Mark your calendars shoppers, would-be retail employees and parents looking for a place where the kids can expend some energy.
The largest shopping center now under construction in the Denver area will celebrate its grand opening Sept. 27. And its going to have an outdoor play area complete with a 30-foot-tall climbing structure to go along with its discount merchandise, developers say.
The 330,000-square-foot Denver Premium Outlets broke ground at the northeast corner of Interstate 25 and East 136th Avenue in Thornton in October. After announcing the center’s first bundle of tenants last month, developer/owner Simon Premium Outlets released the names of more incoming brands Friday.
They include: Calvin Klein, an Ann Taylor Factory Store, Vineyard Vines and Tommy Hillfiger.
“I think the biggest story is going to be the orchestration of all the retailers coming in and building their stores over the next 60 days,” Simon Premium Outlets CEO Stephen Yalof said.
The village-style center will have around 80 shops. Yalof expects it to create 500 full- and part-time jobs. He’s not concerned about stores staffing up in Denver’s tight labor market. Many positions will be entry level and Yalof believes brands like Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren will attract young workers. A job fair is planned for the center Aug. 16.
Yet to be announced are the restaurants that will fill the center’s dining pavilion. Those four names, as well as that of a sit-down restaurant tenant, are expected to be released just before opening day, Yalof said.
Simon is including a full-service restaurant and outdoor play place with Thornton residents in mind.
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“We’re going to be a regional draw, but the local people are the ones who are going to have to live with us every single day so we want to make sure there are things for them,” Yalof said.
As of June 30, 1.5 million square feet of new retail space was being built in metro Denver, a 34.4 percent increase over retail construction underway on June 30 last year, according to real estate firm CBRE. Denver Premium Outlets is the biggest portion of that crop, CBRE reports, but infill projects and mixed-used buildings with ground floor shopping and dining space remain popular with developers.
