The Mile Excessive Metropolis’s sixteenth Avenue Mall is caught in a clumsy rebirth. Plans for a structural revamping are attracting newcomers to the hall, however the variety of companies compelled to shutter by the pandemic-induced slowdown are a reminder that, in these unsure financial occasions, even once-successful retail operations can fail.
Two and a half years after the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Michael B. Hancock known as the sixteenth Avenue Mall Venture “a key a part of downtown’s comeback.” It kicked off in April, with plans to wrap up on the finish of 2024.
However the hall has suffered a weighty lack of companies because the first COVID-19 shutdowns. Right now, closure indicators stay taped to the entrance doorways of a number of storefronts, together with 7-Eleven at 401 sixteenth St. Mall, Protein Bar & Kitchen at 1755 sixteenth St. Mall and Tokyo Joe’s at 1001 sixteenth St. Mall.
Nonetheless, others are assured sufficient within the sixteenth Avenue Mall’s future to plant roots, with Dragonfly Noodle not too long ago opening and Little Finch, Sofia’s Pizza and CAVA within the course of.
“It’s extra necessary than ever that we rally behind the companies that make downtown particular and guarantee they’ve the assets they should thrive throughout building,” mentioned Kourtny Garrett, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
Enterprise closures, openings
Nationwide chain Jason’s Deli shuttered its restaurant on the sixteenth Avenue Mall, which first opened round 2008, in August 2020.
“It was location for us till the COVID-19 pandemic started,” mentioned Anne Rowland, vp of Jason’s Deli of Colorado.
However the firm was “hit laborious by the federal government shutdowns.” Even when the mandates lifted, gross sales struggled to bounce again, she added, pointing to the dearth of workplace employees downtown.
The group at Jason’s Deli made “the powerful choice to declare chapter and shut the downtown location, together with two extra of our eight areas,” she mentioned. Now, the model operates 5 eating places in Colorado — one in Fort Collins and 4 within the Denver space — with recovered gross sales.
Sunflower Financial institution at 1573 Market St. shut down in April 2021. “Decreased buyer visits” — spurred by a lift in on-line and cellular banking — prompted the choice, mentioned spokesperson Jeanne Lipson.
The placement alongside the mall primarily served business prospects and a small retail presence, she added, however the financial institution continues to see business patrons in its company workplace suite on the constructing’s second flooring.
Two retailers at Denver Pavilions shopping center at 500 sixteenth St. Mall additionally locked their doorways for good: Banana Republic in September and Uniqlo final yr.
As some proprietors select to make their means out of the hall, others have rushed in to take their locations.
Dragonfly Noodle not too long ago held the grand opening of its second restaurant at 1350 sixteenth St. Mall on Oct. 7, mentioned Noah Glovsky, director of operations. The primary is in Boulder at 2014 tenth St.
Enterprise on the new joint is steadily rising because the weeks go by — and that’s with out concentrated social media and advertising presences, Glovsky mentioned. As a substitute, they’ve attracted prospects via word-of-mouth and Google opinions.
The group behind Dragonfly Noodle additionally operates Zoe Ma Ma, which options Chinese language avenue meals at two spots: Boulder at 2010 tenth St. and Denver’s Union Station at 1625 Wynkoop St.
Glovsky described the world across the sixteenth Avenue Mall and Larimer Avenue as “the nexus of LoDo” — and one among Denver’s meals scene hubs.
“Once we noticed this location, we had been actually, actually excited concerning the alternative to come back again right here, and in addition assist revitalize the sixteenth Avenue Mall space,” he mentioned, including that the return of workplace employees is a bonus.
The continued building has restricted the restaurant’s visibility to patrons — “even from proper throughout the road on the resort” — so Glovsky notes his eagerness for the undertaking’s completion.
Little Finch is planning to open at 1490 sixteenth St. Mall in early December. Proprietor Mary Nguyen describes her enterprise as “a hybrid,” serving breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks as a café by day, with wine, cocktails and desserts by night time.
She considers the spot “an incredible first location” for Little Finch, due to the mall’s revitalization and its proximity to downtown residents.
“The LoDo space of downtown has at all times been a eating and consuming vacation spot, the place shoppers can discover something they’re in search of — excessive finish lunch and dinner eating places, quick informal ideas, bars and cocktail lounges, and extra,” Nguyen mentioned.
Sofia’s Pizza can also be within the strategy of securing an area at 1530 sixteenth St., with a pending software for associated licenses submitted to Denver’s Division of Excise and Licenses. A public listening to for the appliance was held on Oct. 25, spokesperson Eric Escudero confirmed.
Development is underway at 1460 sixteenth St. for a brand new CAVA restaurant, which serves fast-casual Mediterranean delicacies.
“A twenty first century avenue is a spot”
Allison Berry, CBRE vp who makes a speciality of workplace leasing downtown, pointed to “a wave of recent retail opening or planning to open within the neighborhood of sixteenth and Market/Blake streets.”
CBRE, a business actual property companies and funding agency, is leasing 5 workplace areas, two retail initiatives and one workplace and retail property alongside the mall, as of Oct. 21.
“Presumably, these retailers consider that the bigger sidewalks, city tree cover, and improved lighting supplies an excellent retail surroundings,” Berry mentioned. “This revitalization of retail is a bonus for workplace leasing efforts as employers attempt to inspire their staff to return to the workplace in higher numbers.”
JLL, one other business actual property companies firm, additionally maintains listings alongside the mall, together with restaurant and retail house at a number of areas, in accordance with dealer Sarah Alfano.
The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce expects the sixteenth Avenue Mall undertaking “will speed up the return to downtown for vacationers, households, employees and companies.”
The pandemic’s begin noticed common every day customers of downtown Denver fall by greater than half, with greater than 264,000 in April 2019 and about 49,000 one yr later, in accordance with the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Excessive Frequency Financial Replace. In 2021, the quantity climbed again to a median of about 145,000 every day customers all year long, with a soar to round 183,000 this yr.
“We’re all conscious that the pandemic took a toll on the variety of downtown customers,” the chamber’s group wrote in a press release. “We hope to see continued progress and growth to return us to pre-pandemic numbers and past.”
On an October weekday morning, a stroll down Denver’s iconic pedestrian promenade means becoming a member of a stream of vacationers, workplace employees and folks experiencing homelessness, with the background soundtrack of building.
The mall undertaking counts as its first main renovation because it opened in 1982, in accordance with Denver’s Division of Transportation and Infrastructure. It primarily focuses on fixing deteriorating infrastructure, however may even transfer the transit lanes, widen walkways for pedestrians, broaden the tree cover and extra.
It impacts 13 blocks from Market to Broadway streets, with building energetic from Market to Curtis streets, as of Oct. 18.
The plan unfolds in three phases: engaged on every block down the middle of the mall for one yr to 13 months, then working adjoining to the buildings for 3 to 4 months. Lastly, finishes on the mall’s middle will span a closing month, mentioned division spokesperson Nancy Kuhn.
She pointed to 2 grants provided by the Downtown Denver Partnership and Denver’s Division of Financial Improvement and Alternative which might be aimed toward aiding enterprise homeowners all through this time. The mitigation grant is supposed “to assist companies put together for the undertaking and potential income losses,” whereas the stabilization grant is obtainable “to offset demonstrated income losses as a result of undertaking impacts.”
To this point, about 30% of eligible candidates have taken benefit of the applications, with a disbursement of over $34,000 up to now.
Jason Whitlock, principal metropolis planner of city design at Denver Neighborhood Planning and Improvement, has been concerned with the undertaking for concerning the previous six years.
“We leaned on the previous fairly a bit” in designing its future, Whitlock mentioned, pointing to the hall’s proximity to the Mile Excessive Metropolis’s modernist and historic buildings. The pandemic additionally prompted the imaginative and prescient for the renovated mall to incorporate each flexibility and adaptableness “to make a greater future for our downtown.”
Whitlock highlighted its significance to completely different customers: residents, college students, guests and companies. He hopes the mall will spark “moments of pleasure” upon its completion.
“A twenty first century avenue is a spot,” he mentioned in a phone interview. “Downtown is mostly a full neighborhood.”