Shoppers aren’t the only ones drawn to the latest retail rage, town-center and Main Street-style development projects sprouting up primarily in Denver’s suburbs.
Local entrepreneurs have flocked to the centers as well, saying they offer a chance to reach new customers while maintaining the urban feel of their original locations.
“We weren’t even contemplating a second location except for the fact that the town center was being developed in such a way that we felt there was a huge opportunity for us,” said Bill Austin, co-owner of Austin/Hauck, a men’s clothing store in Littleton’s historic downtown shopping district.
Austin and business partner Doug Hauck will open a second store in the Highlands Ranch Town Center in August. They join a handful of other locals opening second or third locations in the Shea Properties-developed center bordered by Highlands Ranch Parkway, South Broadway and Lucent Boulevard.
Like similar projects, Highlands Ranch Town Center combines retail and dining venues and is designed to emulate a traditional downtown district.
“These businesses are telling us they wouldn’t have expanded into a typical grocery-anchored shopping center because they didn’t have the identity (the businesses) wanted,” said David Larson of Legend Retail Group, the listing agent for the Highlands Ranch Town Center.
Such businesses are more frequently choosing outdoor centers because they can expand into suburban locations without requiring their customers to trek through malls to find them, said Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers.
“I did some research, and it seemed that these outdoor centers are really the up-and-coming thing,” said Brad Young, owner of Ricochet, a “funky, girly, gifty” store.
Young opened Ricochet in Denver’s Old South Gaylord shopping district two years ago. He opened a second store at Lakewood’s Belmar shopping district in November and is considering a third at Southlands, an outdoor development under construction in Aurora that will include a town-center district.
When he first considered expanding, Young looked at several of the metro area’s established neighborhood shopping districts, including Old South Pearl Street and the Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver.
“It seemed like all the older, established shopping districts were in the middle of town, and it made sense to go to another edge of town,” he said.
Developers like such thinking because the smaller local boutiques provide a destination for shoppers and set their projects apart from the nearby malls and strip centers.
“At Belmar, we feel like we’ve created the perfect black dress, and local retailers are the jewelry. They’re what makes it unique and fun,” said Liza Prall, director of marketing for Belmar developer Continuum Partners.
Of the 70 shops and restaurants set to open at Belmar by the end of the year, 10 are local.
“We always planned on incorporating space for local retailers. What we didn’t realize is how critical it is in terms of the mix and the customer experience,” Prall said. “Even if they don’t go into the local stores, it gives customers a sense they’re not just in the same old mall in Anywhere, USA.”
It can be difficult striking the right balance between big-name national tenants and the smaller mom-and-pop businesses, Larson said.
“It really is probably more driven by the financing of the center,” he said. “Ideally, lenders would like to see nothing but national tenants that are more financeable because of their strong balance sheets. But developers realize that you can’t make up an entire center of those. They want to create a unique feel and sense of community.”
In some cases, center developers will offer favorable lease rates and other incentives to encourage local boutiques to move in. Prall would not comment on lease rates but said her company finishes interior space for local tenants to save them the cost of doing it themselves. Nationals, she said, must pay to finish their own space.
Local owners who have made the move to town centers said customers have been pleased.
“People have taken to the fact that they don’t have to make the long drive downtown to get to us,” said Asia Kuskowska, assistant manager at Urok. The clothing boutique in Larimer Square opened stores in the Stapleton Town Center and at Belmar late last year.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
