$175M Entertainment District Coming to City of Glendale, Colo.

by Scott Reid

GLENDALE, COLO. — The city of Glendale has unveiled plans for a $175 million, 42-acre mixed-use development five miles southeast of downtown Denver to be named Glendale 180.

The development will include 151,725 square feet of food and beverage space, 109,000 square feet of entertainment and 42,500 square feet of retail, according to The Denver Post.

A mix of public and private financing will fund the project, with investment banks Stifel and DA Davidson handling the public financing and HFF securing the private financing. According to the Denver Business Journal, the city of Glendale issued bonds for about half of the $175 million cost of the project.

The Laramie Company, which is overseeing leasing for the project, is expected to announce anchor tenants within the next few weeks.

“We are very careful about the tenant mix we’re going after,” says Mary Beth Jenkins, president of The Laramie Company. “It’s a mix of traditional anchors, fine dining, and fun concepts you won’t find anywhere else in Colorado.”

Adjacent to Cherry Creek, the project features outdoor green space in addition to the brick-and-mortar development, including bike paths, water features and a botanic garden.

The outdoor space will be located south of Virginia Avenue, between Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Street. Almost 500,000 people live within a five-mile radius, and nearly 1 million live in the primary trade area.

To accommodate the expected influx of customers, more than 2,200 parking spaces will be created for Glendale 180 through a mix of underground and multi-story parking. Bicycle parking will also be scattered throughout.

Wulfe & Co., based in Houston, will act as a development partner, lending its expertise to the city. Architecture firm Gensler created the design to blend urban life and natural elements. Turner Construction will be the general contractor. Martin/Martin will provide both structural and civil engineering services, and Syska Hennessy Group will provide mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering services.

“Once the project gets going, we will average between 300 and 400 workers on the site,” says Mark Huber, account executive with Turner Construction. “We expect that when it’s all said and done, over 1 million man hours will be used to build the project.”

Other companies on this project include Watry Design (parking), Kumar and Associates (geotechnical), TDA Colorado (traffic), Wright Water Engineers (hydrology/floodplain), OJB (landscape architect), Taylor and Miller LIGHT (lighting design), and Square Peg Design (signage and way finding).

Groundbreaking for Glendale 180 is set for this fall. The project is expected to open in the fall of 2017.

— Jeff Shaw

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