The River North Art District’s emergence as a hot spot for unique retail brands is set to continue this summer. Marine Layer, a Bay Area clothing company known for ultra-soft fabrics, pastel color palettes and a T-shirt recycling program, will make its Colorado debut there.
has more than 40 stores sprinkled across the nation, with concentrations in California and New York City. Its incoming 1,900-square-foot shop on the ground floor of the building at 2700 Larimer St. will be the brand’s first in the Mountain West. It’s an address that puts the company at heart of the booming art district, nicknamed RiNo, that overlays parts of four historic north Denver neighborhoods.
“It’s a fun, vibrant neighborhood frequented by our customers day and night. We love the influence of local artists on the entire neighborhood,” Josh Gladding, the company’s director of real estate, said in a statement. “Marine Layer is a brand that wants every store to be unique, and tailor our store design to the look, feel and culture of our local markets. We’re very excited about what we have planned for RiNo.”
Gladding’s comments echo those made by Burton Snowboards’s head of retail real estate last month. The iconic Vermont brand is planning to open its first dedicated Denver retail store at 27th and Walnut streets later this year, joining new RiNo arrival Patagonia as outdoor-focused brands that are giving the area — already known for its art and nightlife scenes — some pull with shoppers.
Born out of ‘s desire to create a new shirt that had the feel and softness of a broken-in old shirt, according to its online origin story, Marine Layer today sells full men’s and women’s clothing lines and even has a line for kids. Its Re-Spun T-shirt recycling program, which blends thread from donated shirts with recycled plastic bottles to create new clothes, earned . Re-Spun items start at $35 in the company’s online store, with most priced at $50 or above.
Marine Layer is the latest addition to retail real estate firm Edens’ growing Denver empire. The company bought a prime chunk of RiNo real estate to make its entrance on the Denver real estate scene and has continued to acquire pieces centered around the Denver Central Market, 2669 Larimer St., building since.
Edens bought that Marine Layer will soon occupy at the northeast corner of 27th and Larimer streets for $1.75 million in May, city records show. More than 100 years old, the building was before that establishment was pushed out by the property’s then-owner, Poppyseed LLC, in 2017. The ground floor most recently hosted the Barcode Lounge, which closed in the last few months.
Marine Layer is the headliner, but it’s not the only tenant going into F.M. Hall. By early March, Tom Kiler, Edens’ managing director for its western region, plans to set up shop on the second floor. The office will be the firm’s regional headquarters.
“We partnered with Marine Layer because their commitment to business transparency and social responsibility reflects the RiNo community’s values and lifestyle,” Kiler said in a statement.
In an interview with The Denver Post last month, Kiler hinted at more Edens acquisitions to come in RiNo, likely on blocks that border its other holdings.
“We would love to continue growing with the neighborhood,” he said. “Proximity and connections are important. That’s what allows us to do the curation.”
