‘I can’t do business in Denver now’: Developers flee as climate mandates bite
By Mark Samuelson | Denver Gazette
While Colorado is earning praise from climate advocates for its new mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developers and their economists are giving D and F grades to the state and its capital city, blaming the regulations for a noticeable decline in some projects.
Representatives for developers and property owners are flagging new data showing a marked drop-off in investments and revenues from commercial projects in Colorado. That decline, they said, follows directly on the heels of Colorado's adoption of some of the nation’s boldest carbon-reducing strategies.
The regulations include the Energize Denver ordinance, adopted unanimously by the Denver City Council in 2021. The ordinance seeks to reduce carbon emissions from larger commercial...