(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Since the pandemic, Downtown Colorado Springs has made one of the most rapid recoveries in the nation regarding workers, residents, and visitors.
The “2024 State of Downtown” report, released annually by the Colorado Springs Downtown Development Authority, looks at economic indicators and development trends for the downtown area.
According to the report, downtown has fully recaptured the pre-pandemic visitation numbers, with recovery rates in the fourth quarter of 2023 beating best-performing cities nationally, such as Nashville, San Diego, San Antonio, and more. The district also leads in return-to-office rates, seeing 87 percent of the workforce back in their places of employment throughout 2023.
Residential units have been opening at a record rate, with three projects opening 431 units in 2023, and nearly 2,000 slated to become available in the next year and a half. As more units have opened, rent has stabilized, with the average cost rising by only five dollars from $1,913 to $1,918 per month. The report also says that downtown is the fastest-growing area in the city for apartment development, with just over 25 percent of all units under construction at the start of 2024 located in the city center.
Shopping and dining saw 29 new storefront businesses opened in 2023, which was up slightly from 2022, and new construction and improved properties have kept the commercial rental rates competitive.
Downtown’s hotel occupancy rate in 2023 stood at 65.6%, marking a 4.6 percentage point decrease from the pre-pandemic 2019 rate. Despite this decline, Downtown has seen a substantial increase in its hotel room inventory, more than doubling the number of rooms since 2019 to reach 1,108, according to the report. Consequently, Downtown achieved a record in 2023 for total occupied room nights.
The full report can be read online at https://downtowncs.com/state-of-downtown-report, and printed copies are available by contacting Downtown Partnership at (719) 886-0088 or emailing at [email protected].
