Denver is looking to use the last of its American Rescue Plan Act money for downtown’s recovery exclusively for 16th Street Mall.

Small businesses operating in the downtown attraction were first hit by the pandemic and further disrupted by 16th Street Mall’s drawn-out renovation construction project, leading to closures and nearly a third of ground-floor shops sitting empty.

As 16th Street Mall begins to debut completed blocks ahead of its full grand reopening next year, the city has hunkered down to help the corridor — and the rest of downtown — bounce back.

“One of the greatest opportunities for Downtown Denver’s post-pandemic revival hinges on the iconic 16th Street experience,” the funding request from Denver Economic Development & Opportunity and Downtown Denver Partnership said.

The Business, Arts, Workforce & Aviation Services Committee approved a contract with the Downtown Denver Partnership on Wednesday to manage $1.7 million in ARPA funding to support small businesses on the mall with the reopening and attract new ones.

The proposal will head to City Council for final approval.

The funding request outlines three solutions for improving the mall: a grant program for businesses to expand their patios or improve their facades, filling in vacant spaces and organizing block activations.

Denver 16th Street Mall business sees boost in foot traffic as construction fencing comes down

As of Monday, Denver has doled out approximately $4 million in ARPA funding toward revitalizing downtown, according to the city’s dashboard. The city distributed nearly 90% of its $308 million in federal pandemic recovery money in total.

The proposed $1.7 million contract is expected to be the last of the federal pandemic recovery money geared toward downtown, Deborah Cameron, Denver Economic Development & Opportunity’s chief business development officer, told committee members Wednesday.

It’s hard to quantify how much of 16th Street Mall’s economic problems are due to the pandemic or its construction project, Cameron said, but what’s coming next will be critical for the rest of downtown struggling with the loss of office workers. 

“We will all be watching carefully, as 16th Street reopens, how much of a bounce we get from that reopening,” Cameron said.

Going after empty storefronts

A fifth of downtown’s retail vacancies are concentrated along 16th Street Mall.

The data comes from a retail tenant program launched in 2023 by DDP and the city’s economic development department to develop a ground-floor strategy for downtown.

Downtown saw 24 new storefront openings this year, according to a city presentation.

“Only three of those 24 openings were on 16th Street,” Cameron said, “where we most vitally need them to be.”

16th Street Mall’s retail vacancy sits at 29%, according to the funding request submitted with the city. Cameron told the committee that vacancy improved from a 32% high, urging its time to put the foot on the gas pedal to keep the trend going.

One key proposition for the funding will focus on attracting new tenants.

The partnership plans to use $380,000 to incentivize leasing vacant spaces, hiring a retail consultant to find businesses willing to move in and converting large vacant retail spaces into smaller spaces.

“We have a couple of particular spaces on 16th Street that are greater than 10,000 square feet in size, and we’re just not seeing a lot of market demand for spaces that big,” Cameron said.

Rather than letting those sit empty, Cameron said, the funding would help landlords turn them into smaller spaces that are more in demand.

Positioning for reopening

The mall reopened its first block in June between Larimer and Lawrence Streets, with businesses reporting a quick rebound in sales.

The city is scheduled to have three completed blocks by Aug. 29 and Mayor Mike Johnston announced at his State of the City address that the city hopes to have the entire mall finished next summer.

For the retailers or restaurants already open, the contract with DDP would allocate $430,000 to a grant program for small businesses to enhance or expand their outdoor patios as blocks reopen. It would also support other beautification projects for ground-floor facades such as improving signs, windows, doors and lighting.

DDP also plans to use $735,000 of the funding to plan and organize block activations along the mall to boost foot traffic to the area.

The city previously gave DDP $3 million to award up to $17,000 grants to support businesses impacted by the mall’s construction and $275,000 for creating a brand for the mall’s reopening.

In an update to committee members, DDP said it selected a marketing firm to rebrand the street and consider renaming the city attraction for its full reopening.

When the mall was originally named 16th Street Transitway Mall for its debut in 1982, downtown officials said the name reflected its time period.

The reopening is an opportunity to make the sure 16th Street Mall remains relevant as times and the retail landscape have changed, partnership CEO Kourtny Garrett told the committee Wednesday.

“If so be it, we love mall, then it will continue as the mall. But we need to frame expectations of what the mall means,” Garrett said. “If there’s something else that really resonates … then we’ll go about that.”

“But we need to frame expectations of what the mall means,” she added.