Study: New Amazon HQ in Denver Could Send Rents Sky High and More

Today, October 19, marks the deadline for cities to submit proposals to Amazon focusing on why they should be home to the company’s second headquarters, shorthanded as HQ2, and the presentation from Denver, which is considered one of the favorites, is in. Plenty of locals have been worried about the impact on traffic, infrastructure and more should the Mile High City win the race, which is predicted to result in more than 100,000 new jobs between Amazon employees and ancillary workers, and a new study that predicts significantly higher rent and housing costs here in the wake of HQ2 adds more reasons for concern.

Denver Radio Boss of KS-107.5, Alice and More Is Out

One of the most powerful figures in Denver radio has fallen. Amy Griesheimer is out as vice president and general manager for KS-107.5, Alice and three other stations owned by the national media conglomerate Entercom, with observers speculating that the move was made because of ratings and revenue shortfalls in an industry that continues to struggle with the fallout from technological changes and shifting listener habits.

Kyle Clark on How He and 9News Are Mastering Social Media

Once upon a time, ratings were pretty much the only way of judging commercial success for local television news. But that’s no longer the case. Witness a new report by TV Spy, a broadcasting-industry website, which grades Denver TV outlets and personalities by social-media engagement. Using that measure, 9News is the clear number one, while Kyle Clark, anchor of Newt With Kyle Clark, tops the talent chart in part because of the ways he uses Facebook, Twitter and Instagram beyond simply establishing and extending his brand, as he explains to us in the following Q&A.

An Open Letter to Walmart: It’s Too Damn Soon to Be Pimping Christmas!

I feel the commercialization of Christmas is currently way more out of hand than when Linus van Pelt first dropped Biblical verses on the American public, and you, Walmart, are making things worse. As exhibit A, I offer my visit this past weekend to one of your branches in Northglenn, where I discovered that a huge portion of the store is already devoted to Christmas.

Boulder Isn’t Nearly as Young, White and PC as You Think

Around the country, Boulder has a reputation as a youthful, wealthy, lily-white, politically progressive utopia. But the truth turns out to be considerably more complicated. According to “Boulder County Trends,” a fascinating new report from the Community Foundation Boulder County that’s accessible below, the population in the area is growing older and more diverse in ways that are complicating the interactions of the well-off and their less financially secure neighbors. Moreover, the county’s ideology doesn’t always translate into fairness or charity in quite the ways most locals likely imagine.

Best Metro Denver Apartments for Under $1,200

Last month, as we’ve reported, rent prices in Denver finally started heading down after years of increases that contributed to the difficult many had making a living in Denver despite the strong economy. As a result, there are finally some good rent deals in the metro area, as exemplified by the available spaces below.

It’s About F*cking Time: Rents Falling Across Metro Denver

As we’ve reported, metro Denver rent prices have been moderating of late, but as recently as August, rents were up on a month-to-month basis almost everywhere in the area. However, that’s finally changed. In September, rent prices were either unchanged or down from the previous month in ten different communities in and around the Mile High City.

What Needs to Happen for Hyperloop to Break Ground by 2021

After Hyperloop One announced that the Rocky Mountain Hyperloop project was among the winners of the Elon Musk-affiliated transportation company’s Global Challenge to “identify the strongest new Hyperloop routes in the world,” and revealed a new public-private partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation to launch a feasibility study, questions arose about how quickly this dream could become a reality in these parts. CDOT’s Amy Ford says four years is a goal, albeit one that can only be achieved if a lot of things go right.

Denver’s Five-Year Housing Plan: “People Are Being Squeezed Out”

Today, September 29, Denver mayor Michael Hancock formally unveiled a draft document of Denver’s new proposed five-year housing plan. “Housing an Inclusive Denver,” accessible below, aims to address the have-nots as well as the haves in the go-go economy of today’s Mile High City. Despite the apparent good times, Hancock acknowledged that “people are being squeezed out.”

The Most Expensive Zip Codes in Denver and Colorado

A new study ranking the most expensive Zip Codes in Colorado shows that the vast majority of them are in the vicinity of Denver and Boulder. Only three Zip Codes out of the top fifty fall outside that area, and all of them can be found along the Interstate 25 urban corridor.

Your House May Actually Be Worth Less Than It Cost 15 Years Ago

Thanks to Denver’s red-hot housing market, Mile High City home values are currently higher than they were at their pre-recession peak, although perhaps not by as much as some frustrated home buyers might have expected. But while Colorado as a whole has experienced a similar boom, there are plenty of places in the state where homes are worth considerably less than they were a decade and a half ago.

The Green Solution Story: Kyle Speidell on How His Family Went to Pot

Today, The Green Solution is one of Colorado’s largest marijuana dispensary chains, and it’s expanded into four other states so far, with big plans for future growth. But co-founder and CEO Kyle Speidell, who recently spoke to us about the launch of Blazin’ Hit Radio, the ambitious new online home of former KS 107.5 favorites Larry and Kathie J, who are hosting a welcome-back party for listeners on Friday, September 22 (details below), notes that TGS is, at its heart, a family affair. Indeed, he and his three brothers have helped develop the operation over the past seven years into what seems poised to become a signature cannabis business from coast to coast.

Why Denver Is One of the Riskiest Places for Natural-Hazards Housing Damage

Given the horrific damage wreaked upon Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico by recent hurricanes, those of us who reside in Colorado may think we’re relatively safe from Mother Nature at her most extreme compared to most places in the country. But a new study suggests that we’re living in a dream world. The figures show that five counties in Colorado, mostly along the urban corridor, are at very high risk of housing damage from natural hazards, with Denver listed as the sixth most imperiled major city in the country by this standard.

Hyperloop Names Denver Route a Winner, Announces CDOT Partnership

Moments ago, after months of anticipation, Hyperloop One, whose high-tech tube transportation concept is central to a firm affiliated with billionaire Elon Musk, of Tesla Motors and SolarCity fame, has named the ten winners of its Hyperloop One Global Challenge, a contest intended to “identify the strongest new Hyperloop routes in the world.” And not only did the Rocky Mountain Hyperloop proposal make the grade, but Hyperloop One has announced that it will enter into a public-private partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation to launch a feasibility study here.