By CreVelo Group · Updated October 30, 2026
Key takeaways
- Metro Denver office vacancy hit 27.1% in Q3 2026, so most tenants have real negotiating leverage.
- Denver white box office space is a finished shell. You still pay for the layout, and buildout commonly runs $150 to $350/SF or more.
- White box TI allowances in our Denver office deals typically run $30 to $60/SF, so most of the buildout lands on the tenant unless you negotiate more.
- In our sample, a white box that starts $5/SF cheaper costs about $17/SF more per year all-in. The allowance and term decide the deal, not the asking rate.
Table of Contents
Short answer: is Denver white box office space a good deal right now?
For most tenants, yes, with one catch. Cushman & Wakefield put metro Denver office vacancy at 27.1% in Q3 2026, so landlords are competing hard for tenants, especially downtown. But Denver white box office space is a shell you still have to finish. The real deal is your rent plus your buildout, not the asking rate.
What is white box office space?
White box means the landlord delivers a clean shell: demising walls drywalled and painted, a ceiling grid, lighting, HVAC distribution and code-compliant restrooms. What it usually does not include is your layout – private offices, conference rooms, a break room, flooring and data cabling. You design and build those, usually with help from a tenant improvement (TI) allowance.
There is no universal definition, and that’s the part most tenants miss. One landlord’s white box comes with new LED lights and carpet. Another’s is open ceiling and bare concrete. The only definition that counts is the delivery condition exhibit (often called the work letter) in your lease, so read it before you compare rates.
| Condition | What the landlord delivers | What the tenant builds |
|---|---|---|
| Cold shell | Exterior walls, roof, slab, utilities to the space | Nearly everything |
| White box | Finished shell, ceiling, lights, HVAC, restrooms | Layout and finishes |
| Spec suite | Built-out offices, often furnished, move-in ready | Little or nothing |
| Second-generation | A prior tenant’s buildout, as-is or refreshed | Depends on the fit |
Why do Denver office tenants have leverage right now?
Because there is still a lot of empty space. Cushman & Wakefield reported 27.1% metro Denver vacancy in Q3 2026, up 50 basis points from the prior quarter, with about 395,100 SF of negative net absorption. The central business district alone posted about 521,700 SF of negative absorption. CBRE had downtown at 38.6% vacancy and River North at 42.3% in Q2 2026. For the wider picture, see our Denver commercial real estate market overview.
At the same time, tenants are signing. CBRE counted 6.1 million SF of leasing over the four quarters through Q3 2026, the most since Q1 2020. Savills, which tracks a different building set, put Q3 2026 leasing at 2.8 million SF, 54.3% above its five-year quarterly average. Don’t line those two numbers up against each other. They do point the same way: more tenants are shopping.
That shows up in the listings. Landlords downtown and in the southeast suburbs are turning old space into white box floors and spec suites to compete. One downtown white box floor listed on LoopNet this month asks $21.00/SF with operating expenses on top. When a landlord has carried a vacant floor for a couple of years, the conversation about free rent and TI gets easier. For current options by submarket, see our page on office space for lease in Denver.
Where is the leverage weaker?
Not everywhere. CBRE had Cherry Creek at 12.8% vacancy in Q2 2026, and almost all of the metro’s remaining 461,000 SF construction pipeline is there. If you need Cherry Creek, expect landlords to hold firmer.
The Southeast submarket, which includes the Denver Tech Center (DTC), sat at 26.4% vacancy in Q2 2026 per CBRE, but it added about 40,000 SF of positive absorption in Q3, its fourth straight quarterly gain. Marcus & Millichap’s fourth-quarter 2026 report shows nearly 1 million SF of positive absorption in Class A buildings. The best buildings are filling first. The deepest discounts are in commodity space.
How much TI allowance do Denver landlords give on white box office space?
In our Denver office deals, white box allowances typically run $30 to $60 per square foot. Where you land depends on the term, your credit, the building and how long the space has sat. Larger, longer leases can go much higher – Andy Cullen of TRE told Bisnow in September 2026 that allowances on those deals have grown from $90 to $100/SF to $125 to $150/SF. For a typical small or mid-size office user, plan on the $30 to $60 range and negotiate up from there.
Is cheap Denver white box office space actually a cheap lease?
Not always. A low face rate on white box space can cost more than a higher rate on a finished spec suite once you add the buildout. In our deals, buildout costs commonly run $150 to $350 a square foot or more, depending on the use. A $30 to $60 allowance covers a fraction of that.
Here is a side-by-side using sample figures only, not market rates: a 4,000 SF office, 5-year NNN lease, 3% annual bumps and 2 months of free rent on each option. The white box uses a $150/SF buildout (the low end of our range) and a $40/SF TI allowance (inside our typical range).
| Sample: 4,000 SF, 5-year NNN | White box | Spec suite |
|---|---|---|
| Starting base rent | $22.00/SF | $27.00/SF |
| Total base rent, 5 years | $467,203.95 | $573,386.67 |
| Less 2 months free (year-1 rate) | ($14,666.67) | ($18,000.00) |
| Buildout cost ($150/SF) | $600,000.00 | Landlord’s cost |
| Less TI allowance ($40/SF) | ($160,000.00) | – |
| Tenant out-of-pocket buildout | $440,000.00 | $0.00 |
| All-in 5-year cost | $892,537.28 | $555,386.67 |
| All-in cost per SF per year | $44.63 | $27.77 |
Formula: (Total base rent – Free rent + Out-of-pocket buildout) / (4,000 SF x 5 years). Operating expenses are left out because they would be close to the same in the same building.
The white box starts $5.00/SF lower, yet it costs $16.86/SF more per year once the $440,000 buildout gap is counted. Run it across the full $30 to $60 allowance range and the white box lands between $40.63 and $46.63/SF all-in – still well above the spec suite. If the landlord funds the gap and amortizes it into rent instead, the picture barely changes. At a sample 8% interest rate over 5 years, $440,000 adds about $107,059 a year, or $26.76/SF, on top of base rent.
The allowance is what flips this math. Rerun the same sample at a $125/SF allowance and the white box drops to $27.63/SF all-in, basically even with the spec suite at $27.77. That’s why the allowance and the term matter more than the face rate.
That doesn’t make white box a bad choice. It means the white box has to win on something besides face rent: a bigger allowance, a longer term, a layout your business truly needs, or a building you can’t get any other way.
Should you lease a white box or a spec suite in Denver?
Take the spec suite if the layout works and you need to move fast. You skip design, permitting and construction, and your rent starts on a known date. That matters if your current lease is ending, because holdover rent in many commercial leases runs 150% to 200% of your last base rent.
Take the white box if your use needs a specific layout, if you can sign a longer term, or if the allowance covers most of the finish work. Term is where white box deals get good. On a 5-year term we commonly see about 2 months of free rent, and about 6 months on a 10-year term. That depends on the project, the strength of the tenant and the rest of the deal, but a longer commitment usually moves both free rent and TI in your favor.
What should you negotiate on a white box office lease?
- Delivery condition: spell out exactly what the landlord delivers, including HVAC zones, electrical capacity, lighting and restroom code compliance.
- TI disbursement: most allowances are paid as reimbursements after the work is done and lien waivers are in, so plan to float the cost during construction.
- Rent commencement: tie it to substantial completion of your buildout, not the signing date, so permit delays don’t eat your free rent.
- Early access: get into the space to build before rent starts.
- Unused TI: ask whether leftover allowance can go to cabling, furniture or a rent credit instead of back to the landlord.
- Restoration: confirm you won’t have to tear out your improvements when the lease ends.
- Expense caps: ask for a cap on controllable operating expenses and the last two or three years of actual reconciliations.
For more on deal terms, see our commercial lease negotiation guide. This is general education, not legal advice. Have a real estate attorney review lease language before you sign.
What would we do if we were leasing in Denver today?
Start 12 to 18 months before your current lease ends, so moving is a real option and not an empty threat. Get at least three proposals, and include one spec suite even if you think you want white box. Get a contractor’s buildout estimate before you sign the letter of intent, not after, then compare every option on all-in cost per square foot per year.
For agents, this comparison is where you earn trust. Most tenants would see $22 versus $27 and stop there. Show them $44.63 versus $27.77 all-in and they will remember who showed them.
If you are weighing Denver white box office space downtown, in the DTC or across the south metro and want the all-in math run on your options, send us a note through our contact form or read more about our tenant representation work. We’ll lay out the numbers. You make the call.
Frequently asked questions
Is now a good time to lease white box office space in Denver?
For most tenants, yes, with one catch. Metro Denver office vacancy was 27.1% in Q3 2026 per Cushman & Wakefield, so landlords are competing for tenants. But white box space is a shell you still have to finish, so compare rent plus buildout, not the asking rate.
What is white box office space?
White box means the landlord delivers a finished shell: painted walls, ceiling grid, lighting, HVAC distribution and code-compliant restrooms. The tenant builds the layout – offices, conference rooms, flooring and cabling – usually with help from a tenant improvement allowance.
How much TI allowance do Denver landlords offer on white box office space?
In our Denver office deals, white box TI allowances typically run $30 to $60 per square foot, depending on term, tenant credit and the building. Larger, longer leases can go much higher.
How much does it cost to build out white box office space?
In our deals, buildout commonly runs $150 to $350 per square foot or more, depending on the use. Get a contractor’s estimate before you sign a letter of intent.
Is white box or a spec suite cheaper in Denver?
It depends on the allowance. In our 4,000 SF sample, a white box at $22/SF cost $44.63/SF per year all-in versus $27.77 for a $27/SF spec suite, because the tenant paid $440,000 of buildout. With a $125/SF allowance, the two came out nearly even.
Sources
- Cushman & Wakefield, Denver Office MarketBeat, Q3 2026 – October 2026
- CBRE, Denver Office Figures Q3 2026 – October 9, 2026
- CBRE, Downtown Denver Office Figures Q3 2026 – October 2026
- Savills, Denver Q3 2026 Office Market Report – October 2026
- ColoradoBiz, Denver office vacancy falls as leasing demand improves (Marcus & Millichap 4Q 2026) – October 19, 2026
- Allwork.Space, Denver office market Q2 2026 (CBRE submarket figures) – July 14, 2026
- Bisnow, Denver office market shows signs of life as tenants commit to longer leases – September 25, 2026
- LoopNet, downtown Denver white box listing – accessed October 28, 2026
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