East West Gets Nod for Retail Conversion Project in Denver

East West Partners has moved forward with plans to redevelop 13 acres of a Denver shopping center into 1.5 million square feet of residential and office towers.

The locally based developer won support from the City Council, which approved rezoning the west side of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center at 3000 East 1st Avenue, plus a development agreement for affordable housing, the Denver Post reported. It would replace a parking lot and some empty big-box stores.

The vote allows East West to start work on a project at 1st Avenue and University Boulevard, though its seven buildings still require approval.

The project, dubbed Cherry Creek West, would include four apartment towers with a combined 825 units. It would also include three office buildings with a combined 600,000 square feet.

East West has agreed to set aside 12 percent of the homes, or 99 apartments, as affordable for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income.

The residential and office campus would rise up to 13 stories and include an unspecified number of ground-floor shops and restaurants. It would also include a farmer’s market and nearly 4 acres of open space.

“We want this to be a model of a 15-minute community, where you don’t have to rely on a car for every trip,” Amy Cara, managing partner for East West, told council members.

Road and utility work will begin this year, with demolition of existing buildings expected to begin next spring, according to the firm. The shopping center, southeast of Downtown, has 160 shops.

The number of retail buildings slated for the bulldozer was not disclosed.

The project is expected to reach completion in two phases over the next decade. Buildings within the first phase, on the east end of the site, will break ground in summer 2026 and be completed three years later, according to the Post.

Buell Foundation, which owns the land, struck a ground lease deal in 2021 with East West. Michigan-based Taubman owns the shopping center, and has a separate ground lease agreement. The west end, which has had a big-box retail format, has sat largely vacant.

East West Partners, founded in 1986, has developed and sold more than $7 billion of residential and commercial projects, according to its website.

— Dana Bartholomew