Glendale Launching 10-Acre Entertainment Site; Denver Planning Massive Office/Apartments/Condos On 13 Acres Of Cherry Creek Shopping Center
by Glen Richardson
Entertainment Anticipation: Glendale’s Four Mile Entertainment District is finally breaking ground this year. A concert venue, movie theater, restaurants, shops, a proposed gaming hall, a 200-room hotel and more will make the venue one of the state’s top entertainment sites.
Just 1.8 miles apart, along the north bank of Cherry Creek, two massive projects are starting to go through the respective planning processes in Glendale and Denver with very different markets in mind. In Denver, 13 acres of retail space of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center will be converted into seven 12-story tall buildings composed of offices/condos/apartments. Conversely, the Glendale Planning Commission is expected to approve a 10-acre $150 million retail Entertainment District along its portion of the north bank of Cherry Creek this month.
Destined to become Colorado’s most unique entertainment locality, the 10-acre site now officially named the Four Mile Entertainment District is finally set to break ground in 2022, provided the Glendale City Council also approves the project at its May 2022 meeting. In Denver, the $1 billion redo of the west end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center is just beginning the planning process, with the project projected to take up to 12 years with the first phase possibly completed in five years.
Corridor Sign Concept: Rendering illustrates what the entrance to Glendale’s Four Mile Entertainment District might look like along Colorado Blvd.
GLENDALE PROJECT
The Four Mile Entertainment District, along the banks of Cherry Creek, is bounded by East Virginia Ave., South Colorado Blvd., and South Cherry St. Plans call for the project to feature a vast array of choices including a 40,000-sq.-ft. live music site, an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, plus restaurants and pubs.
A new 200-room resort hotel with an outdoor plaza, plus exclusive retail shops and a proposed app-based sportsbook gaming hall are also planned.
One-Stop Spot
The project is being designed as a one-stop destination where friends and family gather, take a date, or just relax at the adjacent resort hotel.
Valley residents and visitors can stroll tree-lined streets, shop, liste
Alamo: Rendering shows the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema owned by developer Central Street Capital which will be an anchor in Glendale’s Four Mile Entertainment District.
n to music, or relax in landscaped outdoor plazas. Multiple indoor and outdoor restaurants will offer casual and fine dining options.
The district will feature a common consumption area where patrons can purchase drinks from different bars. With Glendale’s liberal last-call laws, clientele can buy drinks until 4 a.m. Moreover, Glendale Deputy City Manager Chuck Line suggests the area could also become the site of “Oktoberfest-type events” once the district opens.
Drive, Bike, Or Jog
Glendale and Denver take very different approaches to parking. Car friendly Glendale intends to mandate an abundant amount of parking spaces for its Entertainment District. Unlike many entertainment sites, visitors will have no trouble parking. Two large parking structures will be located within the district, and there will be a dedicated drop-off-pick-up area for Uber and Lyft.
Bordered on the southwest by Cherry Creek and its popular trail, visitors can easily walk, jog, or bike to the district.
Glendale is already Colorado’s destination for rugby and also houses some of the state’s leading event venues. In addition to the sports stadium, the enclave’s 16-acre Infinity Park is an indoor-outdoor entertainment hub.
Returning To Roots
“For the last decade, we’ve been working on trying to get this project going,” acknowledges Line. The development is designed to once again make Glendale the Cherry Creek Valley’s dining, drinking, and entertainment hot spot.
Many Valley old-timers still recall Cork ‘n Cleaver, Colorado Mine Company, The Lift, and other food and beverage spots that blossomed in Glendale’s earlier heydays. By developing the site as the Four Mile Entertainment District — Colorado’s entertainment stage stop — the transformation project will try to recapture Glendale’s bygone spirit.
Initially dubbed “Riverwalk,” the site was later named “Glendale 180” under a second false start by Lincoln Properties five years ago. Under a deal approved by Glendale’s City Council last summer, Denver-based Central Street Capital led by Rob Salazar, CEO-Founder, will develop the 10-acres of city-owned land. The investment management company invests only the funds of the family and its affiliated entities. The firm has invested in a wide variety of industries for more than 25 years. Information: Info@GlendaleEntertainmentDistrict.com.
DENVER PROJECT
Casual Connection: Vision of proposed green space with amphitheater that would connect the Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s proposed west end to the mall’s retail space on the east.
While it hasn’t been easy for shoppers and residents in crane-studded Cherry Creek North over the last few years, a mammoth skyline-altering mixed-use project named Cherry Creek West will potentially be a different story. Plans for redevelopment with a $1 billion budget for the west end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center will make the site much taller and denser, and will face significant parking and traffic challenges.
The big changes unveiled by East West Partners as 2022 commences would add office, residential, and retail in seven structures up to 12 stories tall on about 13 acres of land at the west end of the mall. A public amphitheater with green open space will connect the Shopping Center’s east end retail space to the new development.
Makeover is expected to start with four buildings that will have approximate
Mammoth Project: Rendering submitted to the City of Denver by East West Partners shows a layout of seven 12-story buildings to replace the Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s west end with offices/condos/apartments. Parking and traffic challenges are expected to be significant.
ly 780,000-sq.-ft. of office space, plus three condo-apartment homes with about 600 units. Each structure will also have retail space. The buildings will range in stature from eight to 12 floors, or 100 to 160-feet-tall.
West End Empty
Veteran Denver-based East West Partners, whose projects include Riverfront Park and Union Station, has a leasehold with owner Buell Foundation and mall owner Taubman on the 13 acres.
The project is planned from University Blvd. on the west to Clayton St. and from First Ave. on the north to the Cherry Creek waterway. Construction of a “landscape bridge” along a section of Cherry Creek North Dr. will provide pedestrian access to Cherry Creek.
Working Wonders: Staff of developer East West Partners study images and development plans for building, landscaping, appearance, mass orientation, and usage details for creek site.
Existing mall structures on about 2.7 acres will be demolished before construction begins. That is approximately half of the new construction area site. The additional development plot is currently parking lot space. Subsequent to the decision by Bed Bath & Beyond to relocate from the mall’s west end to Glendale in 2016, the west side has been mostly vacant. Soon thereafter Macy’s Furniture Galleries and The Container Store relocated to the east end of the Shopping Center. Only Elway’s and the Boulder Running Company remain on the west side.
Talks Began In 2015
Talks between East West Partners and Taubman about the project began in 2015. By 2019 the discussions became serious with both Taubman and the Buell Foundation in 2020, according to Amy Cara, managing partner of East West Partners. Cara, managed the Denver Union Station transit hub redevelopment and much of the adjacent residential and office.
Cara expected the city to begin its review of the plan and new zoning for the property by January 2022, or earlier. She also indicates the developers will work with their traffic engineers and the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure on the very significant impacts from traffic and construction.
Other companies that will work on the massive project include Gensler, Design Workshop, and BuildMark.
