July 1, 2008 6:31 PM

Gart Properties, ING pay $94.5 million for Denver Pavilions

There will be an article about this deal in Wednesday's Rocky Mountain News.
But here is a copy of today's press release.
Gart Properties LLC in a partnership with ING Clarion Partners LLC, has purchased the Denver Pavilions shopping center for $94.5 million.
The 347,000 square-foot mixed-use complex includes retailers such as Niketown, Barnes & Noble, and Virgin Megastore; the popular restaurants Maggiano's and Corner Bakery; and entertainment options including United Artists theaters and Jazz at Jack's. The mall occupies approximately two city blocks along the 16th Street Mall, the primary
retail, business, and transportation corridor running through downtown Denver.
The transaction was finalized today.
Plans call for the new owners to invest an additional $25 million on renovations and new tenant incentives. Enhancements for the Pavilions will synch with broad based plans to make improvements along the 16th Street Mall.
The top priorities for physical renovations are to improve the Pavilions drawing vertical transportation--adding escalators directly off the 16th Street Mall and enhanced elevators serving the three levels of the open air shopping center.
Other plans include brightening and softening the image with additional landscaping and plants as well as warm lighting.
The goal is to attract new "first-to-market" shops and restaurants into the Pavilions to draw additional visitors from the pedestrian traffic along the 16th Street Mall as well as from downtown Denver's growing residential population.
The new owners are committed to updating and revitalizing the project to better meet the changing needs and expectations of today's consumers.
"Our job is to reinvent the Denver Pavilions in a way that gives visitors a shopping, dining, and entertainment experience that is completely different from the typical, suburban 'any mall USA'," said Mark Sidell, president of Gart Properties.
Gart Properties and ING Clarion Partners were selected as buyers following a competitive bidding process.
The Denver Urban Renewal Authority was instrumental in the creation of the Denver Pavilions 10 years ago and served as a key facilitator in completing today's transaction.
The purchasers are collaborating on their second project together--the first one was The Village Shopping Center in Boulder, Colo. last year.
The team was selected for this project because the previous owners, Denver Pavilions Real Estate Owner, LLC recognized that these two companies had the best blend of expertise and capital to handle this complex re-positioning which requires proven success with merchandising, financial demands, local knowledge, and the ability to translate visionary concepts into reality.
"When you consider Evan Makovsky's Block 162 project next door, the redevelopment of the Security Life building at 1600 Glenarm and the revitalized Denver Pavilions, this represents a 'once in a mall' opportunity," said Sidell. "We think this is an ideal time to be a part of the tremendous momentum of downtown Denver retail. The growth in the number of downtown residents combined with the success of the Convention Center and the addition of new hotels are bringing in more than 12 million overnight visitors each year--making the potential for a re-invigorated Denver Pavilions very exciting."
Gart Properties is a Denver-based real estate investment firm specializing in enhancing and repositioning underperforming real estate assets, with particular expertise in retail shopping centers.
ING Clarion Partners is a national organization with offices in major cities across the U.S. The firm has more than 26 years of private equity real estate investment experience on behalf of institutional investors.
This drawing by Communication Arts, or CommArts, shows the vision for a redesigned Pavilions.
Mark Sidell told me that the idea is to open up the Pavilions to the 16th Street Mall, by bringing the escelators to the mall. You can see the glass covers protecting pedestrians from the elements. And there will be new visual displays. For example, instead of the current static box "telling you the Hulk is playing, you will actually see little videos of the Hulk," Sidell said.
And above it, you can see a new high-tech display that can accomodate ever changing visuals.

Posted by John Rebchook at 6:31 PM | Comments (0)