopters of hybrid work, according to Archer.
In 2019, Denver ranked eighth on CBRE’s Tech Talent Scorecard, part of its annual Scoring Tech Talent Report, which ranks 50 North American markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent. The city rose to seventh in 2020, but has since fallen to 14th in its latest report.
“Gone are the days, at least for now, of the software company opening a 50- to 100,000-square-foot office in Denver that’s based in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Austin, Texas, or what we would consider really a tier-one market. We’re just not seeing that level of activity,” he said.
Real estate brokerage CBRE expects vacancy in Class A properties, the newest and highest-quality buildings, to decline gradually, widening the gap with lower-tier Class B and C properties, according to its 2026 Denver Market Outlook, analyzing the office, industrial, retail, multifamily and life sciences sectors.
The report also found that “tenants will continue to prioritize high-quality spaces, driven by the importance of the in-office experience and convenient access to amenities for both employees and decision-makers.”
“We’re in a state of continuous evolvement, but we’ve certainly gone from a confused, not‑sure‑what‑to‑do mindset to, we know who we are, we know who we’re going to be,” Archer said.
With about 10,000 employees, including 500 in the Denver area, global business and technology consulting firm is transforming its downtown location at 1899 Wynkoop St. to better adapt to evolving employee needs.
“We see hybrid as a way of working that is likely here to stay,” said Slalom Denver Senior Managing Director Binh Diep.
“At the same time, I think we also need to be able to create a place that creates a meaningful experience that drives collaboration, innovation, connection, culture and belonging.”
Instead of mandating a return, Diep said they shifted to asking “what is the office for?” and invested in a renovation that supports client/community use, rather than traditional rows of desks.
Diep said the office will center on a large gathering and meeting space.
Rather than scattering smaller common areas across different floors or isolating them in separate corners, the design brings everything together in one open hub. The goal, Diep said, is to create a space where people can easily connect and have the spontaneous conversations that make being in the office worthwhile.
The renovation began in late fall and includes the eighth floor and ninth floor. A ribbon cutting of the full renovation was held on April 17, where Slalom announced it has renewed its lease for seven more years.
Slalom leaders say they considered other locations but made a “conscious decision to stay downtown,” pointing to their roles with the , Colorado Technology Association and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as proof to helping Denver thrive.
Whatap happening downtown
The by DDP showed pedestrian activity reached an compared to March 2019 levels. Daily activity in February of 2019 levels.
In 2019, total annual visits between residents, employees, and out-of-market visitors were over 81 million. Visits dropped to 39.7 million in 2020. From 2023-25, visits stabilized in the 70 million range, showing a slow increase over time.
Andrew Iltis, senior vice president of planning and community impact at the DDP, said downtown is becoming more active, driven largely by visitor foot traffic and conference attendees, thanks to Denver’s sports teams, performing arts complex, convention center and the long-awaited revival of 16th Street.
“16th Street is filled with families more than ever, and filled with people that are really just kind of coming down to hang out and be together,” he said.
Christi Goodwin-Palmer, general manager of Blue Agave Grill on 16th Street since 2022, said she has seen “extremely positive” changes along the corridor.
“The mayor of Denver, Downtown Denver Partnership, and the Denver Police Department have gone above and beyond to create a destination here once again. We have seen increased visitors while also seeing the local business start to thrive again. Along with the weather being so lovely, we’ve been able to open our patio, which guests absolutely love,” Goodwin-Palmer said.
Alex Kravets, who was born and raised in Denver, has worked near 16th Street throughout its renovation. She said she grew accustomed to the construction and now that itap complete, she “likes the energy” of the area, especially since she often walks to get around.
She also pointed to the increased seating options and said the corridor appears more well-kept than before.
For others, the changes raise questions about where downtown is headed and what may still be missing.
Rea Brown, who moved from Michigan to Denver in 2007, was working downtown on a recent, breezy day. He said he has seen the city undergo significant change, particularly along 16th Street. While he sees progress, he said the corridor could benefit from more museums and a mix of big-box or unique retailers to anchor the area.
“We are in dire need of replacing the storefronts that have been removed,” he said. “Bring back traditional stores to the mall or stores that could survive in this economy.”
Iltis said that this growth is not primarily driven by Denver’s employee base, even though workers still make up a significant share of downtown activity.
While average daily downtown employee visits in March 2026 remain below pre-pandemic levels, they’ve increased over the past few years, according to DDP data.
In March, the was 74%, up from 68% in March 2025, according to DDP data.
When asked why remote work remains common in Denver and employee foot traffic may lag behind, Iltis said the city’s biggest competition is its surrounding neighborhoods.
“People who work from home, they’re getting access to maybe a boutique restaurant or a coffee shop, or that third place that people are looking for. The reasoning for coming downtown wasn’t as apparent. For a while, they were getting what they needed from the neighborhoods,” he said.
“Now, I think our biggest opportunity is creating something, or giving them something that they don’t necessarily get in those neighborhoods.”
Some downtown workers and residents say the same.
Delaney Rach, who moved to Colorado Springs from Los Angeles in 2021, has lived and worked in downtown Denver for the past eight months.
“I feel safe and comfortable eating on 16th Street,” Rach said while sitting outside, crediting the city’s efforts to improve public safety. However, she said she notices more tourists from the convention center flock to the area rather than office workers.
Adding more boutique coffee shops or similar gathering spots, she said, could help draw employees back downtown.
Since the start of the year, nearly 20 new ground-floor business have opened, including Lilac Coffee’s second location on the plaza level of the Granite Tower on 18th Street, Le Do Thai at 1550 Blake St., Cafecito in the lobby of Emily Griffith Technical College and Cantina on Market Street.Upcoming openings include on 16th Street, and Cripple Creek Backcountry on Platte Street.
While more distressed and high-vacancy buildings are being targeted for multifamily conversion, Iltis pointed to 1900 Lawrence, a 30-story tower in Denver’s Central Business District, an example of how new office buildings are adapting to what workers and companies may seek these days.
“They ended up reprogramming a lot more space towards those amenities that are a little bit more community-based,” he said, referencing the tower’s shared workspaces and recreation areas.
“I think in this new normal, they’re not all about employees sitting in an office cubicle. It really, truly is about how we’re interacting with people face to face, and thatap what I think we’re seeing in downtown right now more than we’ve seen in the last five years.”
