Green roofs were on developer Kyle Zeppelin’s radar screen long before the initiative to require them on some buildings in Denver surfaced. The green roof initiative was adopted by Denver voters last month by an 8.6 percent margin. It was widely opposed by Denver’s development community, with Zeppelin being the most high-profile exception. “Denver developers…

Tryba time. I recently wrote about a proposed rezoning of at least three parking lots along a swath of Sherman Street at the edge of the central business district proposed by well-known architect David Tryba on behalf of Denver’s Dikeou family. Wednesday night, Tryba, one of Denver's most high-profile architects in Denver, unveiled what he…

Kentwood Commercial is not just the latest commercial real estate brokerage launched in Denver. “Commercial real estate for me has always been a huge passion,” Peter Niederman, CEO of the new firm as well as the residential real estate firm that also shares the Kentwood name, told me last month. “I didn’t start Kentwood Commercial…

Sherman Street at the edge of downtown Denver would be allowed higher building height limits and more density under a proposed rezoning. The Sherman Street North Redevelopment Vision has been presented by Tryba Architects to a number of City Council members and neighborhood groups. Tryba Architects is representing the Dikeou family, which owns six parcels…

Winners of the 2017 Mayor’s Design Awards showcased an eclectic mix of commercial, residential and events that help to shape Denver's urban fabric.. The 16 winners included office buildings, restaurants, retailers and homes. “We are here to celebrate the projects that are getting it right,” Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said about the winners in…

Life insurance companies increasingly are a better option than Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for investors buying apartment buildings, according to veteran mortgage banker Peter Keepper. Freddie and Fannie, known as government sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, have been the single biggest lenders for multifamily acquisitions in Denver and across the U.S. in recent years. Keepper…

Absorption. The late George Wallace, founder of the Denver Tech Center, told me in the 1980s that the absorption rate was the single most important metric for measuring the health of a real estate market. That was an era when Denver’s economy was being hammered by a drop in oil prices and changes in tax…

Floor plans may not have the appeal of flashy apartment amenities such as top-of-the-line fitness centers, dog washing stations, bike maintenance shops and business centers. But to retired architect Mervin F. Weinstein, a good floor plan can pay huge dividends for the owner of apartment and condo buildings. In one case, Weinstein estimates the owner…

Emerging Trends ranked Denver No. 23 out of 78 cities, its worst showing in a decade in the high-profile and comprehensive analysis of markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. The last time Denver fared worse was when Emerging Trends ranked Denver in 28th place for 2007. Denver was ranked No. 11 for 2017. Seattle was…

Bruteig’s bully pulpit. Cary Bruteig, the go-to apartment authority for everyone in the multifamily business, book-ended the half-day multifamily conference last week that drew about 500 brokers, lenders, developers and others on the ground floor of the Front Range apartment market. Bruteig not only provided a detailed analysis of where the Denver-area and Front Range…