Glendale And Denver Mega Projects Planned Along Cherry Creek

by Mark Smiley | Mar 4, 2022 | Main Articles

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.

Retail Projects At 9th & Colorado, Lowry’s Boulevard One Near Completion

by Mark Smiley | Jan 21, 2022 | Main Articles

Two New Developments Begin To Shift Shopping To Colorado Blvd. Corridor As Downtown Retail Struggles

by Glen Richardson

Multiple Housing Styles: Boulevard One is known for numerous types of bungalows, apartments, townhomes, and condos. Photo is of project’s Modern Row Homes.

Two of the Valley’s high-profile retail projects along the Colorado Boulevard corridor — the 9th & Colorado and Boulevard One at Lowry developments — have hit major milestones as they near completion, ramping up the shift in shopping dynamics away from downtown Denver.

Denver workers were thrust into a sudden, chaotic experiment in working from home when the pandemic shut down the city’s urban nucleus known as downtown. Moreover, as 2022 begins, that experiment isn’t close to ending.

The downtown real estate market remains in turmoil. Covid has dealt a huge blow to its vibrancy, destroying office and restaurant business that served as its lifeblood. When the pandemic is finally over, one in six workers are projected to continue working from home or co-working at least two days a week, according to a survey by the Harvard Business School.

Covid Is Culprit

Covid-19 was already shifting shopping eastward along the Colorado Blvd. corridor. As more Valley shoppers decamp from downtown to retail sites along the corridor, they are already stimulating the addition of new shops and restaurants.

The Chronicle looks at the status of the two retail undertakings nearing completion that are already drawing retail away from Denver’s downtown core as new businesses rush to open:

9th & Colorado

New Restaurant: Culinary Dropout’s first Colorado location opened in November at 4177 E. 9th Ave. in the 9+CO development. The restaurant is known for its hearty and classic American-fare, with options ranging from sandwiches and burgers, to fried chicken and 36-hour pork ribs.

The redevelopment of 9th and Colorado has been moving forward. Most of the blocks now have completed projects on them, leaving only a few open parcels left. Overall, this 26-acre development provides over 2-million-sq.-ft. of infill making this a major mixed-use urban center in the Hale neighborhood.

While only being a single-story structure, Block-1 contains seven retail pads, with considerably more than half of them filled. A 10-screen movie theater has moved in on Block-2, anchored by AMC. In addition to the movie theater, more retail resides around this block totaling 44,000-sq-ft. Dubbed Ella CityHomes, 35 for-sale townhomes occupy Block-3. Most of the homes have already sold.

Block-4 contains a seven-story parking garage, providing most of the structured parking for the redevelopment. The garage is partially wrapped, with a 64,000- sq.-ft. office building to the south. Ground-floor retail also wraps around the entire ground floor.

There are no concrete proposals on Block-5, however, earlier master plans envisioned a hotel and more mixed-use buildings. Block-6 contains the nurses’ dormitory from when this area was a medical campus. Currently, there are plans to rehabilitate the building while adding additional residential units toward Ash St. plus additional open park space.

Art Of The Draw: Project draws retailers by adding art such as the piece above titled “A Living Wall” by Kiri Leigh Jones.

Now named Theo, Block-7 South was the first project to be completed in the redevelopment providing 275 apartment homes plus 40,000-sq.-ft. of ground-floor retail. One of the few existing structures in the Block-7 wrap is the north parking garage. The east side of this garage is wrapped with a three-story structure containing 17 townhomes-apartments. Milo Apartments occupy Block-7 East. This project provides 319 homes in an eight-story building.

Blocks 8-10: In blocks 8-10, only Block 8 is currently under construction. Most of the block is complete with the new Hale Park. The other portion is near completion with two single-story retail spaces. Preliminary plans for Block 9 call for a condo building. Greystar recently finished Overture, an eight-story building providing 208 age-restricted homes in Block 10. Residents over 55-years-old are moving into this building.

A variety of restaurants surround the 9+CO development including Postino, Pizzeria Locale, Frank & Roze Coffee, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, and Gelato Boy. The latest additions are Culinary Dropout and its new, next-door sister restaurant Blanco Cocina + Cantina which opened late last year and are owned and operated by Fox Restaurant Concepts, a company based in Arizona.

In addition, retail is popping up including CVS, M. Vince’ Nail Spa, Chase Bank, and Elevation Cycles. When completed, there will be close to 50 retail shops and restaurants occupying the former home of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center which originally opened in 1924.

Boulevard One

Lowry On Target: Retail seems to be on target, with the grand opening of Boulevard One planned for the  first half of this year. Development has signed about 20 retailers including a small-format Target.

The grand opening for Boulevard One at Lowry is planned for the first half of this year (2022). Shopping, dining, and entertainment are designed to be a local affair at this site, with a major retailer and grocer already announced. Residents can walk or cycle on neighborhood paths to their favorite hotspots within the Exchange Building, the shopping space in the development.

Kelmore Development — in collaboration with Confluent Development — planned and built the mixed-use retail area at the northwest corner of E. Lowry Blvd. and Quebec St. The five-acre site contains 175,000-sq.-ft. of commercial space designed by Norris Design and Open Space Architecture. The Exchange Building — with 20 retailers already signed — features restaurant, retail and office space, plus a restaurant sitting on the community park across Lowry Blvd.

About 500 parking spaces, 231 of them in an underground parking garage, are at the site. Woven among the boutiques and entertainment venues, there are inviting outdoor seating areas, shared courtyards and landscaping, with the community park directly across the street.

A small-format Target is the anchor tenant for the development, occupying approximately 30,000-sq.-ft. of custom-designed space. The store is about one-quarter the size of a traditional full-sized Target and offers a shopping experience to meet the needs of Lowry residents, including same-day pick up and drive up.

Grocer Is Co-Anchor

Exchange Building Co-Anchor: Boulevard One development will feature Denver’s first Clark’s Market.

Colorado-based specialty grocer Clark’s Market is the co-anchor in the Exchange Bldg. Located at Lowry Blvd. and Pontiac St., the 25,000-sq.-ft. store is the seventh Colorado location but the brand’s first in Denver. The store is expected to open in the first half of this year.

Shoppers can look forward to natural, organic, and gourmet foods, including artisan baked goods, beef, a fresh fish ice table, chef-prepared meals, specialty cheeses, stone-fired pizza, a circular gelato wheel, plus a liquor store. Envisioned as a gathering hub for Lowry residents, Clark’s Market plans to pour draft beer for shoppers on site.