Tech companies in Denver are outgrowing their small startup spaces and upgrading to bigger real estate. According to the Denver Post, the commercial real estate broker CBRE found that the tech industry has surpassed financial services to become the most active industry when it comes to expanding office space in Denver. It’s no secret that the entrepreneurial spirit is thriving and coworking spaces are popping up all over, but that’s not what’s causing the growth. Tech startups are maturing and therefore growing out of coworking offices. They are transitioning to mid-size businesses and signing leases for office spaces that fit their growing staff.
According to Colorado Tech Book 2016, put together by CBRE, tech companies, including software development and hardware businesses, hold leases for 16.5 percent of commercial office space in Denver – a whopping 1.1 million square feet. The healthcare industry came in at 15.6 percent and energy companies held 13.92 percent of the office space in the Denver Metro.
Companies of all sizes seem to be experiencing growth. For example, mobile app developer Ibotta tripled their office space in the spring to 38,000 square feet and e-mail transaction firm SendGrid upped their space to 52,000 square feet in the central business district. Although the tech tenants occupy an average of 5,400 square feet in the River North Arts District, more and more companies are snatching up larger real estate outside the immediate metro area. In fact, Google will be moving into a 330,000 square feet location in Boulder pending the completion of construction.
The report from CBRE is further evidence that Colorado continues to be a hotspot for economic growth, specifically for tech. When companies outside the state see the success happening in Denver, more will be drawn to it. This creates a cycle where companies continue to scale upward.
