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The Economy Denver
· For the first time since 1990 average prices for single-family home resales in Denver declined on an annual ba-
sis. According to a report by RE/MAX Professionals the average price for a single-family house in February was
$263,200, down 0.9% from the same month in 2002. Sale prices in metro Denver have been declining for three
months but February represented the first time the average price fell below the previous year. In addition, the
report found that the number of houses under contract to sell and the number of unsold homes on the market all
declined during the past twelve months. The bright spot in the report for sellers was strength in condominium
sales, where the average price rose 2.1% from February 2002 to February 2003. (Rocky Mountain News,
2/27/2003)
· Denver-based Gart Sports Company merged with Sports Authority to form the nation's largest sporting goods
retailer. Operating under the Sports Authority name, the new chain will be headquartered at Gart Sports' new
corporate offices on West Hampden Avenue in downtown Englewood. About 280 corporate headquarters jobs
will be relocated from Sports Authority's base in Fort Lauderdale, joining the 320 people who currently work at
the Gart Sports headquarters. (Denver Post, 2/20/2003) (80110)
· TeleTech Holdings lost a contract to provide customer call center service to the U. S. Postal Service. About 600
people may lose their jobs, although the new contractor, Convergys Corporation, may open a call center in Den-
ver and hire some or all of the TeleTech employees. The TeleTech call center is located in the Montbello section
of northeast Denver. (Rocky Mountain News, 2/1/2003) (80239)
· The number of residential permits issued by city and county governments in metro Denver during 2002 declined
by 19.9% from 2001. The greatest decline in permitting was for new apartment units, which fell 55%. Single-
family permits declined 4% while condominium and townhouse permits fell only 0.4%. The record year for hous-
ing construction in metro Denver was 2000 when 28,617 units were permitted. (Rocky Mountain News,
2/14/2003)
· Tourism in metro Denver may be starting to recover, according to a study prepared by The Adams Group for the
Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. During 2002 most indicators of tourist activity in Denver remained
depressed, although the study found the possible beginning of a recovery among most of the indicators tracked
in the 4
th
quarter of 2002. The Adams Group bases its analysis on indicators such as attraction attendance, air-
line boardings, lodging nights, restaurant spending, gaming and other consumer spending related to tourism.
(Rocky Mountain News, 2/28/2003)
· DirecTV cut about 75 jobs at its broadcast center on East Garton Road in Castle Rock. The California-based sat-
ellite television provider is consolidating operations at its other uplink center in Los Angeles. The reduction
amounts to about half DirecTV's employment in Castle Rock. (Rocky Mountain News, 2/14/2003) (80104)
· 360networks eliminated 60 jobs at its facility in Broomfield. The Canadian telecommunications firm recently ac-
quired GT Group Telecom and will transfer most of its remaining Broomfield operations to that company's To-
ronto offices. Now down to 30 employees, at one time 360networks had over 400 workers in Broomfield.
(Denver Post, 2/5/2003) (80021)
Entertainment
· The board of directors of Ocean Journey reached a tentative agreement to sell the troubled aquarium to Ripley
Entertainment. The four-year old facility on Water Street near West 23
rd
Avenue along the South Platte River is
currently operating under chapter 11 bankruptcy. Plans call for Ripley Entertainment, which operates Ripley's
Believe it or Not museums and two other aquariums, to acquire Ocean Journey pending federal bankruptcy court
approval. (Rocky Mountain News, 2/4/2003) (80211)
February 2003
The Real Estate Perspective
James Real Estate Services, Inc.
Past Month's Real Estate Perspective Entries
(Continued)
