West 104th Avenue and Melody Drive
Adams County (Northglenn), Colorado
1968 was a shopping mall banner year for Denver! CINDERELLA CITY, with 1.3 million leasable square feet, was officially dedicated in March. Twelve days later, a second major Mile High City retail hub made its debut.
This complex was conceived as the civic center of Northglenn, a 280-acre, northern Denver housing tract. The 3,000-home development had opened in June 1959. Construction of the planned city, and its 20 million dollar shopping center, was directed by Jordan Perlmutter, under the auspices of Perl-Mack Enterprises. San Francisco's Jarvis & Associates designed the shopping center.
Ground was broken for NORTHGLENN MALL on August 30, 1966. The complex was built on a freeway-adjacent, 71.6-acre plot, located 11.4 miles north of the Colorado Capitol. At the time, the site and surrounding suburb were in unincorporated Adams County.
A formal grand opening for the mall was held March 14, 1968. As part of the 10-day dedication celebration, seventy ribbons were cut in unison. US Senator Gordon Llewwllyn Allot (R) was in attendance, as was Jordan Perlmutter and other local dignitaries and department store officials. Entertainment was provided by the Northglenn High School Marching Band.
A small strip center had opened on the south end of the parcel in 1964. It included an (18,000 square foot) Safeway supermarket and (16,000 square foot) Walgreen Drug. After the completion of NORTHGLENN MALL, the existing strip center became one of its outparcels.
With 850,000 leasable square feet, NORTHGLENN was the region's second-largest shopping complex. Its original anchors were a 2-level (139,000 square foot) Denver Dry Goods ("The Denver"), 1-level (109,800 square foot) Sears and 2-level (138,400 square foot) J.C. Penney.
Charter inline stores included Thom McAn Shoes, Pet City, Fontius Shoes, Regal Shoes, Singer Sewing Center - So-Fro Fabrics, Swensen's Ice Cream, The County Seat, Stuarts Ready-To-Wear For Ladies, Richman Brothers men's wear, a (27,900 square foot) Fashion Bar, (10,000 square foot) Furr's Cafeteria and (68,600 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. A freestanding motion picture venue, the Loews Northglenn Theatre, had opened for business June 27, 1967. It occupied the northeast corner of the mall site, was twinned in the mid-'70s and quaded in the mid-'80s.
Meanwhile, the adjacent City of Thornton had been thwarted in its attempt to annex the unincorporated Northglenn community and its revenue-producing shopping mall. The issue was settled by the Colorado Supreme Court, who ruled in favor of Northglenn residents. The newly-formed City of Northglenn came into being on April 18, 1969.
The first mall expansion was formally announced in August 1973. 22,000 square feet of retail space was to be added. By the time that ground was broken, in January 1977, the size of the addition had been increased to 65,000 square feet. Twenty new West Wing stores began opening in August 1977. Some of these were Casual Corner, Record Bar, Mile Hi Hobby North, Chick Fil-A, a McDonald's restaurant, Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio and Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre. The existing Fashion Bar had also been enlarged to 32,600 square feet.
A second mall expansion added a 2-level (82,000 square foot) Mervyn's to the went end of the West Wing. This store was dedicated on October 17, 1986. NORTHGLENN MALL now covered approximately 997,000 leasable square feet, with a tenant list of eighty-seven stores and services.
NORTHGLENN served as the premier shopping destination of the North Denver suburbs for several years, but was knocked out of prominence by WESTMINSTER MALL {3.8 miles southwest, in Westminster}. This complex, which opened in 1977, was expanded exponentially over the following two decades.
Newer malls in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming also siphoned off business from NORTHGLENN. A potential retail rival was dedicated during 1989. However, THORNTON TOWN CENTER {.4 of a mile southeast, in Thornton} never realized its potential.
In April 1987, the first -and only- NORTHGLENN anchor rebranding transpired. Denver Dry Goods was absorbed by May D & F. The NORTHGLENN "Denver Dry" operated under the May D & F banner for 2 years. In 1989, the store was shuttered and was never retenanted. J.C. Penney had closed in 1988. By this time, the shake-shingled, Mansard-roofed NORTHGLENN -quite in vogue in 1968- appeared dated. The interior of the mall was filled with vacant store fronts.
The Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority (NURA) was created in 1990 to oversee a redevelopment of the struggling shopping venue, which, by 1993, was bankrupt. By 1996, Sears had relocated to WESTMINSTER MALL, leaving only Mervyn's to anchor the complex. By a twist of fate, the original developer, Jordan Perlmutter, re-entered the scene. He had sold the mall in 1987 and bought it back in 1998. His solution to the dead mall dilemma was to raise the entire structure, except for its Mervyn's, and rebuild from scratch.
Demolition of NORTHGLENN MALL commenced in the summer of 1998. A new, open-air venue, originally to be known as MALL OF THE ROCKIES, was being promoted as MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN by the time its first stores opened for business, in October 1999. The 60 million dollar retail hub, which spanned approximately 664,200 leasable square feet, was completed in 2001.
In addition to the existing Mervyn's, there was a 1-level (140,900 square foot) Lowe's, (30,100 square foot) Ross Dress For Less, (33,600 square foot) Bed Bath & Beyond, (30,100 square foot) Office Depot and (30,000 square foot) Marshalls.
As stores in the MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN were opening for business, a new retail rival opened its doors. FLATIRON CROSSING / THE VILLAGE {4.2 miles west, in Broomfield} was inaugurated in the year 2000.
Jordan Permutter sold MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN, to a Denver-based subsidiary of Jones, Lang, LaSalle, in March 2006. Mervyn's was shuttered at this time. Its space was remodeled, with a (32,000 square foot) Circuit City and (48,000 square foot) Woodley's Fine Furniture setting up shop.
In the meantime, second and third commercial competitors came on the scene. LARKRIDGE {7 miles northeast, in Thornton} was dedicated in 2005. This was followed by THE ORCHARD TOWN CENTER {4.6 miles north, in Westminster} in 2008.
The new and improved NORTHGLENN facility had the misfortune of leasing to a number of tenants that were soon out of business. Between July 2008 and June 2016, the power plaza lost its Bennigan's restaurant, as well as Circuit City, Borders Books and Sports Authority. Circuit City's vacant space was assumed by a KG Men's Superstore.
In April 1987, the first -and only- NORTHGLENN anchor rebranding transpired. Denver Dry Goods was absorbed by May D & F. The NORTHGLENN "Denver Dry" operated under the May D & F banner for 2 years. In 1989, the store was shuttered and was never retenanted. J.C. Penney had closed in 1988. By this time, the shake-shingled, Mansard-roofed NORTHGLENN -quite in vogue in 1968- appeared dated. The interior of the mall was filled with vacant store fronts.
The Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority (NURA) was created in 1990 to oversee a redevelopment of the struggling shopping venue, which, by 1993, was bankrupt. By 1996, Sears had relocated to WESTMINSTER MALL, leaving only Mervyn's to anchor the complex. By a twist of fate, the original developer, Jordan Perlmutter, re-entered the scene. He had sold the mall in 1987 and bought it back in 1998. His solution to the dead mall dilemma was to raise the entire structure, except for its Mervyn's, and rebuild from scratch.
Demolition of NORTHGLENN MALL commenced in the summer of 1998. A new, open-air venue, originally to be known as MALL OF THE ROCKIES, was being promoted as MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN by the time its first stores opened for business, in October 1999. The 60 million dollar retail hub, which spanned approximately 664,200 leasable square feet, was completed in 2001.
In addition to the existing Mervyn's, there was a 1-level (140,900 square foot) Lowe's, (30,100 square foot) Ross Dress For Less, (33,600 square foot) Bed Bath & Beyond, (30,100 square foot) Office Depot and (30,000 square foot) Marshalls.
As stores in the MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN were opening for business, a new retail rival opened its doors. FLATIRON CROSSING / THE VILLAGE {4.2 miles west, in Broomfield} was inaugurated in the year 2000.
Jordan Permutter sold MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN, to a Denver-based subsidiary of Jones, Lang, LaSalle, in March 2006. Mervyn's was shuttered at this time. Its space was remodeled, with a (32,000 square foot) Circuit City and (48,000 square foot) Woodley's Fine Furniture setting up shop.
In the meantime, second and third commercial competitors came on the scene. LARKRIDGE {7 miles northeast, in Thornton} was dedicated in 2005. This was followed by THE ORCHARD TOWN CENTER {4.6 miles north, in Westminster} in 2008.
The new and improved NORTHGLENN facility had the misfortune of leasing to a number of tenants that were soon out of business. Between July 2008 and June 2016, the power plaza lost its Bennigan's restaurant, as well as Circuit City, Borders Books and Sports Authority. Circuit City's vacant space was assumed by a KG Men's Superstore.
As a result of a 2012 foreclosure, the complex fell into the hands of a Miami-based entity, known only as HQ8-10410-10450 Melody Lane, Limited Liability Company. In October 2018, MARKETPLACE AT NORTHGLENN was acquired by a subsidiary of Connecticut's Hutensky Capital Partners.
Sources:
The Denver Post
Sources:
The Denver Post
The Broomfield Star-Builder (Broomfield, Colorado)
Pat Breitenstein, Executive Director, Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority
https://www.northglenn.org
https://digital.denverlibrary.org
https://www.northglenn.org/history
"The Denver Dry Goods: Where Colorado Shopped With Confidence" / Mark A. Barnhouse
www.cinematreasures.org
Pat Breitenstein, Executive Director, Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority
https://www.northglenn.org
https://digital.denverlibrary.org
https://www.northglenn.org/history
"The Denver Dry Goods: Where Colorado Shopped With Confidence" / Mark A. Barnhouse
Jeffrey Browning / Mall History
Jones Lang LaSallewww.cinematreasures.org
https://www.bizjournals.com
FAIR USE OF NORTHGLENN MALL IMAGES:
The images from The Denver Post / Getty Images illustrate a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The images are not replaceable with free-use or public-domain images. The use of the images does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the images in any way. The images are being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and their use is not believed to detract from the original images in any way.
