But the proposed redevelopment has drawn fierce community pushback, with tenants saying the news blindsided them after talk of the center being torn down spread online. They worried they would not only lose their business, but the sense of community the Asia Center provides.

Many tenants of the shopping center — which is mostly made up of small, locally owned businesses — have since received a letter, in English, from the owners saying the redevelopment is “not an immediate project” and that they want to be “clear from the outset that there are no finalized plans and no timeline for construction.”

At Ba Le Sandwich, owner Thao Mai said she first heard about the plans from neighbors and online discussions. As the shop’s second owner, she and her husband have invested heavily in the business and said they hadn’t expected the possibility of redevelopment.

“We want to keep (our) business,” Mai said. “Support us to protect our community. We will not give up.”

Concept plans filed with the city last week, which have since been updated, show the site could include a courtyard, leasing office, 10 retail units and six office units on the first floor. Amenities could include a 2,000-square-foot community room. Floors two through four could feature up to 93 residential units in total, encompassing 12 studios, 48, one-bedrooms and 33 two-bedrooms.

On Wednesday afternoon, District 7 Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, community leader Father Joseph Dang and Chuong Le with 3i Law, the firm representing the owners, held a news conference outside the Asia Center to address tenant and community concerns.

“At this time, there is no demolition permits. There is no final redevelopment approval in place for the Asia Center. What has been submitted is an early concept for discussion, and that’s why we’re here. That means that now is the time to engage, not panic or be divisive, and not to have misinformation,” Alvidrez said.

Alvidrez told The Post that a public town hall will most likely be held in late May, though a specific date has not yet been set. She also clarified to those gathered outside the center that she had met with the property owner and Dang for lunch about one to two years ago, during which they informed her they were considering this plan.

“One of my first questions was, ‘have you talked to the business owners? Are you going to talk to the business owners? What’s causing this?’ And they told me that was 100% their intention, that their priority was to keep the local businesses here. I wasn’t aware that this plan was submitted recently,” she said.

If the project moves forward, the total cost is estimated to be $40 million, according to Le.

Le said it was never their intention to “hide anything,” acknowledging that many questions remain as the process moves forward, but the goal is to “shift the conversation out of speculation and into real information.”

On Monday, The Post talked to several business owners at the Asia Center, many of them who have been there for more than a decade, about the prospect of losing the space. Many of them, speaking through a translator, called the news of the redevelopment shocking.

owner Duc Bui, who has operated in the center for 20 years, said he worries about the prospect of starting over. While he recognizes the owner’s right to redevelop, he hopes the area’s designation as part of the Little Saigon business district could factor into the project����ap outcome.

If relocation becomes unavoidable, he said he would want to remain nearby, noting that about 95% of his customers are Vietnamese. He also raised questions about whether there would be compensation for tenants, as he has invested significant money into equipment and operations over the years.

Tony Le, the owner of Tony Pho, said in a written statement: “If there is no business, the young generation will never know their original history, heritage, ancestors and culture of Asia community.”

“We will fight until the end,” his letter continued. “We fight for our community and our life.”

The letter tenants received last week from��Asia Center Development LLC, together with 3i Law LLC, said work has been focused entirely on “exploration, understanding possibilities, constraints, and context so that future conversations across the community can be practical, informed, and grounded in real options rather than abstract ideas.”

The letter also said they recognize that the property has needed repairs and improvements for many years, which were often left unaddressed. It noted that part of this long-term effort is about taking responsibility for those needs thoughtfully and respectfully.

Father Dang, who is also a chaplain for the Denver Police Department, told The Post by phone on Monday that the way the news broke created “unnecessary hype” and “fear.”

He said the area’s Vietnamese heritage would not be lost and that the property could be improved while preserving its identity, noting that the center has long struggled with problems related to public safety and cleanliness.

Dang said he wants to make sure tenants and the building owner sit down together and work toward solutions. He added that the matter should be handled privately between the parties because of their contractual relationship, rather than in public.

“For me as a community leader, I encourage that. Let’s come together, let’s work and let’s compromise. How can we make this so that way, in the future, our children can look up to and be proud and say, this is Little Saigon business district. This is the Asia Center.”

The Asia Center is also near planned stops on the bus rapid transit line that the Colorado Department of Transportation is working to bring to the busy corridor. Asia Center Development LLC bought the property in 2023 for more than $5.7 million, according to city property records, before the .

The BRT project is also likely to eliminate parking in front of Asia Center businesses.

The Asia Center sits along Federal Boulevard between Alameda and Mississippi avenues, a corridor the city designated as the Little Saigon Business District in 2014.

The district����ap roots trace back to the early 1980s, when Southeast and East Asian refugees and immigrants settled in the area. Today, the corridor is home to numerous Vietnamese and Pan-Asian-owned businesses and serves as a .

“These are not just businesses. They’re anchors of history, survival and identity. So when legacy businesses like these are displaced, I worry there’s not like a good plan for them to ever come back,” said Hannah Tran, a Vietnamese-American community member and documentary filmmaker who has documented the since 2024.

Tran said the area was the original hub for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian families to shop before Denver’s Far East Center opened in 1988.

“This area means a lot to people. That’s why everyone reacted very strongly,” Tran said.

Since the redevelopment plans came to light, social media posts about the potential impact of the demolition have spread rapidly across multiple platforms, leading Denver native Katrina Nguyen to to preserve the Asia Center. The effort has already collected over 10,000 signatures and more than 110 comments at the time of publication.

In the petition, Nguyen wrote, “Federal Boulevard raised me. My aunt owned Ba Le Sandwich, my parents ran a liquor store and a hair salon right across the street,” noting that she and her family continue to visit local spots like Giò Chả Cali, Kim Son Jewelers and Hong Kong BBQ.

Nguyen told The Post on Friday that she wants the owner and developers to recognize the significance of the Asia Center, ensure the process is transparent, and allow tenants and community members to stay informed and provide input.

“We don’t have a plethora of places that we can go to and so when you remove something that’s such an essential part of the community, it does make a big impact,” she said.

But in building years, it is a washed-up retail concept in failing health that needs radical action to survive.

Left on its current course, the Pavilions could suffer a slow death, hindering the recovery of the rest of Upper Downtown, according to a panel of experts with the Urban Land Institute who were brought in to offer a diagnosis.

“It has had its place. It has had its moment in the sun, and we believe that it is now time to move on, to close this chapter and start the next one,” Kristen Morris, president of Morris & Fellows, a mixed-use development firm based in Atlanta, told downtown leaders at a presentation earlier this month.

After gathering opinions and touring the Pavilions and the surrounding neighborhood, the ULI panel offered a plan of care more akin to amputating both legs and less like a prescription for statins and exercise.

Tinkering with the tenant mix or giving the three-story development more time to find itself won’t resolve the fundamental issue — stacked outdoor retail hidden away from the street is a concept that stopped working a long time ago, Morris said.

The move away from mall culture to online purchases, generational shifts in shopping preferences, the unexpected loss of downtown office workers — those accelerated the downward spiral, but didn’t cause it.

The development’s decline was underway before the pandemic, and it has failed to recover long after it ended.

The city, which finalized its purchase of the outdoor mall late last year, should demolish the western half of the Pavilions and a good portion of the eastern side to make room for a “culturally significant open urban space,” according to the ULI panel’s recommendations.

In their initial concept, the panel favors an active urban park, finding inspiration from places like in Manhattan and in Cincinnati.

The United Artists theaters should be preserved to provide an indoor gathering space, useful during the colder months. What’s left of the retail space should focus on community-oriented programming with small-scale, local tenants who rotate through, creating a “kaleidoscope” of experiences.

The 800-parking spaces underneath the Pavilions are a valuable, income-generating asset that will be hard to replicate and should be preserved.

Two residential towers with 1,200 units between them should go up on the two empty lots, but in different phases. Those residents are key to turning a one-time tourist retail destination into a neighborhood amenity. Their energy is required to breathe new life into the area.

If Union Station became Denver’s “living room” after its redevelopment, the ULI argues the Pavilions could become Denver’s “front porch.”

“There’s like, really, no end in sight,” Morris warned of the current trajectory. “You can leave it there, and you can continue to let it deteriorate, both economically and performance-wise, as well as the building.”

A convention hotel won’t work

The Denver Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which voters granted $570 million in future tax dollars for revitalization efforts, has made the Pavilions a focal point of its attention.

The DDA spent $37 million of its limited funds to purchase the struggling open-air mall, as well as $23 million for 1505 and 1518 Glenarm Place, two adjacent parking lots along 15th Street that had different owners.

Another $8 million was set aside for renovation costs and lease incentives, not enough to foot the bill for a major demolition and new park.

That the authority has dedicated more than a tenth of its spending capacity to buy up the two blocks and then sought a ULI advisory panel for advice highlights how important it considers the area to Upper Downtown’s revival.

But the panelists wasted no time in quashing two of the ideas floated early on. One involves freshening up the retail and restaurant mix and bringing in more local concepts. As more office workers return and more residents move in, a recovery could eventually take hold.

Another proposal suggests the two lots be used for a large-scale convention hotel that could host gatherings too small to fill up the Colorado Convention Center but too big to fit in area hotels.

Denver eventually will need another convention hotel, which could help it win over meeting planners who don’t like putting attendees in a variety of smaller properties, said Suzanne Mellen, a senior managing director with HVS, a global hospitality consulting and valuation firm headquartered in New York City.

But at best, a hotel on the two undeveloped Pavilion lots could provide about 65,000 square feet of meeting space, which is less than the 100,000 square feet meeting planners would be looking for, she said.

And convention hotels aren’t cheap to build. Construction costs run at $800,000 to $1 million per room, meaning a 1,000-room property could top $1 billion, Mellen said.

The high costs mean substantial public subsidies would be required, requiring a long and drawn-out approval and planning process. The Pavilions needs a more immediate intervention, Mellen said.

“The panel concludes that hotel use is not recommended for the vacant parcels,” she said.

Who makes the call?

Behind the facade of fun destinations like Coyote Ugly and Lucky Strike, behind the memories of family meals at Maggiano’s Little Italy or lunch gatherings at 5280 Burger Bar, hides an uncertain future, one that the panelists warn won’t be resolved by waiting around.

The ULI has guided Denver leaders at critical moments in the past, including where to locate Denver International Airport and the Colorado Convention Center, and how to integrate Coors Field into the LoDo neighborhood.

In July 2022, the for the Speer Boulevard/Cherry Creek corridor. That greenway was actually a redevelopment in the early 1900s of a bunch of shanties and businesses that were using Cherry Creek for waste dumping.

The recent recommendations are tamer and include taking steps to more closely integrate the Auraria campus and Downtown, and bringing more residential and retail onto the campus.

And while the ULI recommendations carry weight and will receive careful consideration, the advisory panel is urging a more extreme and faster course of action, which could generate pushback.

A more detailed report is expected in the next three to six months, and the final call will likely come down to Mayor Mike Johnston and his point person on redevelopment, Bill Mosher, as well as the DDA board, which must approve any spending.

If the amount crosses $500,000, then the Denver City Council gets a say. At the crossroads of those two groups is DDA board member and City Council President Amanda Sandoval.

One of the nation’s leading downtown redevelopment consultants, Brad Segal, president and a founding partner of Progressive Urban Management Associates, is also based in Denver.

He helped get the original Pavilions off the ground in the 1990s, when he headed up the Downtown Denver Partnership.

And if any group were likely to speak up if it saw value in preserving the retail development as it is, that would be Historic Denver. Spoiler alert, it isn’t opposed to tearing down a large part of the Pavilions.

The Denver Post talked to Mosher, Sandoval, Segal and Historic Denver to get their take on what the ULI recommended.

The start of a conversation

“It was well done, really thoughtful and big picture,” said Bill Mosher, Denver’s Chief Projects Officer, of the ULI plan, stopping short of endorsing it as the final word.

“I view it as the start of a conversation,” he added politely.

]Mosher has proven himself a master of turning the city’s losses into wins. He has become Denver’s patron saint of impossible development causes.

His signature victory in a long list involved turning Union Station, a neglected Amtrak stop, into “Denver’s living room” complete with an active transit hub, high-end hotel and restaurants.

His messiest save was the Asarco Smelter, a once-vital industrial site that helped make Denver prosperous in the mining days. But the land paid a heavy price. After decades of remediation, Mosher helped it find a new life as the Crossroads Commerce Park.

Mosher said he was joking with the ULI panel that reactions they could expect would range from nostalgia to good riddance, from “we celebrated our prom there, please keep it,” to “it has had its day and needs to be demolished.”

“There is something between in my view,” he said. “We need to be thoughtful.”

Although it is struggling, the Pavilions is still 60% occupied with some loyal tenants, which is more than can be said of many of the surrounding office towers. It contains 350,000 square feet of space, which would be hard and costly to replicate.

Mosher said he was surprised that the two lots along 15th Street were never developed, and that the DDA was able to put all the parcels under one umbrella. If residential towers are the way to go, he sees 800 units as a more manageable number than the 1,200 the ULI has proposed.

The calls for 2,000 new housing units in Upper Downtown, but that represents more of a starting point than a final destination.

L.A. developer Asher Luzzatto has purchased four distressed office , pennies on the dollar, and plans to convert them, with the help of DDA support, into 1,200 housing units.

Mosher may need more convincing that a hotel won’t work. He is the CEO of the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority and the lead developer on the 1,100-room Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, which was also considered a long-shot project at the time.

“We will look at what they say. I don’t know if it will be our roadmap,” Mosher said. “It provides some food for thought and a vision that makes us think in a larger context.”

Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval said she appreciates the work that the ULI panel put into its recommendations, and agrees with most, but not all of them.

“I loved the idea of preserving the theater and connecting that to the Sundance Film Festival,” she said. She also “loved” the idea of adding two residential towers instead of a convention center hotel.

“I am not so sure about their recommendation of a park,” Sandoval said.

Rather than another green space, she envisions something more akin to a community gathering space surrounded by street-level retail, like a mercato or plaza that could hosts farmers markets in the summer and the Christkindlmarkt in December.

The DDA is investing heavily to revive two downtown parks, including one that is only a few blocks away from the Pavilions.

“I want to see those investments come forward,” Sandoval said.

The DDA is pouring $30 million into the redevelopment of Civic Center park, with another $7 million to overhaul the McNichols Building, which will add a garden dining area and an arts marketplace. The first phase is expected to cost $50 million.

The “, which rebuilds the stretch west of Arapahoe Street between 16th and 17th streets.

The DDA has approved $5 million in support, with $2.5 million coming from the Elevate Denver Bond Program, $1 million from Great Outdoors Colorado, and $19.5 million from Denver Parks & Recreation.

What will take the stage?

The land that now hosts the Denver Pavilions was part of a larger theater district that served as a draw for city residents looking for entertainment. Only the Paramount Theatre remains of that era.

In the push for urban renewal, the city tore down several beautiful buildings on the land, said Brad Segal, the urban consultant.

For more than two decades, the land sat fallow, hosting parks until the land was developed by Bill Denton and the Entertainment Development Group. Ken Gart and Gart Properties purchased the Pavilions in 2008.

Mosher was also active in trying to fill in the gaps along 16th Street. Segal, as director of the Downtown Denver Partnership at the time, was involved in the early stages.

Segal said a key takeaway out of the session for him was that the Denver Pavilions is an outdated retail format and most likely won’t be retail again. He agrees that a convention center hotel is a nonstarter, and he wishes the panel had gone beyond a single recommendation of an urban park.

The word carries different connotations for different people, and he envisions more of a town square, a point of comparison being the space in front of Union Station.

“When you characterize something as a park, that might have been a fumble,” he said.

Although compelling, the ULI recommendations are more important in terms of what they said not to do than what to do.

Reactions are mixed on tearing down the lion’s share of 350,000 square feet of retail space.

Sandoval, who has warm memories of time spent there with her children, questioned if a way could be found to create active gathering spaces without demolishing so much of the complex.

After three difficult years of construction along the full length of the former 16th Street Mall, she questions whether the area could survive another disruptive project.

Not communicated by anyone was a sense that the Denver Pavilions represents an architectural gem worthy of historic preservation, or that it should be preserved as a time capsule to late 1990s retailtainment.

Denver’s ordinance on historic designation requires a minimum of 30 years, more generous than most jurisdictions, which require 50 years.

That may reflect a realization that buildings are most vulnerable to demolition at that age, said Jay Homstad, senior director of preservation advocacy with Historic Denver, in an email.

Historic Denver, in an official statement, said the group was among the many stakeholders that the ULI team consulted during its weeklong study process in Denver.

“We’re supportive of the proposals, particularly the approach that retains a significant portion of the building, including the movie theater, while opening up space along 16th Street for the kind of street-facing retail that reflects how people actually use urban spaces today,” the group said in its statement.

Historic Denver also said it welcomed the addition of housing, which should “bring much-needed life to a part of downtown that has been struggling for activation.”

The development timeline for the Pavilions has been corrected. Bill Denton and the Entertainment Development Group built the Denver Pavilions, which in 2008 was acquired by Gart Properties.��

Now that the face-lift of 16th Street has been completed, city officials and downtown advocates are hoping that 2026 sees activity start to pick up and push past that three-year plateau. If the renovation of the former “mall,” with fewer cone zones, attracts more out-of-market visitors, they may see a bump in activity. But the staying power of remote work, which is driving high office vacancy rates, has also restricted the return to 2019 foot-traffic levels and put up a significant hurdle to the central business district getting back to pre-pandemic activity.

In 2019, downtown saw 60.6 million out-of-market visits, but that figure dropped to 26.3 million in 2020, according to from the Downtown Denver Partnership. By 2025, that number had rebounded to around 53 million out-of-market visitors and has remained around that range since 2023. Throw in two other categories, what the DDP calls Extended Inbound Commuters and Resident Visits, and downtown saw from 71 million to 72.5 million visits annually in that time frame.

In the Denver area, 22.6% of workers ages 16 and older work from home, while Boulder that percentage is even higher at 28.7%, according to the latest available data from the Census Bureau.

Both rates are well above the national average of 13.3%.

In comparison, just 14.9% of workers in the Los Angeles area and 12.9% in the New York area work from home.

“What makes Denver so unique is that people come here for a kind of live, work, play lifestyle, and it’s very outdoor forward. And for those reasons, I think our downtown office market post-COVID has just seen more challenging times than some other markets, and maybe a slower return to normal than some would like to see,” said Harrison Archer, senior vice president with CBRE’s occupier leasing services group.

That slower return has continued to weigh on office demand. Denver’s total downtown office vacancy rate at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 35.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2026, the downtown total office vacancy rate reached 38.9%, according to .

Many businesses downtown, forced to reset to the era of hybrid work, are exploring what changes might be needed to bring workers and foot traffic back to the city’s core.

Taking the reins

Denver-based education benefits company is one of those companies. At the start of the year, it launched a voluntary “Denver Density” program that encourages city-based employees to work from the downtown office three days a week.

Employees who opt in receive perks, including a $125 monthly stipend for parking or public transit and lunch three days a week through Relish. Those who choose not to participate, however, face no penalties.

“We didn’t want to create anything that would be restrictive,” said Alana Brandes, Guild’s chief people officer, who joined the company late 2020 during a pivotal moment in Guild’s growth, a time shaped both by rapid expansion and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company launched in 2015 as a fully in-office, Denver-based organization, and Brandes said it now sees itself as playing a stewardship role in helping bring energy back to the downtown economy.

During that period, Brandes said the shift to remote work left Guild “craving” deeper relationship and community building, along with faster decision-making and smoother collaboration.

She said the company conducted surveys to gather input on what works best for each employee, their preferred work styles, and what conditions enable people to do their best work.

“We didn’t want to relocate people and their families. We didn’t want to have to displace people from their jobs. We believe that it is possible to work effectively in a hybrid setting with some curation to that,” she said.

A key feature in the program is what Guild calls “magnet week.” Once a month, all senior directors and above are flown into the Denver office. During this week, the team holds key meetings such as quarterly business reviews and CEO-led fireside chats, making the most of everyone being in one place.

Guild has about 850 employees in total, with roughly 40% based in Colorado. Since launching the program, it has already surpassed expectations. Over 120 employees have opted in, well above the 75 the company had anticipated, Brandes said.

Impact of technology

The tech industry has been one of the biggest adopters of hybrid work, according to Archer.

In 2019, Denver ranked eighth on CBRE’s Tech Talent Scorecard, part of its annual Scoring Tech Talent Report, which ranks 50 North American markets according to their ability to attract and grow tech talent. The city rose to seventh in 2020, but has since fallen to 14th in its latest report.

“Gone are the days, at least for now, of the software company opening a 50- to 100,000-square-foot office in Denver that’s based in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York, Austin, Texas, or what we would consider really a tier-one market. We’re just not seeing that level of activity,” he said.

Real estate brokerage CBRE expects vacancy in Class A properties, the newest and highest-quality buildings, to decline gradually, widening the gap with lower-tier Class B and C properties, according to its 2026 Denver Market Outlook, analyzing the office, industrial, retail, multifamily and life sciences sectors.

The report also found that “tenants will continue to prioritize high-quality spaces, driven by the importance of the in-office experience and convenient access to amenities for both employees and decision-makers.”

“We’re in a state of continuous evolvement, but we’ve certainly gone from a confused, not‑sure‑what‑to‑do mindset to, we know who we are, we know who we’re going to be,” Archer said.

With about 10,000 employees, including 500 in the Denver area, global business and technology consulting firm is transforming its downtown location at 1899 Wynkoop St. to better adapt to evolving employee needs.

“We see hybrid as a way of working that is likely here to stay,” said Slalom Denver Senior Managing Director Binh Diep.

“At the same time, I think we also need to be able to create a place that creates a meaningful experience that drives collaboration, innovation, connection, culture and belonging.”

Instead of mandating a return, Diep said they shifted to asking “what is the office for?” and invested in a renovation that supports client/community use, rather than traditional rows of desks.

Diep said the office will center on a large gathering and meeting space.

Rather than scattering smaller common areas across different floors or isolating them in separate corners, the design brings everything together in one open hub. The goal, Diep said, is to create a space where people can easily connect and have the spontaneous conversations that make being in the office worthwhile.

The renovation began in late fall and includes the eighth floor and ninth floor. A ribbon cutting of the full renovation was held on April 17, where Slalom announced it has renewed its lease for seven more years.��

Slalom leaders say they considered other locations but made a “conscious decision to stay downtown,” pointing to their roles with the , Colorado Technology Association and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce as proof to helping Denver thrive.

What����ap happening downtown

The by DDP showed pedestrian activity reached an compared to March 2019 levels. Daily activity in February of 2019 levels.

In 2019, total annual visits between residents, employees, and out-of-market visitors were over 81 million. Visits dropped to 39.7 million in 2020. From 2023-25, visits stabilized in the 70 million range, showing a slow increase over time.

“16th Street is filled with families more than ever, and filled with people that are really just kind of coming down to hang out and be together,” he said.

Christi Goodwin-Palmer, general manager of Blue Agave Grill on 16th Street since 2022, said she has seen “extremely positive” changes along the corridor.

“The mayor of Denver, Downtown Denver Partnership, and the Denver Police Department have gone above and beyond to create a destination here once again. We have seen increased visitors while also seeing the local business start to thrive again. Along with the weather being so lovely, we’ve been able to open our patio, which guests absolutely love,” Goodwin-Palmer said.

Alex Kravets, who was born and raised in Denver, has worked near 16th Street throughout its renovation. She said she grew accustomed to the construction and now that it����ap complete, she “likes the energy” of the area, especially since she often walks to get around.

She also pointed to the increased seating options and said the corridor appears more well-kept than before.

For others, the changes raise questions about where downtown is headed and what may still be missing.

Rea Brown, who moved from Michigan to Denver in 2007, was working downtown on a recent, breezy day. He said he has seen the city undergo significant change, particularly along 16th Street. While he sees progress, he said the corridor could benefit from more museums and a mix of big-box or unique retailers to anchor the area.

“We are in dire need of replacing the storefronts that have been removed,” he said. “Bring back traditional stores to the mall or stores that could survive in this economy.”

Iltis said that this growth is not primarily driven by Denver’s employee base, even though workers still make up a significant share of downtown activity.

While average daily downtown employee visits in March 2026 remain below pre-pandemic levels, they’ve increased over the past few years, according to DDP data.

In March, the was 74%, up from 68% in March 2025, according to DDP data.

When asked why remote work remains common in Denver and employee foot traffic may lag behind, Iltis said the city’s biggest competition is its surrounding neighborhoods.

“People who work from home, they’re getting access to maybe a boutique restaurant or a coffee shop, or that third place that people are looking for. The reasoning for coming downtown wasn’t as apparent. For a while, they were getting what they needed from the neighborhoods,” he said.

“Now, I think our biggest opportunity is creating something, or giving them something that they don’t necessarily get in those neighborhoods.”

Some downtown workers and residents say the same.

Delaney Rach, who moved to Colorado Springs from Los Angeles in 2021, has lived and worked in downtown Denver for the past eight months.

“I feel safe and comfortable eating on 16th Street,” Rach said while sitting outside, crediting the city’s efforts to improve public safety. However, she said she notices more tourists from the convention center flock to the area rather than office workers.

Adding more boutique coffee shops or similar gathering spots, she said, could help draw employees back downtown.

Upcoming openings include on 16th Street, and Cripple Creek Backcountry on Platte Street.

While more distressed and high-vacancy buildings are being targeted for multifamily conversion, Iltis pointed to 1900 Lawrence, a 30-story tower in Denver’s Central Business District, an example of how new office buildings are adapting to what workers and companies may seek these days.

“They ended up reprogramming a lot more space towards those amenities that are a little bit more community-based,” he said, referencing the tower’s shared workspaces and recreation areas.

“I think in this new normal, they’re not all about employees sitting in an office cubicle. It really, truly is about how we’re interacting with people face to face, and that����ap what I think we’re seeing in downtown right now more than we’ve seen in the last five years.”

The firm will occupy the entire 49th floor of the 54-story office tower, which is , totaling 22,131 square feet. Since launching in Denver in April 2024 with nine attorneys, the office has nearly tripled in size, with capabilities spanning real estate, business transactions, commercial bankruptcy, litigation and financial services.

The lease follows a between Frost Brown Todd LLP and New Jersey-based Gibbons P.C., which officially took effect on Jan. 1. The combined firm now has approximately 800 attorneys across 25 U.S. offices.

“We’re seeing a clear ‘flight to quality’ in Denver, where companies are gravitating toward premier buildings that offer a differentiated experience for both clients and employees,” said John Kellogg, partner-in-charge of FBT Gibbons’ Denver office.

“Our decision to invest in 1801 California reflects that trend and underscores our confidence in downtown’s next chapter. We’re building a space — and a team — that����ap designed for where this market is going.”

The said the firm plans an office renovation featuring modern, collaborative workspaces, upgraded technology infrastructure and shared gathering areas designed to encourage connection and innovation.

CBRE’s Harrison Archer, Ryan Link and Rob Link represented FBT Gibbons in the transaction. Sarajane Goodfellow and Chris Phenice, also with CBRE, represented Brookfield Properties.

“Denver’s law firm community continues to thrive, and FBT’s commitment to 1801 California is a reflection of that strength,” said Archer, senior vice president with CBRE’s Occupier Leasing Services group.

“Their investment in this space underscores the confidence leading firms have in Denver’s downtown. This lease is a perfect example of a market-wide trend we’re seeing: activity leaning in the direction of well-managed, secure buildings with upgraded amenities.”

It is not clear what the transaction means for the project, but county records indicate that Monument Ridge West LLC transferred property earlier this month to Buc-ee’s EPCO LLC for over $10 million.

The records show that the land sold to Buc-ee’s EPCO, known as Parcel 1, was created through a boundary adjustment between two unplatted properties owned by Interstate 25 Properties Ltd. and Monument Ridge West LLC. Together, these parcels total about 53.4 acres and are the same site where the Buc-ee’s project — which would be the second in Colorado — was originally proposed.

Buc-ee’s EPCO LLC was formed Jan. 15 and is linked to the company’s headquarters at 327 FM 2004 in Lake Jackson, Texas, according to the state business entity database. The LLC’s filing documents also identify Jeff Nadalo, Buc-ee’s general counsel since 2012.

On Monday, Post staff contacted Nadalo and Buc-ee’s for clarification on the warranty deed and the company’s potential plans for a gas station and travel center. Buc-ee’s media coordinator Crissy Gonzales responded by email with a “no comment.”

The acquisition, about 50 miles south of the metro area, follows the state’s approval in March of two well permits for Monument Ridge West for the land near the intersection of Beacon Lite Road and County Line Road, close to I-25. The two wells are capable of each year.��

As of Tuesday morning, no development plans for a Buc-ee’s had been submitted to the county’s Electronic Development Application Review Program website.

Natalie Sosa, Interim Executive Director of Communications with El Paso County, confirmed to The Post that the county has not received a land-use application for a Buc-ee’s for the land near Palmer Lake.

As public interest remains high around a new Buc-ee’s location, El Paso officials have to share information and updates on the potential development, including details on the related boundary line adjustment.

The county said it on the plans of Buc-ee’s or the property owner, and emphasized that landowners are not required to reveal future development intentions when seeking a boundary line adjustment or grading permit.

“Property owners have the right to make decisions about their property as long as they are following the law,” the webpage stated.

Plans for a Buc-ee’s development date back to 2024 when an annexation of the land to Palmer Lake was first proposed.

Since then, the prospect of a travel center in the area has drawn mixed reactions from the Tri-Lakes community. While some residents applaud the economic growth it could bring, others continue to express concerns about water usage, increased traffic and the preservation of open land.

This is a developing story and may be updated.��

Dubbed , the eight-story building will have 200,000 square feet of Class A office space and 19,000 square feet of retail, Denver-based real estate and community developer and their Denver-based private equity partner announced Tuesday.

The office building is expected to be completed in the summer of 2029.

“The launch of One Cherry Creek marks an important milestone for Cherry Creek West and the future of the neighborhood,” said Amy Cara, managing partner at East West Partners.

“We’re introducing a new kind of workplace that brings together design, nature and community in a way that attracts forward-thinking companies and the talent that drives them.”

One Cherry Creek will feature floor-to-ceiling glass, private tenant terraces on every level and flexible, light-filled floorplates that support both collaborative and focused work.

Amenities include a conference center for more than 80 people, phone rooms and a private glass-enclosed boardroom, along with a lounge and pre-function space for informal meetings or events.

Additional features include a 1,700-square-foot outdoor terrace, an on-site fitness center with showers and bike storage. Tenants will also have access to an “exclusive” wellness space called . The building is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, according to the Tuesday news release.

One Cherry Creek will be surrounded by green space and over 50,000 square feet of food and beverage-focused retail within the first phase of Cherry Creek West.

The Cushman & Wakefield team of Nick Pavlakovich, Matthew Gautreau and Michael Pavlakovich will lead the leasing efforts for One Cherry Creek.

“Cherry Creek continues to be one of the most competitive and supply-constrained submarkets in the country,” said Cushman & Wakefield Vice Chairman Nick Pavlakovich.

“With its beautiful architecture, prominent location along 1st Avenue and exceptional amenity base, it offers a workplace experience today’s employees are genuinely excited about.”

Cherry Creek West will span four city blocks from University Boulevard to Clayton Lane and from 1st Avenue to the Cherry Creek waterway.

Demolition work at Cherry Creek West began in March. The first phase is expected to have approximately 400 residences, 200,000 square feet of office space and 50,000 square feet of retail.

Once completed, the mixed-use development will offer approximately 840 residences, 600,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail, as well as underground parking with more than 2,000 spaces.

In the site selection phase, Burkett and Carl plan to prioritize high-visibility locations in suburban communities surrounding Denver, including Highlands Ranch, Westminster, Aurora, Arvada and Brighton.

The sandwich shop chain has plans to open . Potbelly is also closing in on its 500th U.S. location ahead of its 50th anniversary next year, marking a step toward its long-term goal of more than 2,000 locations nationwide.

Colorado is a for the chain, which has 10 shops in the state, including locations in Lower Downtown, the Denver Tech Center and Park Meadows

“From the first time I walked into a Potbelly with my family, I was a fan,” Burkett said.

“The food was as great as advertised, but it was more than that. There was an energy and comfort to it – the ‘good vibes’ part was very real. I’m delighted that RBH can help bring that same atmosphere across the Denver metro, where there is a strong opportunity to grow across a wide range of neighborhoods that each have their own identity, while still creating consistent, go-to dining spots that community members can continue to enjoy for years to come.”

With the 20-shop agreement, RBH qualifies for the brand’s , an initiative designed to support franchise partners committed to accelerated and multi-unit growth.

The program provides financial incentives to operators who commit to developing at least 15 shops within eight years and open locations ahead of their scheduled timelines.

“Denver is a market that continues to grow dynamically, with increasing residential activity and commercial development occurring across the city and surrounding communities. A legacy brand like Potbelly fits exceptionally well into that kind of environment, as it is designed to grow alongside each neighborhood while building meaningful connections with residents,” Carl said.

Founded in Chicago, Potbelly has been serving neighborhoods for nearly 50 years, offering toasted sandwiches, salads, shakes and baked cookies.

“We are thrilled to be building on our presence in Denver with partners who bring both strategic vision and a thoughtful approach to growth,” said Jennifer Durham, Senior Vice President of Franchising and Development.

Last year, Potbelly was acquired by , a family-owned leader in the convenience store industry.

The 37-story hotel’s guestrooms have been redesigned with new furniture, fixtures and finishes.

Furnishings have been refreshed with natural wood and stone, porcelain and vegan leather, along with layered textures and neutral tones inspired by Denver’s landscape. Rooms also feature added conveniences, including under-TV storage, USB-C charging ports, upgraded lighting and spacious work areas.

Additionally, newly installed bathroom shower pans were created using recycled materials, each composed of about , resulting in the reuse of nearly half a million bottles in total, according to a Thursday news release about the renovation.

“This transformation represents a meaningful investment in both our physical spaces and the people who bring them to life each day,” said Greg Leonard, general manager of Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center.

Throughout the renovation, approximately 90% of furniture, mattresses, lighting and artwork from previous guestrooms were resold and diverted from landfills, finding new homes across the United States.

Aside from guestrooms, the hotel expanded its meetings and events offerings with the addition of Summit Five, an 891-square-foot meeting space on the fifth floor, bringing its total event space to more than 60,000 square feet. Designed to support smaller meetings and gatherings, the space serves as an extension of the Denver City Terrace, an outdoor venue with city views.

In collaboration with local partners, including DLR Group, Artaic Group, Benjamin West and Milender White, the full-scale reconstruction of the guestrooms, corridors and elevator landings was completed in 14 months while the hotel remained fully operational.

“The transformation of the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center represents an important investment in one of our city’s most important downtown properties,” said Bill Mosher, CEO of the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority.

“Engaging a creative and committed team of local partners and vendors throughout the process ensured that the transformation’s impact extends beyond the hotel’s guests and into the broader Denver community.”

As the hotel marks its 20-year milestone in downtown Denver, the makeover builds on updates completed in 2018 and 2019 to its dining venues, including Former Saint Craft Kitchen and Taps, Peaks 27th Floor Lounge and Assembly Hall Bar + Market, as well as its public spaces.

The renovations introduced updated designs, flexible seating areas and more than 150 works of art by over 50 Colorado-based creators curated in partnership with .

Hyatt Regency Denver is part of the . Hyatt was founded by Jay Pritzker in 1957 when he purchased the Hyatt House motel adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport. Over the following decade, Jay and his brother Donald Pritzker, grew the company into a successful North American management and hotel ownership company, according to the Hyatt’s website.

The city took action on April 10, suspending the liquor, food, lodging and cabaret licenses for the Nativ Hotel & Gatsby Social following multiple failed inspections by the Denver Fire Department, the Denver Police Department and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.

This is only the second summary suspension of a liquor license by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection in Denver since

“This is the most severe immediate licensing discipline action the city can take against a business,” said Eric Escudero, director of communications for Denver Licensing and Consumer Protection, in an email to The Post.

“It is only used in very rare circumstances when there is the most severe threat to safety because of alleged law violations.”

An investigation by the fire department revealed that Corporate Housing on Wazee LLC, doing business as Nativ Hotel & Gatsby Social, has a history of fire code violations dating back to Jan. 7, 2025, according to the suspension order.

Although the property, 1612 Wazee St., had undergone multiple inspections since that time, a group inspection was conducted on Feb. 24 involving the fire, police and licensing departments.

That inspection uncovered numerous violations of fire and conveyance codes, deeming the property “unsafe for occupancy.” Most significantly, inspectors determined that the fire alarm system was not being monitored and had recorded 14 internal failure signals, including a notification failure.

As a result, the system did not alert any third-party central station or Denver Fire Dispatch when the alarm was activated.

The inspection also identified several additional violations, including a faulty fire alarm control system, ingress/egress blockages, sprinkler system violations, signage violations, breaches of fire-rated construction, fire doors propped open, improperly maintained and mounted fire extinguishers, corridor and stair blockages and improper propane storage.��

As a result of the inspection, the fire department issued a stop-work order, requiring the building to be vacated immediately.

Property owner Thierry Rignol was given time to address the violations and was issued a 30-day fire watch permit, which allowed only the hotel to remain open under strict monitoring with qualified personnel on site.

By March 6, some corrections had been completed, but a follow-up fire department inspection found multiple violations remained, leading the city to cite Rignol for more than 840 violations

The fire watch permit expired on March 26, and the stop-work order once again prohibited the operation of the bar/nightclub and hotel.

Despite the order, the suspension document said Denver police observed the property operating as a bar and nightclub and continued to admit patrons between April 3 and the early hours of April 5.

In addition, during the early morning hours of April 4, Denver police officers responded to a felony menacing incident outside the premises. A patron who had been removed returned with a firearm and threatened security guardss.

The police department����ap media relations team told The Post that officers were also dispatched around 1:51 a.m. on April 5 to a reported assault in the 1600 block of Wazee Street. A patron was found unconscious and injured on the sidewalk in front of the premises. That case remains under investigation.

“The Denver Police Department will respectfully decline commenting on this situation, given the pending action by Licensing and Consumer Protection,” the department said.

The city began receiving community complaints about the business in 2024 when it operated under the tradename Hotel Nativ.

Rignol was formally notified of the suspension on Friday. The hotel was then given 48 hours to shut down operations so guests could be notified, and the nightclub has since closed, according to the city.

Mark Ivanyo, managing partner at the Texas-based Ivanyo Law Office, represents Rignol.

He said the fire alarm panel cited in the city’s order had been replaced several weeks before its April 13 inspection, and that the system has since been installed, tested and is now fully operational. At the same time, he said the fire department issued a written inspection report confirming the system’s installation and testing, lifting the stop-work order at the property.

“The property is currently in an active compliance process, with any remaining items limited to permitting and final acceptance steps that are in progress. Earlier reporting has referenced aggregate violation figures that do not reflect how those figures are calculated or the actual number of distinct issues identified,” Ivanyo said.

“The company is continuing to work with all relevant authorities and regulators to address any outstanding matters and hopes to resume operations as soon as that process is complete.”

The business will be required to appear before a city hearing officer, where it will have an opportunity to contest the suspension.

The project will use a vacant site along the South Platte Park Open Space in the RiverPark development at Santa Fe Drive and Mineral Avenue.

At the heart of the five-acre development will be a 15,000-square-foot restaurant offering Southern-inspired, Colorado-focused cuisine, complemented by five private dining rooms designed to accommodate a range of group sizes and community gatherings.

Plans for the project were discussed during a , where the economic development staff said they received an application from the seeking a partnership agreement with the city for the project.

The meeting agenda said Manning’s involvement is intended for promotional activities as well as the general use of his name, image and likeness.

“Mr. Manning’s financial involvement, along with other equity partners, has been intentionally limited by Gastamo Group to ensure they retain long-term ownership and management of the project, and to more adequately reflect the nature of Mr. Manning’s partnership and role with the project; not as a majority owner, but rather, as a promoter,” the agenda said.

In addition to the restaurant, the project includes a 13,000-square-foot “Field House” venue designed as a year-round facility capable of hosting weddings, corporate functions, concerts, fundraisers and community events.

The venue will feature a glass-enclosed event barn, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, and a capacity of up to approximately 450 guests.

The site plan for 1st Street Farms includes a range of outdoor amenities such as a multi-use turf field designed for youth sports and community programming, landscaped gardens and walking paths, and open green space for informal recreation and seasonal events.

Gastamo Group will also provide a variety of community perks through a community benefits agreement, including art installations, first responder and teacher appreciation benefits and naming rights, among other offerings.

The project will cost $28 million, which includes site improvements for the public spaces, as well as the restaurant and event venue building, the agenda said. The costs also include acquisition costs for the two contiguous parcels that make up the five acres.

However, the site poses infrastructure challenges and high acquisition costs, creating a funding gap of $5.5 million.

Because of significant public-facing improvements, proposed community benefits, and an annual $35.2 million economic impact of the project, city staff requested the council’s consideration of a public-private partnership agreement to support the development.

In the event that a partnership agreement with the city is not reached, the Gastamo Group will not proceed with the development of the project.

Original plans for the site by RiverPark developer Evergreen Devco Inc. called for 270 residential townhome units. In the event the 1st Street Farms development does not proceed, the use would likely revert to the original plans, the document stated. Gastamo Group is led by founder Jean-Phillipe Failyau and CEO Peter Newlin. The company has a portfolio of successful restaurants.

Examples of the businesses included in Gastamo Group’s portfolio include Park Burger, Homegrown Tap & Dough, Perdida – Mexican Kitchen, Park & Co. and Lady Nomada.

Representatives from Gastamo Group did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.

This is a developing story and may be updated.��