Downtown Denver could become a bigger player in metro-area retailing if it can better connect its disparate districts and draw shoppers with an urban public market similar to the Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Those were the conclusions drawn by a pair of consultants who surveyed downtown retailers, residents, workers, students and visitors as part of a retail demand study conducted for the Downtown Denver Partnership.
The study revealed that workers, residents and students most crave a downtown Target to get their shopping fix. The report was based on survey responses provided by 1,850 downtown retailers, employees, visitors, residents, students and residents of inner-ring suburbs.
Department stores and grocery stores also topped the list as the most desirable downtown stores with Foley’s and Whole Foods emerging as the most popular picks, according to results revealed today at a forum hosted by the Downtown Denver Partnership.
The survey results confirmed what many downtown leaders have said for years. Effort to attract large department stores have faltered, largely because of the difficulty in obtaining enough space to host a large store and the proximity of the Cherry Creek mall, which many department stores view as too close and too competitive.
Additionally, discounter Target scouted space downtown last year, but the deal hasn’t moved forward because of difficulties assembling a large enough site.
“Sadly, Denver is one of few cities in the U.S. that has no downtown department stores,” said Phil Boname of Vancouver, B.C.-based Urbanics Consultants Ltd. Urbanics co-authored the study with Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates.
The downtown district has just scored a Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocer, which will open next year in the Central Platte Valley.
In 2004, just 2.7 percent of metro area retail sales were generated downtown, according to the study. That number drops to 2 percent when eating and drinking are removed from the mix.
“The good news is it can’t get much lower,” said Boname. “There’s an enormous amount of uplift potential.”
To help foster more retail activity Boname and Brad Segal of Progressive Urban Management Associates recommended infilling the downtown district with retail traffic generators. In addition to department stores, such traffic generators might include an urban public market or sports and leisure complex.
“We need to find some way to attract retail traffic generators. That’s the biggest hurdle,” said Boname. He suggested that city leaders consider using land swaps and other strategies to free up enough space to accommodate large retailers.
The report recommended strengthening the 16th Street Mall as the dominant spine of downtown. Additionally, they suggested increasing the connectivity between the 16th Street Mall, other retail sites and activity centers like the Auraria campus.
Survey respondents agreed that the downtown retail environment could also be improved by reducing panhandling, making parking easier or less expensive, and filling empty storefronts.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
