After much anticipation the final countdown for the opening of the trendy fashion retailer H&M has officially begun. Thursday November 10th downtown Denver’s Pavilions Mall, the largest retail center downtown, will hopefully be taken over with eager shoppers willing to spend their hard earned money on their next date or promotion outfit!
What at first appeared to be bad news for the Denver Pavilions — another vacant storefront reminding shoppers and pedestrians of yet another tenant — might instead be the light at the end of a very dark tunnel and change the retail landscape downtown for years to come, industry experts say.
There were many skeptics on April 7th concerned when Pavilions signature Niketown store announced they were closing. Many were concerned with the health of the 347,000 –square foot retail and entertainment complex on the 16th street mall. Considering the Pavilions has had vacancy already once occupied by the 15,000 square foot Virgin Mega Store, as well as a 10,000 – square foot, upper level space left empty by Wolfgang Puck Café.
However Pavilion’s owners, Denver based Gart Properties and ING Clarion Partners may have shed some hope on some disbelievers with the April 13th announcement that the Sweden based, value fashion retailer H & M will move into Niketown’s 30,000 – square foot anchor spot between Glenarm and Welton Street.
The announcement “will certainly be a coup for Gart Properties,” said Robb Brown, principal with the Denver Retail Group, a retail strategy consultant.
Prime location with a growing residential population in and near, downtown, not to mention the easy access from the suburbs, with the light rail a hop and a skip away! There are 15 million people annually on the 16th street mall, including professionals, families, students, tourists etc. H&M’s decision to locate at the Pavilions “in a lot of ways was a logical and astute way to enter into the Denver market,” Brown said.
The well-known international retailer has 2,200 stores in 40 countries, including 210 in the United States, but none in Colorado until now.
H & M’s opening promotes a huge vote of confidence in the market and huge for that location.
“There’s a lot of opportunity with the Denver Pavilions,” Phetteplace said. “They are in a position to take advantage of a national trend where a lot more retailers are looking at urban markets.”
Brown added that other national retailers are watching the situation closely.
“If H&M does well, that’s indicative to other fashion retailers that Denver is more fashion-forward, that a younger demographic is speaking with their respective dollars,” Brown said.
With H & M becoming a new tenement of the Pavilions we can look forward to moving fashion forward in Denver!
“A younger demographic is speaking with their respective dollars,” Brown said
With that being said, Tracy Huggins, executive director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority, said officials there never lost faith in Denver Pavilions.
Dura invested a total of $30 million dollars in renovations for the Denver Pavilions which included the underground parking lot, and more user friendly elevators and escalators, right when Gart purchased the Pavilions.
Huggins believes that adding H&M will be a great addition to downtown.
Apparently H&M agrees, the trendy retailer is already planning to open a second store in the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, in next years late spring or early summer. Exact location still cannot be disclosed yet, because it will involve the movement of existing tenants that have not been informed yet.
Enjoy your shopping! Timing couldn’t really be better with Black Friday around the corner!
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