It’s official.  The Denver Pavilions has a new owner.  Both the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Business Journal are reporting that the shopping center was sold to Gart Properties LLC and its partner ING Clarion Partners LLC for $94.5 million.  I previously posted in January when the Pavilions was put on the market.

A lot of great details were provided that help give a sense for what is in store for these two blocks along the 16th St. mall.  Most interesting to me is that the new owners plan to install escalators that come right up to the Mall in an attempt to get more foot traffic going through the center of the project.  Also interesting will be the planned addition of large video screens that will advertise Pavilions tenants.  The $25 million renovation will begin early in 2009 with no completion date disclosed.

What was discussed in some detail was the planned tenant mix at the Pavilions.  I liked that Mark Sidell, President of Gart Properties addressed it somewhat in both articles:

“We need to add more food to the mix…it’s likely that we would end up with a signature, chef-driven concept.”

“We’re moving to make it more of a destination for fashion, lifestyle, and dining, rather than nightclubs….There are more eyeballs and footfalls going past the Pavilions on a daily basis than anyplace else in downtown….Our job is to give people shopping and dining choices that they will not find in ‘any mall USA’ that you can find in the suburbs.”

I am sure we will learn more as deals are completed - maybe a Kevin Taylor concept?  I am very curious to find out what the plans are for 25,000 SF that will be vacated when (it is highly speculated) Virgin Records leaves the center in November.  Also still vacant is the 25,000 SF on the second and third floor where the former nightclubs were and the 8,000 SF space on the third floor next to Jazz at Jack’s which is leftover from the former Antoine du Chez salon space.

I have said it before - change is good.  The Pavilions needs a fresh perspective and I confident that better times are in store for this emerging retail destination in Downtown Denver.

The Bubba Gump Mural is coming along nicely.  I first posted about the mural on June 16th and walked by to check on its progress last Friday and got these pictures:

So far Teddy Roosevelt, the Saturn V Moon Rocket and Muhammad Ali are featured.  I have yet to catch the artist(s) in action but will keep trying.  I plan on following the Mural through its completion and will post photos along the way.

On Saturday night we had dinner at L’Asie Fusion Bistro - 603 E. 6th Ave. - on the far edge of Capitol Hill.  The last time we had been there it was the venerable Emma’s and to be honest it was not a good experience.  Since then we watched the space get transformed into L’Asie (about a year ago) and most recently they added their outdoor patio.  It was the patio that made up our minds - Saturday night was beautiful out for our walk down there.

It was pretty late into their dinner service so it was not hard to get a spot outside.  After a tiring day of helping a friend move their 2 for 1 cocktails were very welcoming - their “Ginger-Rita” was interesting.  We shared their Chicken Lettuce Wraps that came with soy and peanut sauces to start.  For our entrees we shared their Beef with Black Mushrooms and their Bamboo Steamed Shrimp.  All of the portions were very generous and the sauce and mushrooms complimented the well prepared beef.  The shrimp was still flavorful but light and came with and assortment of vegetables including bok choy.

We have received their menu in the mail many times and I wished we had not waited so long finally try L’Asie.  With Mel’s, Lime and Fruition this stretch of 6th avenue is certainly coming into its own culinary speaking wise!

This past weekend we attended Denver’s 2008 PrideFest.  A two day event staged in Civic Center Park, we only attended the second day - on Sunday.  Saturday was the family day.  As is now our tradition we walked down from our loft and met our friends Brian and Leigh (pictured below) on Colfax to watch the last half of the parade.  Even though it was very hot the parade was even better attended than last year.

After the parade wrapped up we walked down to 17th and had brunch at Steuben’s - 523 East 17th St..  I tried their bloody mary and chose their crab cake benedict (I am a creature of habit).  After brunch we walked over to Civic Center Park to check out the festival.  It was still early enough in the day so it was not too crowded and I loved how many people had brought their dogs with them.  We had a great time!

On Tuesday for the first time ever I took the light rail to a meeting.  When I found out that my meeting was going to be at Colorado and I-25 I decided to take the light rail instead of dealing with the traffic nightmare that is Colorado Boulevard.  I am lucky at my work to get an Eco-Pass as a benefit so that made the decision even easier.

A really cool part of the process was that now on Google Maps you can select directions for either driving or using public transit.  I was amazed at how easy and stress free it was.  I just went down to the 16th & Stout light rail station and took the F line to my meeting.  My return trip was just as simple.  I will certainly be doing this whenever possible in the future.  This also gets me very excited about eventually being able to take a train back and forth to DIA. 

Downtown Denver is getting a new mural!  The Bubba Gump Shrimp CO at 1437 California St. has decided to take the Convention Center side of their restaurant and turn it into some public art.

The restaurant is sponsoring the mural and has commissioned Evergreen Signs to design and complete the work.  I have been walking by for a couple of weeks now and it is progressing nicely.  I think that this is a huge improvement over the blank wall that has been greeting convention goers and light rail users for about a year now.  With only half of it completed I look forward to seeing the final subjects in the completed work.

Tuesday I attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Cornerstone Residences at St. Francis Center in the Curtis Park neighborhood.  Located right at the corner of Park Avenue West and Curtis Street, this project when completed will completely transform this corner and be a catalyst in helping to further gentrify this neighborhood.

The existing vacant blue and white building that occupies the corner now will be razed and in its place a 42,000 square feet, 5 story, 50 unit apartment building will be built.  What makes this project more unique is that this building will house individuals coming out of transitional housing, less stable supportive housing or those coming directly out of chronic homelessness.  Individuals in these units will be required to participate in case management and those who are capable of obtaining employment will receive assistance to acquire job search skills, job skills training and access to employment placement programs.

Developed by the St. Francis Center and Rocky Mountain HDC the contractor for the project is Alliance Construction and the major investor is Key Bank.  The architect of the new building is Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh AIA.  I think the design is wonderful and will activate this corner both visually from cars along Park Avenue and from pedestrians walking by.  Honestly anything would be better than what is there now.

Other signs of revitalization and new projects are popping up all around this site and I know they will continue.  I will continue to follow this development as demolition and site work commence.

It is official - the Fontius/Steele Building has been renamed the Sage Building.  I last posted about this project on May 7th.  Today I attended a press conference on the second floor of the Sage Building where it was announced that Sage Hospitality Resources LLC would be the anchor tenant and lease all of the office space in the project.  This lease represents 32,000 square feet of space over 3 levels of the building.

Another tenant announced was American National Bank who will open their first branch in Downtown Denver in 4,500 square feet of the ground floor retail space along the 16th Street Mall.  It was very exciting to finally get to see how much progress has been made in the complete renovation of the building that started a little over a year ago.  The new windows look great and the historic brass hardware has been completely restored - I even got to see a demonstration of how they work!

Mayor John Hickenlooper, Walter Isenberg - CEO/President of Sage Hospitality Resources LLC, Evan Makovsky - Owner and Developer of the project, Milroy Alexander - CEO of Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) and Tami Door - CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership addressed the crowd. 

“Our strategic investment of New Market Tax Credits and a facade improvement loan is quickly paying off”…..”The City’s economic development tools have spurred restoration of this incredible building, which in turn, further activates our downtown, poising Denver for additional jobs.” - Mayor John Hickenlooper

Even more impressive than the building itself was the public private partnership used to make it all come together.  $7 million in New Market Tax Credits administered by CHFA’s subsidiary - Colorado Growth & Revitalization Fund LLC - were used for the first time in Downtown Denver on this project.  Additionally a $1.25 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) facade loan was administered through the City of Denver’s Office of Economic Development.  The total price tag for the renovation is $16.5 million with the facade work finishing up this August and the entire project completion targeted for March of 2009.

I am still very curious as to who the other ground floor retailers will be and will share that information as soon as I find out.  Exterior window installation on the 16th Street side of the building is almost complete.  Terra cotta tiles are already being installed on the ground floor pillars and from the model I saw the new awnings will create a great new commanding presence for the Sage Building along the 16th St. Mall.

This weekend we attended the La Piazza Dell’Arte in Larimer Square.  I had heard about this event before but this was the first time I attended.  All of Larimer Square and two blocks of 14th Street were sealed off to allow artists to create temporary works of art on the street.

It was a two day event and on Saturday we toured around to see the artists prepping their canvases and starting their pieces.  We grabbed lunch on the patio of Osteria Marco and watched the artists work as people milled about.  In addition to the Wild Mushroom & Robiola pizza we really like we tried their Chopped Rotisserie Chicken, Pancetta, Red Onion & Bleu Cheese salad.  It was nice sitting in the sun - I enjoyed the salad and the people watching.

Despite the rain showers on Sunday morning the event continued and we came back down later in the afternoon to see the finished pieces.  Most of the artists were putting the finishing touches on their work and some were completely done.  I am still in awe of the depth and detail work that was accomplished with oil pastel crayons on concrete in such a short time frame.  We decided to take a break at Gelazzi where we discovered that the long line was worth it.

It was also my first time in Gelazzi - 1411 Larimer St. - the space is very bright and the atmosphere is funky.  The aroma of freshly baked waffle cones and gelato was heavenly.  Just as I approached the counter they put out a fresh batch of pistachio which is a favorite of mine - they even had whole roasted pistachios as a garnish.  My pistachio gelato was so creamy and the crunch of the whole pistachios made for the best tasting gelatto experience that I have had since I visited Italy in 1995.  I highly recommend checking it out - they even give free samples to help you make your decision.  If that were not enough, they have cocktails featuring gelato as well.

This was a great weekend.

Activity has resumed at the long dormant construction site for the planned Embassy Suites Downtown at the corner of 14th & Stout.  Earth moving equipment has re-appeared along with a construction trailer and it seems as if they are finishing the work they stopped several months ago.

I first wrote about this site in my July 16th post last year.  This is good news for the economy because it indicates that construction prices may have eased a bit.  Richard Parks, Vice President of WPM Construction (the developer for the project), was quoted in an April 25th 2008 Denver Business Journal article as saying:

“Financing isn’t really the issue we’re dealing with - The issue we’re dealing with relates more with construction prices.  We’re in serious negotiation mode to make our numbers work [with subcontractors].”

Mr. Parks indicated in the same article that construction would commence when construction prices eased up. 

As you may recall this was the former site of the Old Motor Garage parking structure that was demolished last summer.  The only recognizable remnants of the structure remaining were some art deco inspired concrete pieces in a pile close to the Convention Center.  I hope this work is followed very quickly by an official groundbreaking and excavation for the foundation.