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Page 22 — Retail Properties Quarterly — November 2016
W e acquired Arvada Mar-
ketplace, along with its
neighboring shopping
center Arvada Connec-
tion, in August 2015. The
301,331-square-foot shopping cen-
ter is situated at the intersection of
Wadsworth Boulevard, Interstate 70
and Interstate 76.
Our firm believed Arvada Market-
place was an excellent piece of real
estate, but that it was completely
underutilized, which presented an
opportunity to revitalize the center
in a way that brought in more foot
traffic.
A 15-minute drive from downtown
Denver, the Sam’s Club-anchored
Arvada Marketplace is one of west
Denver’s most convenient regional
shopping centers servicing the
communities of Arvada and Wheat
Ridge. Located 1 mile from historic
Olde Town Arvada, the marketplace
rests in a retail corridor poised for
significant growth, but has long suf-
fered from dated aesthetics and an
inability to keep its tenant mix in
line with changing consumer habits
in the age of “bricks vs. clicks” and a
renewed focus on experiential retail.
Initially uninspired by the then-
existing tenant mix and visual
appearance of the shopping center,
we came into the deal with a rede-
velopment plan that involved high-
volume national restaurant chains
that likely would draw further then
just the Arvada submarket as well as
a beautification plan to increase the
center’s long-term vitality. Originally
developed in the mid-1980s, the
shopping center suffered from poor
sightlines from
both directions
along Wadsworth
Boulevard, a dated
and plain appear-
ance, and a tenant
mix that neglected
the center’s true
regional status.
Before imple-
menting any plans,
the company took
into account the
multitude of infra-
structure improve-
ments and market
changes planned
for Arvada and the surrounding
area. In addition to the Denver
Regional Transportation District’s
plans to expand its electric com-
muter rail Gold Line to Arvada in
2016 – likely spurring future devel-
opment in and around Olde Town
Arvada – we sought to transform the
merchandising mix to cater to the
area’s relatively young demographic
and its anticipated growth over in
the next decade. Through nearly $10
million in redevelopment and ten-
ant repositioning, the center is well
on its way to achieving that trans-
formation.
In order to achieve these goals, the
team had to get the city onboard.
Working with the city of Arvada’s
planning, development and zoning
teams, we agreed on a vision for
the center’s aesthetics, landscaping
design, construction and signage
that successfully reused as much of
the existing structures as possible.
As part of the company’s sustainable
goals, LED lights were planned for
the parking lots.
“Since the project’s initial con-
ceptualization and the resulting
brainstorming sessions’ ‘vision book’
visually laying out the teams’ goals
for Arvada Marketplace, we hoped to
turn the shopping center into more
of a destination for the community,”
said Pine Tree’s Lee Pearson, execu-
tive vice president, design and con-
struction. “The trick was to utilize
existing buildings and structures
while literally opening up the center
to people not only to shop but to
sit, browse and enjoy each other’s
company. It was a big change for the
center, but with the city’s help we
were able to move those plans for-
ward.”
In what constituted the bulk
of Arvada Marketplace’s planned
redevelopment, the center’s largest
building – resting along its west-
Erin Bremen
Executive vice
president, asset
management and
due diligence, Pine
Tree, Chicago
Owner Spotlight
Farnsworth Group
The center’s largest building – resting along its western- and southern-most boundaries
– will be broken into four buildings, which will open up three new sightlines into the cen-
ter’s interior and create pedestrian-friendly entertainment and outdoor eating spaces.