As cliché as it sounds, Denver's 16th Street Mall is a tale of two cities.
One city is vibrant, thriving, drawing people from near and far who shop at the almost 300 businesses — some 60% locally owned — along the 1.25 mile outdoor mall from Broadway to Union Station.
The other city is crime-ridden, where homelessness is rampant and residents, business owners and visitors encounter open-air drug use and panhandling and where they need to navigate around feces or used needles on the streets.
“Everything on the mall is rosy and great,” Phil Turner, the founder of Tuscany Coffee on the corner of 16th and Stout streets, told The Denver Gazette. “The mall’s being re-built, the Convention Center is roaring back, people are in town for business meetings, tourists never stopped and they’re fully going at it.”
Just a few blocks down the mall from Tuscany, Marissa Williams, owner of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, isn't exactly seeing wine and roses.
“We’re in a rut here," Williams said, "and the businesses, especially small ones, out there need to make our voices heard because things aren’t changing and it’s causing businesses to go under like crazy.”
The competing assessments of the city's famous 16th Street Mall are a microcosm of the debate over whether Denver is decaying or thriving, an introspection that is occurring at time when the city is poised to elect its new mayor for the first time after 12 years.
At the practical level, the stakes for Denver's center city are large: It supports more than 1,800 jobs and generates more than $155 million in income for workers and nearly $380 million in sales for businesses, according to city data.
But the mall also encapsulates what the city envisions itself to be — hip, chic, cultured, a gem in a metropolis of more than three million people, but also a safe and short getaway for its residents, including families with young children.
And just as businesses began to recover from the devastation of a pandemic that drove workers and most visitors away for a year, the city of Denver in April 2022 started a $149 million renovation project. The facelift is much needed, but it also is taking away restaurant patios, creating narrow walkways next to heavy-equipment work and disrupting the flow of the RTD free shuttles that used to move some 3.6 million people every year.
City estimates that, once completed, the project, which runs through 2024, will accrue around $4 billion in economic impact.
Wine, roses — and feces
Turner, the founder of Tuscany Coffee who has observed the mall evolve since he opened in 1994, watches the foot traffic ebb and flow as people from all over the world come and go for business or fun on the mall, stopping for coffee or a bite at his location, which he called “the epicenter of the world.”
The 16th Street Mall is figuratively on fire, Turner said, as the influx of people flock to the The Convention Center and other downtown-area events, such as the state prep wrestling championships last weekend, a relief that comes as the central business district returns to vibrancy after the virus-induced chaos of the last two years.
“I think everything is great,” he said.
Williams, owner of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, has a hard time seeing any of that progress.
Not right now, anyway, although she holds out hope for the mall to improve.
During the pandemic, Williams spent every day opening and closing her store by herself. With the help of her husband and their high school and middle school children, Williams managed to keep her small business downtown alive.
Finally, as the pandemic settled down in 2021, Williams started to see her business reach its pre-pandemic sales numbers. But then the construction project launched, taking their store volume down about 35%, she said.
Other store owners share that lament, arguing that the project is ill-timed and that, while it would benefit businesses once it is completed, it forces shops anew into a state of existential crisis. To enjoy the project's full benefits, they first have to survive — again.
On top of the construction-related woes, Williams described a commercial center struggling to maintain sanitation. Her maintenance person cleans human feces from the storefront every day, she added, adding she is losing employees who cite safety concerns.
Williams said she understands their safety concerns, having been in unsafe situations downtown herself.
“This isn’t the Denver I remember,” Williams said.
Williams wants to believe in the downtown resurgence. Her somewhat reluctant sense of hope is shared by many of the business owners along the mall — optimism for the promise of a completely revitalized and safe downtown and frustration over the construction and the crisis of homelessness and drug use.
Alive and thriving?
From his café's windows, Turner sees an area "on fire."
“The convention center is coming back roaring,” Turner said. “A few weeks ago, we had meteorologists from all over the world here for a week. The feedback from the tourists was super positive.”
And while several mall staples, such as McDonalds, TJ Maxx and Monster World at the Denver Pavilions, have shuttered in the last few months, Turner views their departure as a plus.
“All those big chains packed up and hiked out immediately during the pandemic because they knew it was going to slow down,” Turner said. “All that’s done is help the small independent coffee shop or the small independent pizza place. For the first time in a long time, we have predominantly independent businesses on the 16th Street mall and that’s always something that people hope for.”
Kourtny Garrett, the president of the Downtown Denver Partnership, said her group is in the process of bringing in eight new businesses to the area. She, too, is seeing a shift to locally-owned operations in the area.
“What we’re seeing nationally is that retail that really values social impact and is born out of local or regional roots is the most successful in today’s market,” Garrett said. “Denver is known as a very entrepreneurial and robust local business ecosystem. I think that holds a tremendous amount of opportunity to see 16th Street reemerge.”
As a local business owner, Turner spends a lot of time looking at numbers. While he sees the mall bustling outside his window and his firsthand experience tells him the mall is alive, his numbers confirm it.
“I’m a business guy and I look at numbers,” Turner said. “I look at money and I can say we’re busy. Things are back. Denver is cranking.”
The Downtown Denver Partnership numbers show similar trends, with restaurant reservations downtown at 8% above pre-pandemic levels and hotel occupancy at 75%, Garrett said. In 2019, hotel occupancy downtown was at 85%.
“We’re nearing those pre-pandemic numbers,” she said.
Mark Sidell, president of Denver Pavilions owner and operator Gart Properties, said the Pavilions is hovering close to 90% occupancy and has plans for $7 million of investment to refresh the shopping center.
"You need to keep investing to be relevant," Sidell said. "You'll see a whole new look in the Denver Pavilions."
But even as the mall positions itself for a resurgence, one question persists: Will downtown Denver also regain the workers who went remote during the pandemic?
The latest report shows office vacancy remains on the rise across the metropolis, ending the fourth quarter in 2022 with a vacancy rate of 21.8%, according to Cushman and Wakefield.
That rate worsened compared to same period in 2021, the report from Cushman & Wakefield says. That is a "likely indication that the current economic climate and the ongoing debate surrounding return-to-office continue to impact the office leasing market," the report says, adding the vacancy rate in Denver's Central Business District also increased compared to the last quarter and year over year.
Having fewer workers in downtown Denver has a direct effect on the restaurants and shops on 16th Street Mall and elsewhere downtown. If employees persist on working remotely, it would alter the character and underlying economic presumptions for commercial districts, such as the mall.
Boom or bust?
Denver native John Quam, who grew up in the city and later moved to Costa Rica to work in publishing, returned for a visit in February to what he called a “shocking” decline of the mall.
Howler Magazine publisher John Quam, who grew up in Denver, stands for a portrait at the Welcome To Denver Store on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)
Quam remembers when the mall bustled with people.
Now it feels dead, he said.
“I’m shocked at how many businesses are out of business at the mall,” Quam said. “There are no crowds. I didn’t see the massive number of people walking around going to lunch like they used to. The 16th Street mall used to be busy as hell.”
Quam talked to the Denver Gazette during a record-setting wintry February, when most outdoor spaces typically see less foot traffic.
Quam insisted that the mall is beyond decline, and, in order to bring it back, the city needs to do something drastic.
“A decline? This is dead. It’s at the bottom,” Quam said. “(The city) needs to spend some money.”
In August of 2022, the Denver City Council approved a $2.4 million contract to the Downtown Denver Partnership to help struggling businesses, marketing efforts and a rent-assistance programs for startups and small businesses that want to operate on the mall. The city’s Department of Public Safety also contributed some funding, alongside the Department of Economic Development and Opportunity, to implement elements of an approach to curbing crime through through environmental design.
The approach has been used across the country, and it's not new to Denver. The idea is to look at reducing crime via the lens of design. That could mean adding security cameras, installing better lighting, putting up a fence or changing the landscaping.
Esteban Gallegos, a lifelong Denver resident and the assistant manager at outdoor retail store Montbell, said he’s lost hope for the mall’s revival. Having seen the mall in a different light, its current state feels like “an overcasting shadow,” he said.
“Maybe for new individuals who are seeing Denver fresh as it is now, it’s better for them because they can actually have some form of illusion that it’s getting better,” Gallegos said. “I think there’s just going to be an everlasting battle.”
Gallegos recognizes the work of the Downtown Denver Partnership to bring new business in, but he doesn’t think these new businesses are prepared for the challenge that comes with operating downtown, he said.
“Some businesses brought to the mall aren’t prepared for the issues that already exist,” Gallegos said, citing drug use, homelessness and crime. “Most of the shops are closed or vacant.”
Gallegos said the City is putting a lot of effort into bringing more people downtown, but officials need to realize that, when people come, they see “people using (hard drugs) as if they were just smoking cigarettes.”
“As a casual community member who works down here and maneuvers, it’s not so good,” Gallegos said.
Safety on the mall
The Partnership is aware of public safety concerns on the mall and it is the number one concern in Denver, Garrett said. Public safety challenges are not unique to Denver, she said, with her big city colleagues from across the country facing the same concerns in their cities.
The Downtown Denver Partnership is taking “swift action” to ensure public safety, which includes the recent launch of a downtown action team, which is made up of the City and County of Denver, Denver Police Department, RTD Police Department, the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, and substance abuse navigators, Garrett said.
Modern Market Eatery general manager Tracy Crandall stands for a portrait in the dining room on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)
“It’s a wholistic approach in a very concentrated way to ensure that we are acting with both strong enforcement, as well as compassionate response to those who are in need,” Garrett said.
Many welcome the efforts.
Gart Properties' Sidell is proud of the city and the partnership's efforts toward making downtown safer, particularly with the creation of the downtown action team.
"(The downtown action team) is a very thoughtful approach and it's been modeled from other successful programs," Sidell said. "It's a big positive step and I think it's going to get us there."
Tracy Crandall, general manager at Modern Market, said the city’s efforts to make the mall cleaner and safer are “absolutely” helping.
“(The City and Partnership) are doing a lot and I’ve noticed,” Crandall said. “Compared to a year ago, it’s gotten so much better and cleaner and there’s not as much riff raff down here.”
Crandall used to have challenges with people using drugs on her store’s patio and sometimes would have to step over people to get to work. Now, the mall feels safe, she said, adding it is a great place for people to come visit.
Kayla Colangelo, the manager of Brooklyn’s Finest Pizza, said the city sends someone out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to talk to homeless people and let them know what services are available to them.
Brooklyn's Finest Pizza kitchen manager Michael Graves works on a customer’s large house pepperoni pizza on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)
“The alleys have been cleaned up a lot and I’ve seen a positive impact,” Colangelo said. “There was a lot of riff-raff here before that. Not anymore. It’s 100 percent better.”
Like Disneyland
While homelessness and drug use in downtown Denver permeates the public policy conversation, some effectively argue they are an inescapable part of any major city's landscape.
These concerns are not unique to Denver, and people need to accept that downtown city areas all have these challenges, Turner of Tuscany Coffee said.
Jerry Vandergriss, 58, of Denver panhandles on the 16th Street Mall almost every day, he said. He won't go to a shelter, and said he's recently lost two toes to frostbite.
“If you can’t stomach seeing some people who are in distress or homeless or mentally ill having a struggling moment, then you must stay on your farm,” Turner said. “If you’re in a downtown area, you’re always going to have a certain segment of the population that’s living an alternative life than you are, but that’s just part of society.”
The area, however, is much safer now than it historically has been, Turner said.
“When I opened this location, you wouldn’t have wanted to walk from the coffee shop to the Convention Center because it was so seedy,” Turner said. “Today, from 16th and Stout to the Convention Center kind of looks like Disneyland. It’s fine.”
Williams, who owns Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory downtown, disagrees.
Safety downtown is worse now than it was pre-pandemic, she said.
“There are a lot of drug problems and it’s causing families to not want to go to downtown Denver anymore,” Williams said. “It’s causing my employees to leave for safety concerns.”
Denver’s policies on homelessness are not doing anybody any good, Williams said, adding that customers frequently express to her their shock about Denver’s “serious homelessness problem.”
“I hear more and more of it every day, so I don’t see things getting better right now,” Williams said.
Metro Denver’s homeless population has jumped by a quarter — to 6,884 in January 2022, compared to 5,530 in 2021, according to a federal survey.
Growth and barrier
As the retail sector heals from the pandemic’s market disruption, the mall is undergoing a renovation project that supporters say will infuse it with new life.
“Naturally, in retail, when you see this kind of market disruption, there’s going to be this moment of turnover,” Garrett said. “We’re seeing new businesses, new life come in while we’re still working really hard to maintain the businesses that we have and support those.”
Part of the city and the partnership’s plan to bring new life to 16th Street Mall is the 16th Street Mall Project, which aims to “revitalize the mall from Market Street to Broadway,” according to the city.
Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) spokesperson Nancy Kuhn said the project will improve safety and mobility by addressing deteriorating infrastructure and creating more opportunity for people who live, work and visit Denver to enjoy the mall for years to come.
“The new 16th Street Mall will feature elements designed to help make the mall a desirable, engaging destination for all,” Kuhn said.
Some of the new additions will include site furnishings, such as tables, chairs, benches, planters and play features designed for engaging kids.
“Our ultimate goal is to create a destination to be enjoyed by residents and visitors, and one that is welcoming for all,” Kuhn said.
The plans to implement new structures to engage children may draw and keep new audiences, such as Shunta Wiggins from Florida and Carl Anthony from North Carolina, who came to Denver for family vacation.
Wiggins, Anthony and the rest of their family, which included many children, said while they enjoyed 16th Street mall during their mid-February visit, it lacked excitement for younger visitors.
“I wouldn’t say the mall is kid-friendly,” Anthony said. “Maybe that’s to come, but I haven’t seen much of it.”
The construction added some confusion to their trip downtown, but they weren’t overly bothered by it, Anthony said.
“These things have to happen,” Anthony said. “I’m sure there’s a good reason for why it’s going on.”
But for some, the construction on the mall has created a barrier to the area’s liveliness.
Earls Kitchen + Bar restaurant manager Tyler Caldwell sits for a portrait in the dining room on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Timothy Hurst/The Denver Gazette)
Tyler Caldwell, the kitchen manager at Earl’s Kitchen and Bar, at 1600 Glenarm Place on the corner of 16th Street Mall, said the bar is worried about the construction reaching its block.
Still, he is hopeful for the day when the construction ends and the resurgence supporters say it would bring.
Overall, Caldwell said, things are starting to get busier and Earl's is finding new ways to market and bring people in.
“The only concern I think we have is as the construction moves down here, we’re a little worried that guests won’t be able to access our restaurant as easily,” Caldwell said.
Brooklyn's Pizza is going through that point now. It lost its patio during the construction, which negatively affected business, Colangelo said.
“(The patio) seats 20 and is always full when it’s nice out,” Colangelo said. “One of my customers told me, ‘I can’t wait until the patio is open again.'"
The city has kept Brooklyn’s Finest Pizza staff well informed throughout the renovation process, Colangelo said.
“They’ve been up-front with everything,” Colangelo said. “Our owner is so on top of everything, he lets all the employees know what’s going on.”
Hope after pain
While the process may take longer than they’d like, the construction will help Earl's in the long-run, Caldwell said.
“I know they’re trying to expand the sidewalks, which means we can expand our patio business,” Caldwell said. “They’re trying to make it safer to walk on the streets in general, so I think it’ll be to the benefit of the company.”
West Saloon and Kitchen’s owner, Gary Mantelli, and his son, Eric Pellot, said they, too, are hopeful for the construction project’s results despite the “growing pains” in the process.
“There is good work that’s being done, but there’s growing pains associated with it,” Pellot said. “The construction long term will help us, but the immediate impact it has can be pretty daunting at times.”
Sidell from Gart Properties compared the construction to a patient having a surgery, saying it may be painful in the process, but will result in a higher quality of life.
"The mall at the moment is not at its full potential, but there is a big investment and a big commitment going into it," Sidell said. "To get from where we are to realizing our full potential requires a lot of work, meaningful investment and there's some pain along the way."
Williams, from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, wishes the project could finish more quickly. She knows the end result of the construction will benefit the mall, but the length of the project is “debilitating,” she said.
“When this construction project started, it was really disheartening,” Williams said. “The end state’s going to be great and I look forward to it, but getting through at least 18 months of construction per block is really tough.”
Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this report.