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/ BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2014
Design Matters When it Comes to Leasing:
Cherry Creek North – ‘The New North’
F
aced with high ongoing maintenance costs,
tired aesthetics and competition from the
Cherry Creek Shopping Center that drained
retail dollars from the stores and activity from
the pedestrian realm, the property owners of the
16-block Cherry Creek North retail district saw an
opportunity to reinvigorate this key retail destina-
tion. Their goal was to revitalize Colorado’s premier
outdoor shopping district by upgrading the streets-
cape improvements that had declined since the last
renovation 20 years ago. “The New North” project
was the culmination of an effort that began in 2006,
was designed in 2009 and constructed in 2011.
While many stakeholders were involved in the
design process – ranging from the Cherry Creek
North Business Improvement District, local retailers
and land owners to real estate developers and bro-
kers – shoppers ultimately would judge the overall
success of the project. If it did not meet their exact
tastes and expectations, everyone would lose in the
end.
To achieve success, the ownership and design
team took a holistic approach to ensure they were
adding to the district’s composition and not destroy-
ing it – fixing what was broken and leaving the parts
that worked alone. The design team created “The
New North” by renewing the palette of streetscape
materials, landscape lighting, signage/wayfinding/
environmental graphics, site furniture and pedestri-
an pavement to be comprehensive and appropriate
for the district’s uses, capital improvement budget
and operational requirements. The goal was to in-
crease dwell time by providing places people want
to linger, stroll, sit, shop, dine and explore.
Jim MacRae
Principal,
Design
Workshop
TRENDS
in Landscape Architecture
