CREJ

November 2021 — Retail Properties Quarterly — Page 17 www.crej.com T own Center at Aurora, origi- nally known as the Aurora Mall, opened in 1975. Cur- rently, over 40,000 people a week visit the center to eat, shop and play. The center is home to more than 130 stores and eater- ies. The newest attraction, Fieldhouse- USA, opened this year, replacing Sears. FieldhouseUSA is a commu- nity-based multipurpose indoor sports/entertainment facility and is expected to bring over 1 million additional people to TCA annually. It features hardwood sports courts and a family adventure park, the Airhouse, which has a trampoline dodgeball, zipline, ninja course, mini-golf, mechanical bull and an arcade, to name a few options. Over 1,000 people attended the grand opening, including a who’s who of Colorado businesses, athletes, leaders, artists and community members. They were all excited to see the facility host basketball, vol- leyball, futsal (soccer on hardcourt) and pickleball tournaments and bring more people to Aurora and our region. In addition to the Fieldhouse, food incubation is a new idea turned into reality at our center. Aurora Eatery brings a variety of food concepts and makes them available for pick- up and delivery. It features 21 kitch- ens with unlimited food concepts within one facility. The kitchens feature vegan options, multicultural cuisines, desserts and more with flavors for all people. We are enhancing choices for visi- tors to the center and throughout the community. With all of these new unique options, there is something for everyone who vis- its Town Center at Aurora. We are a prime destina- tion for families, travelers, com- munity members and businesses to explore and partake in all that we have to offer. The longevity and suc- cess started with great shopping options. Yet, we understand that our center is successful because of our focus on community and busi- ness readiness, which keeps TCA thriving. Recently our center safely hosted our most well-attended community event, with over 5,000 people attend- ing the popular Halloween celebra- tion Boo & Brew. Families and their kids had an opportunity to trick or treat and participate in various fun activities safely. We do these types of activities throughout the year. We collaborated with Aurora Public Schools for its back-to-school cel- ebration. We gave away over 3,000 backpacks with school supplies to students elementary through high school. This post-pandemic year we hosted multiple midday markets and worked with our local first respond- ers and Tri-County Health to keep every event safe and family friendly. We understand that when custom- ers visit our mall, they are seeing a regional attraction. We cater to many lifestyles and have become a com- munity hub for everyone. When it comes to business readi- ness, the fact that our center is over 95% leased is astounding. Businesses partner with us on sponsorships and events because they know they will receive a return on their investments. Companies lease with us because long term, it just makes good busi- ness sense. With our small entre- preneurs, we are hands-on and help them to grow their businesses. I want to tell one story about a young busi- nessman who moved from setting up a table for his products at events to graduating to a small cart inside the center. Today his business is in a spa- cious kiosk, and he did this with our support along the way. We linked him with targeted business assistance from one of our partnerships to keep his dream moving forward. We had the first Ingot Burger opening in Colorado, and it was a tremendous local and national suc- cess and news story. We have plans for the development of a hotel, apartment building and several new dine-in restaurants. Our food court always has been successful, and we have been known for exciting new shoe releases and the place to come for all “sneaker-heads.” Daily, we invite businesses to tour our center to see how they can be a part of our future that keeps our customer traffic growing. Town Center at Aurora’s ability to adapt to changing times has helped us build a shining example of what shopping centers can be for entire communities. Town Center at Aurora is elevating what we have to offer to everyone. We have activated (using space for unique entertainment, social interaction, art and events) our cen- ter and see an even better future ahead. It’s a new day with e-sports, coworking, community space, ser- vices and hands-on shopping expe- riences, and much more. It is our dedication to safety, community and business readiness that makes it possible. Our partnerships/spon- sorships enable us to enhance the center, and we have done so with new furniture, art and events. s joel.boyd@washingtonprime.com Town Center at Aurora thrives by embracing trends Joel M. Boyd General manager, Town Center at Aurora Management Businesses partner with us on sponsorships and events because they know they will receive a return on their investments.