Demolition Leads Denver’s Permit Filers Despite 9.1% Trade Share

Demolition’s small but visible lead

Building work appears on 90.9% of Denver’s 6,370 permits from the last 12 months. Demolition appears on 9.1%.

Yet Mendoza Demolition Services Inc led all named contractors by permit count, with 179 permits. Its position stands apart from the broader trade mix: the other nine contractors in the top 10 filed mainly in building.

That contrast matters for subs and suppliers watching early-stage site work. Demolition’s share is limited, but one specialist generated the market’s highest named-contractor permit count.

The median declared value across the last 12 months was $40,695. Permit counts do not show contract value, scope, or completed work.

New names in a broad contractor base

Denver had 1,228 active named contractors in the last 12 months. Of those, 200 were newcomers, representing 16.3% of active named contractors.

Named contractors appeared on 94.3% of permits. The top 10 named contractors held 14.8% of those named permits, a lower concentration than Bend, OR, where the top 10 share was 22.2%.

The leading group is spread beyond the first two names. R.G. Brinkmann Company DBA Brinkmann Constructors filed 155 permits, followed by Groundworks Colorado LLC with 114 and Hensel Phelps Construction Co with 95.

Affordable Garages & Concrete LLC and Thrasher Inc each filed 63 permits. Progressive Building Group LLC filed 61, Rand Construction Corporation filed 55, Columbine Home Builders filed 53, and Paulscorp LLC filed 49.

These are rankings by permit count, not company size, revenue, or job value.

July rises, February eases

Over the past 36 months, July was Denver’s busiest month, carrying 9.2% of permits. February was quietest at 7.6%.

The busiest-to-quietest ratio was 1.2. That is a measured seasonal spread, not a sharp monthly swing.

For firms scheduling crews, inspections, deliveries, and municipal submissions, the smaller figure is the useful one: February still held 7.6% of permits across the period. Work did not disappear in the quiet month.

Volume moved lower

Denver recorded 6,370 permits in the last 12 months, down from 6,799 in the previous 12 months. The change was -6.3%, or 429 permits.

The market’s annual record shows a longer decline before the current partial year. Permit counts moved from 9,382 in 2021 to 8,579 in 2022, 7,711 in 2023, 6,787 in 2024, and 6,757 in 2025.

The 2026 count was 5,021 through October 13, 2026, and should not be compared with full-year totals.

Denver records cover distinct permit numbers since 2015 and run through October 13, 2026; 94.3% of recent permits named a contractor, so contractor analysis does not cover every filing. Permits are filings rather than completed jobs, and Denver’s records do not link permits into projects with measured accuracy, so trade timing between permits is not reported.