And Trammell Crow broker Richard T. Bryant says ''doggy'' properties in the path of T-Rex face big trouble. But O'Meara thinks people in the industry should tone down their criticisms of the $1.7-billion widening and adding light rail along I-25, because the benefits will be huge when it's completed in eight years or so.

Whitney Ward, who owns Resort Ventures LLC, a mountain development company, and was the founder of Invesco Realty Advisors, says the mantra in the real estate industry is that this crash is different than the '80s. The reasoning, he explains, is that was an oversupply problem and this is a demand problem, caused by high-tech and telecommunication companies leasing far more space than they needed.

'''I'm not sure I buy that,'' Ward says, because tenants still must absorb the empty, subleased space and the subleased space competes with direct space. He adds that Invesco Realty has become a net seller of apartments. And the fund tries to place about $1 billion a year in properties, but recently only has been able to invest $600 million or $700 million.

Rick Pederson, who heads Foundation Properties, tells GlobeSt.com if there is a silver lining to the market, it is that this downturn won't be as deep as the one in the '80s that in Denver was caused by the energy crash and compounded by the tax law changes of 1986.

Although many people were taking a dim outlook, he says that it is good that they aren't taking a Pollyanna view of the market. But it wasn't all doom and gloom.

One positive on this go-around is many tenants continue to pay rent on their empty space, unlike in the '80s, when many developers gave up to 18 months of free rent on five-year leases. When the tenants were supposed to start paying rent, many of them vacated the buildings.

Shaw said he knows of one office portfolio on the market that has an 11% ''financial vacancy rate,'' but is physically 60% empty.

Another positive is that lenders aren't making loans of about to 120% of the value of the property, as they were in the '80s. Instead, they require developers to contribute 25% to 30% in equity. And it's virtually impossible to get financing for speculative buildings, which will keep a lid on the supply, he says. Low interest rates also help the market, he says.

Pederson, who moderated one of the panels, says he isn't concerned the Denver area has more retail space per capita than any other city in the country, despite the fact that 2,000 stores have closed across the country and another 2,000 are likely to soon go dark.

Another panel member says many of those buildings may need to be bulldozed, but Pederson says the empty stores are perfect spots for government agencies to lease. Suburban retail space is surrounded by free parking.

''The government needs to realize they need retail space, not office space,'' Pederson says.