West Alameda Avenue and South Wadsworth Boulevard
Jefferson County (Lakewood), Colorado
Denver's Gerri von Frellick announced plans for his third Mile High City mall in June 1963. A fully-enclosed -mega-sized- shopping complex was to be built on a 103-acre portion of Belmar, the 750-acre estate of heiress May Bonfils-Stanton. The site was located 7.6 miles southwest of Colorado's Capitol, in, what was then, unincorporated Jefferson County.
VILLA ITALIA was conceived by von Frellick, Charles Stanton (husband of Mrs. Bonfils-Stanton) and architect Gene Shrewsbury. Milan, Italy's GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE II (1870-1880) served as the inspiration for the Italianate design of the complex. It was predominantly a one-story structure, with sections having upper level mezzanines.
Ground was broken on December 9, 1964. The first operational store, a 1-level (124,200 square foot) Montgomery Ward, opened its doors on October 13, 1965. A 2-level (116,000 square foot), Denver-based Joslins welcomed shoppers on March 3, 1966. A mall-wide grand opening commenced on March 10, 1966 and continued for 3 days. The festivities were attended by Colorado Governor John Arthur Love (R).
Charter VILLA ITALIA stores included Orange Julius, Lewis Fine Candies, Pet City, Villa Beauty Needs, Thom McAn Shoes, Fashion Bar, Stuarts ladies' ready-to-wear, Wyatt's Cafeteria, Fontius Shoes, National Shirt Shops, Villa National Bank, Miss Cates ladies' wear, Walgreen Drug, Michelle Of Villa Italia restaurant and a (35,700 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
The General Cinema Corporation Villa Italia Cinema was built as a northwest outparcel. The single-screen venue premiered in December 1965. A 2-level (127,500 square foot) J.C. Penney was inaugurated on March 1, 1967 and was one of the final original mall stores. Encompassing approximately 800,000 leasable square feet -and containing seventy-seven tenant spaces- VILLA ITALIA was touted as the largest enclosed shopping center between Chicago and Los Angeles.
The interior of VILLA ITALIA was decorated with fountains, stone planters, Roman statues and terra cotta tile. The mall featured columns which had been salvaged from Colorado's old U.S. Mint Customs House. A large tree sculpture stood in the Galleria I court. The main concourse had four graduating level changes -going from east to west- with the east end being the lowest.
VILLA ITALIA was acquired by Texan oil baron Don D. Harrington in June 1968. Harrington sold the property to the New York City-based Equitable Life Assurance Society of America in November 1976. By August 1978, Equitable was planning a mall-wide renovation and expansion. This project was delayed by local opposition and was eventually decided by the Colorado Supreme Court. The 31 million dollar refurbishment was underway by late 1984.
The Northwest Wing was partially demolished. It was rebuilt with the Terrace Food Court installed in Upper Level space. An Upper Level of stores was also extended over the mall. A 3-level (130,000 square foot), Phoenix-based Broadway Southwest opened for business on November 5, 1985, signaling completion of the remodeling. The new and improved VILLA ITALIA now encompassed approximately 1.2 million leasable square feet, with a tenant list of over 130 stores.
The first anchor store alteration occurred in August 1987, when Broadway Southwest morphed into a Denver-based May-D & F. This store was rebranded on May 2, 1993, with a Houston-based Foley's nameplate installed.
By this time, VILLA ITALIA was feeling the pinch from newer and more trendy malls in the area, such as SOUTHWEST PLAZA (1982) {6.4 miles southwest, in Jefferson County} and a new, fully-enclosed CHERRY CREEK CENTER (1990) {6.4 miles northeast, also in Denver}. It wasn't long before the older shopping venue began to decline.
As a countermeasure, the Equitable Life Assurance Society conducted a modest interior face lift, that was completed in September 1995. There was a plan to add a movie megaplex, replacing the twin cinema that had closed in the spring of 1991. The new megaplex deal eventually fell through, with the mall going into a downward spiral.
City officials of Lakewood (which had incorporated in 1969), were becoming apprehensive about the struggling shopping mall that was now the commercial core of their city. They decided to take action. A referendum was held in 1997, which authorized "urban renewal" to redevelop VILLA ITALIA into a more conventional downtown district, something that the post-war suburb of Lakewood never had.
In 1998, the city entered into a joint venture with Denver-based Continuum Development. Continuum purchased the land beneath the mall (from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation) in September 1999. Meanwhile, the Equitable entity had morphed into another concern known as Lend Lease Real Estate Investments. They sold their interest in VILLA ITALIA in early 2001.
The site was rezoned, from that of an enclosed shopping center to a mixed-use development, with the redevelopment plan put in motion. Three anchor stores were preparing to close for good. Joslins, rebranded as a Dillard's Clearance Center in 1998, was shuttered on October 31, 2000. Montgomery Ward shut down in March 2001, with J.C. Penney's demise taking place in April of the same year.
Foley's, under the auspices of Saint Louis-based May Department Stores, became a fly in the ointment to the redevelopment scenario. Foley's, and other merchants still operating in VILLA ITALIA, went to court to fight the demolition of the mall and nullification of their existing leases. However, the Lakewood-Continuum consortium prevailed.
The mall officially closed on July 15, 2001. Demolition began on January 14, 2002. Construction commenced in the fall of 2002. The Broadway Southwest-Foley's building was the only remnant of the mall left standing. The store closed, with the structure renovated into a Galyan's Trading Company. This store would eventually be rebranded by Dick's Sporting Goods.
The successor of VILLA ITALIA, the open-air BELMAR COLORADO lifestyle center, was to eventually encompass twenty-two city block sections. Its 220 million dollar first phase, covering five of these blocks, included 639,000 square feet of retail, 158,000 square feet of office space and 105 residential units. The first BELMAR stores opened on May 14, 2004. The Century Theatres 16 Bel Mar showed its first features on May 21st.
Construction of the second BELMAR COLORADO phase commenced in November 2004. This included 95,000 additional square feet of retail, as well as 45,000 square feet of office space. A (55,000 square foot) Whole Foods Market was dedicated on December 7, 2005.
Phase Three of the project included a 1-level (131,500 square foot) Target, which was dedicated March 6, 2011. The grand opening of this store was followed by those for a (30,000 square foot) Best Buy, on March 25, 2011, and (35,000 square foot) Nordstrom Rack, on April 28th.
The successor of VILLA ITALIA, the open-air BELMAR COLORADO lifestyle center, was to eventually encompass twenty-two city block sections. Its 220 million dollar first phase, covering five of these blocks, included 639,000 square feet of retail, 158,000 square feet of office space and 105 residential units. The first BELMAR stores opened on May 14, 2004. The Century Theatres 16 Bel Mar showed its first features on May 21st.
Construction of the second BELMAR COLORADO phase commenced in November 2004. This included 95,000 additional square feet of retail, as well as 45,000 square feet of office space. A (55,000 square foot) Whole Foods Market was dedicated on December 7, 2005.
Phase Three of the project included a 1-level (131,500 square foot) Target, which was dedicated March 6, 2011. The grand opening of this store was followed by those for a (30,000 square foot) Best Buy, on March 25, 2011, and (35,000 square foot) Nordstrom Rack, on April 28th.
The fully-realized BELMAR encompassed a total of 3.3 million square feet of retail, office and residential area, including 175 stores, 9 acres of green space and over two million square feet of parking. Starwood Retail Partners, an affiliate of Greenwich, Connecticut's Starwood Capital Group, acquired the BELMAR property in September 2015.
Sources:
The Westminster Journal (Westminster, Colorado)
The Intermountain Jewish News (Denver, Colorado)
The Wheat Ridge Sentinel (Wheat Ridge, Colorado)
www.denvergov.org
Jefferson County, Colorado tax assessor website
http://villaitaliamemories.tripod.com
www.belmarcolorado.com
www.denvergov.org
Jefferson County, Colorado tax assessor website
http://villaitaliamemories.tripod.com
www.belmarcolorado.com
https://continuumpartners.com / Con
Info from Paul, Highlands Ranch, Colorado
www.westernbusiness.comes
www.cinematreasures.org
www.cinematour.com
www.cinematreasures.org
www.cinematour.com
digital.denverlibrary.org
