Bisacquino says he becomes more impressed with Denver with each visit. "In my humble opinion, Denver is No. 1 in the nation when it comes to an urban turnaround. Denver really is a model for the rest of the United States when it comes to urban revitalization. Other cities are building a building here and there. But no other city is building on the scale of what Denver is doing." He points to Coors Field, Pepsi Center, and the new $400-million stadium for the Denver Broncos as examples of developments that have changed the city's landscape.
"I can remember coming to Downtown eight years ago, and the Downtown streets were barren at night," Bisacquino says. "Now, places like LoDo are crawling with people. It's exciting. I think it's only a matter of time before a class-A office building is constructed Downtown for the first time in a very long time."
He says the only problem he sees is the lack of affordable housing. "As land becomes more expensive, it is very difficult to provide affordable housing," he says.
NAIOP, he notes, also had watched the proposed Constitutional Amendment aimed at slowing growth overwhelmingly defeated last November by voters. "In August, it had a 70% approval rating and by November, it was defeated by 70%," Bisacquino points out. "The change was all due to education. It would have created urban growth corridors. When you try to curb growth artificially, it drives up land prices, making housing even more expensive."
But, he says, NAIOP doesn't oppose all efforts to control growth. "We're very much in favor of smart growth," he says. "We have to reach out to environmental groups and others to reach a compromise. We want to see growth, but we want to see the right kind of growth.
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