麻豆影院

CUREC鈥檚 annual showcase event attracts top industry players to discuss pandemic recovery, new projects and policy challenges.鈥�

If the first three rules of real estate are location, location, location, it鈥檚 telling that for the first time, the CU Real Estate Center moved its annual forum from the skyscrapers of Denver to the foothills of 麻豆影院.听

It also signifies just how strong the ties between the Leeds School of Business and the real estate community have become. A full-capacity crowd of more than 260 attendees registered for the daylong event at Folsom Field, including 61 industry representatives who participated in a recruiting fair.

鈥淚 think bringing this event to 麻豆影院, back to the university, is a fitting way to connect this event back to what鈥檚 happening here, and to the impact the CU Real Estate Center has created in the community,鈥� said Bradley Segall, business development manager for Denison Parking and chair of the forum committee, in his opening remarks. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 fantastic to see so many students joining us today, as well.鈥澨�

And like the collaboration between CUREC and the real estate industry, a major message of the forum was how to identify partners and work together in helping Colorado rebound from the pandemic.听

鈥楶edestrian life is disintegrating鈥�

A fireside chat between Michael P. Kercheval, CUREC executive director, and Daniel McCaffery, chairman and CEO of McCaffery Interests, looked at the challenges of bringing people back to cities like Denver.听

On a typical night in Denver鈥檚 RiNo neighborhood, 鈥測ou can count the number of people walking by on one hand, maybe two,鈥� McCaffery said. 鈥淧edestrian life is disintegrating. We have to magnetize the streets once more.鈥澨�

A big catalyst for bringing people back, he said, is small retailers. Most developments now have residential down to street level. Compared to bustling cities in Europe, with 鈥渟maller, but more energetic, stores that invite movement from place to place,鈥� American cities are offering fewer places to gather.听

As to the office sector, McCaffery said, the outlook remains uncertain.听

鈥淥ur home building in Chicago is 90 percent leased,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut the next time I see someone in the men鈥檚 room, I may pull out my phone and call you. I鈥檓 not looking forward to the day some of our big tenants鈥� leases are up for renewal.

鈥淪omething has to happen鈥攚e need peoples鈥� mindset to back to where it was, but I鈥檓 not sure how we turn that corner.鈥澨�

For some neighborhoods, coming back has been far less of a challenge. Jamie Gard, an executive managing director at Newmark, said the Cherry Creek neighborhood 鈥渋s boring. But that鈥檚 what鈥檚 fantastic about it.鈥澨�

Another session, spotlighting different projects in Denver and on the Front Range, was an opportunity for developers and others to talk about the trends they鈥檇 observed since the outbreak.听

Sarah Wiebenson, director of economic development for the Downtown Denver Partnership, started her role during the recovery period from the pandemic. The solution to the challenges of revival, she said, is in fostering partnerships 鈥渢o reimagine downtown Denver, and to see this as an opportunity to not just build back, but build back better.鈥�

鈥淢any high-quality companies have said, 鈥榃e think we can get people to come back to work in Cherry Creek first,鈥� and to some degree, they never left,鈥� said Gard, who pointed to occupancy rates of 90 percent before and after the pandemic. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 exist maybe anywhere else in the country. It is truly an amazing market.鈥澨�

Focus on finance, banking

Looming large over the event was the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature banks and Credit Suisse鈥檚 stock price slide, which happened in real time during Wednesday鈥檚 event. Sessions on Colorado鈥檚 economic outlook, the legislative climate in Washington and the pandemic rebound focused on the challenges the real estate industry faces amid disruption in the banking sector.听

鈥淭he volatility of this financial crisis has happened before,鈥� he said. 鈥淒evelopers rallied around a master plan鈥� for the Union Station neighborhood, he said, as 鈥渢hey saw the value of being in a master plan and felt safe there.鈥�

鈥淔or the students here, I would encourage you to look at this holistically,鈥� said Sarah Cullen, founder and president of SideCar Public Relations, who spoke about news and trends coming out of Washington with Chip Rodgers, senior vice president of the nonprofit Real Estate Roundtable. 鈥淏ased on what we saw this weekend鈥攚hat does this mean, for example, for our regional banks that support so much of our commercial development? How are these things starting to connect鈥攂anking, policy, the demands from the past couple years from the pandemic?鈥�

The policy session looked at the challenges the industry faces in a sharply divided Washington, with very different ideas of how to deal with issues like affordable housing,听

Richard Wobbekind, associate dean for business and government relations and senior economist at Leeds, offered a forecast that he called 鈥渘ot completely negative; we鈥檙e actually feeling pretty positive.鈥澨�

鈥淲e are seeing a lot of good things, especially related to employment and GDP,鈥� Wobbekind said, noting that Colorado is top-two in the country for both personal income and per capital income growth.

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