If an alien landed at the Vistas at Park Meadows last week and looked around, it would get the impression that Earthlings spend their time doing yoga, pushing strollers and shopping for colorful, casual clothes.
The stores open so far at the Vistas at Park Meadows, an indoor- outdoor development in the former Lord & Taylor location, include sportswear purveyors Ann Taylor Loft, Chico’s and Coldwater Creek, all offering suburban staples that are the kind of easy Colorado clothes women like to wear.
Yoga and “athleisure” retailers Lucy and Lululemon Athletica are giving the more-active woman styles to wear from the Pilates and Iyengar studio to lunch with a friend or for running errands.
Although Lululemon carries some men’s styles, there’s not a lot of clothes shopping yet for men at the Vistas. But Johnson & Murphy men’s shoes and Country Club, a smaller format Brooks Brothers store, are scheduled to open later this summer.
Home furnishings retailers Arhaus and Austin Antler, Ecco footwear and Colorado’s first Bath Junkie store are also open.
So what’s the allure?
It’s as much about the environment as the merchandise. Stone walkways (heated so they’ll melt snow and ice in winter), a meandering water feature and fireside seating invites passersby to stop. When the seven restaurants planned for the site begin opening in June, there will be even more reason to linger.
If the clothes stores don’t thrill you, we’re betting the 30,000- square-foot Borders concept store will. With its coffee shop and long balcony offering mountain views, this might become the new hangout zone at Park Meadows. It’s the only concept store in Colorado, and one of 14 planned for 2008, according to Jeffrey Neuman, district marketing manager.
But browsing for books seems so last century when you can download music and burn a custom CD (seven songs for $9.95, each additional song is 99 cents, plus you can print titles and artwork), browse for and print recipes in the cookbook section or research and book trips in the travel department.
Sales associates also can walk you through the process of publishing your own book, compiling your family history and creating photo albums. For the store’s opening weekend May 30-June 1, a number of author appearances and events are planned.
The restrooms are another plus. Unlike the institutional approach many malls take, Park Meadows continues its retail-resort feel with such amenities as a private nursing room inside the women’s bathroom.
Other kid-friendly bathroom features are wide aisles to accommodate baby strollers and, inside the stalls, seats attached to the walls so mom can strap the baby in while she tends to her own business. In addition, the family bathroom features a low potty for tots and a regular-sized one for adults.
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
Borders opening weekend events
Activities planned for Borders’ new store at the Vistas at Park Meadows include:
Friday, May 30 3 p.m. Curious George story time
6 p.m. Andy and Johnathan Hillstrand from TV’s “Deadliest Catch” with their book, “Time Bandit”
Saturday, May 31
10 a.m. Linda Ashman reads from her children’s books
11 a.m. Mike Nelson from KMGH-TV Channel 7 signs his book, “Colorado Weather Almanac”
2 p.m. Stephen White signs his new mystery, “Dead Time”
Sunday, June 1
12 p.m. Michael Seeberg signs “Road Biking Colorado”
2 p.m. Junior League of Denver cookbook demonstration and tasting, celebrating 30 years of “Colorado Cache”
For a full schedule, visit bordersmedia .asp.
