Denver Pavilions Mall Poised for City Ownership

Denver’s Downtown Development Authority is looking to add a shopping center to its holdings.

The development authority proposed a deal this week to buy the Denver Pavilions shopping center on the city’s 16th Street pedestrian mall, the Denver Business Journal reported. The financing district will spend $45 million to acquire the retail center from Denver-based Gart Properties, which has operated the mall since 2008.

City officials are looking to create a new master plan for the 353,300-square-foot outdoor retail center, at 500 16th Street. The Downtown Development Authority was formed with the task of spending $570 million to breathe life into downtown Denver.

The development authority’s board approved buying the Denver Pavilions for $37 million, or $105 per square foot, and spending $8 million for masterplanning and operations by a retail management firm. The development authority is primarily funded from tax increment financing, and the purchase requires approval from the Denver City Council.

Officials said they don’t want the property to fall into disrepair and hinder development, and they would like to see it redeveloped as a hotel, condos or adaptive reuse.

“We need this site to be a magnet for upper downtown, and we worried that without this kind of investment and redevelopment, you could get the opposite,” Mayor Mike Johnston said.

The mall is about 60 percent occupied with tenants including H&M, Lucky Strike Lanes, Sephora and a Regal movie theater.

The mayor wants 4,000 housing units to be developed downtown, plus local restaurants and grocery stores, and this project could be part of that.

The city is proposing an affordable housing project on the lots the city would buy near the mall at 1460 and 1480 Tremont Street.

The next step on the city’s end is to collaborate with design and master planning firms for the full two blocks, said Bill Mosher, chief projects officer for the Mayor’s office.

— Chris Malone Méndez