CREJ - Retail Properties Quarterly - August 2016
As you flip through this issue, you’ll notice an important common theme – Colorado’s retail market is strong. Rates and absorption continue to rise as vacancies decrease due to limited new supply and pent-up demand. And as long as the real estate adage that retail follows rooftops remains true, contributors to this issue are optimistic about the retail future as our demographics continue to grow. I wanted to take a moment to look at one specific retail location, the 16th Street Mall, which accounts for 36 percent of the total sales tax collected in downtown Denver. With close to 200 retailers and restaurants, the mall is the most popular shopping and entertainment destination for visitors to metro Denver, according to a Downtown Denver Partnership fall 2015 report. For all these reasons, the mall must be “safe, welcoming and inclusive,” said Tami Door, DDP president and CEO, at the partnership’s 61st annual meeting in late July. During her presentation, Door mentioned several new initiatives to address safety on the mall as well as maintenance, mobility, infrastructure and activation. Safety on the mall is at the forefront of many conversations about 16th Street Mall recently and was mentioned by most of the speakers at the breakfast. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said the wind was knocked out of him when he saw some of the violence captured on video. He said that while these challenges are real and he won’t pretend they aren’t happening, the city has seen and faced worse. As a result of the problems, the mall now boasts three times the number of police officers as there were patrolling the mall at the end of the winter, he said. The DDP’s comprehensive Downtown Security Action Plan, which contains 240 items, is being implemented. In addition to increasing officer presence, the partnership already has master permits to control seven alleys, has replaced lighting in nine alleys and contracted with a new security firm that starts this month. Several other initiatives for the retail area also were mentioned. One is The Mall Experience study, which sets out to define a clear vision for the future of the mall and is being conducted in collaboration with the city and county of Denver as well as RTD. The partnership also is working to develop a strategic plan for economic development for the mall to emphasize retail and development opportunities while taking into account amenities that support visitors, workers and residents. If you have work within a specific submarket of commercial retail real estate that is active and newsworthy, please reach out and tell me about it. I value your feedback.