Merchants in Cherry Creek North said Thursday that the area could use some updating, but some worry that a proposed bond issue to fund renovations won’t necessarily help business.
The Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District plans to ask merchants and property owners in the 16-block district to approve an $18 million bond issue to fund improvements such as landscaping, lighting, signage and updates to Fillmore Plaza. The group intends to pay off the bond with future revenues and said it does not intend to raise its property-tax assessment.
“It would be nice, but I would rather see a vibrant neighborhood than a bunch of new flowers,” said Nelson Giesecke, owner of Object Design Studio.
Giesecke said he’s worried that a lack of free parking and problems like merchant apathy have left the area vulnerable to competition from other shopping districts.
Former Cherry Creek North shopper Peggy Conley agreed.
The BID “could spend millions of dollars in signage, walkways, planters, etc., but until the parking is made more customer-friendly, we will not be shopping there,” the Centennial resident said in an e-mail.
Some business owners say the area is due for a face-lift.
“If Cherry Creek North is going to stay competitive in upper-end shopping, it’s time to clean house and update the look,” said Michael Nedler, president of Sonny’s Diamonds on Fillmore Plaza.
The plaza is slated for a redesign, but final concepts are still being discussed. The BID will host a series of meetings with merchants and property owners Aug. 8-10, and plans for the entire project will be finalized before a vote in November, said BID spokeswoman Christina Brickley.
Tam O’Neill, owner of Tam O’Neill Fine Arts, said she’s worried that early design concepts shift the emphasis from Third Avenue to First Avenue.
“The people on Third Avenue now feel like they’ll be in Outer Mongolia,” she said.
City Councilwoman Jeanne Robb, whose district includes Cherry Creek North, said all businesses will benefit from the improvements because they have a “symbiotic relationship.”
O’Neill also worries that construction will deter customers when some merchants are already complaining about declining traffic.
“Everybody is picturing the finished product and not thinking about the pain they’re going to go through,” she said. “Do you take a struggling business and tear up the sidewalk and make it look like Beirut for a year?
“You end up with something that is very pretty, but you may have pushed out some retailers in the process.”
Brickley said any construction work would be scheduled to minimize disruptions. “Our top priority is to drive sales to the district,” she said. “We will work around customers.”
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
