16th Street Mall Draft Procurement Schedule Through 2021 Released

January 29, 2020

The 16th Street Mall Project Partners, a group comprised of the Downtown Denver Partnership, City and County of Denver, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Regional Transportation District (RTD), and the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA), have released a draft procurement schedule of the Mall’s upcoming reconstruction. The reconstruction is part of a years-long process to envision the future of the Mall as a key economic driver and world-class public space. The Project Partners are committed to keeping the public well-informed and maintaining “business as usual” for the 130,000 employees, 22,000 residents, and approximately 200 street-level retailers and restaurants along the corridor throughout construction.

Following the Federal Transit Administration’s “Finding of No Significant Impact” in Nov. 2019, the project is now in the final design and construction phase which will include additional opportunities for the public to give input into key aspects of the construction process and The Mall Experience. People can visit The Mall Experience web site to stay up to date on future opportunities to weigh in on the 16^th Street Mall reconstruction project.

When fully completed, the project will replicate the historic and iconic aspects of the Mall; improve pedestrian safety and mobility on the city’s most transit-rich street; and enhance the overall Mall Experience by creating a series of active, engaging opportunities along the corridor to encourage people of all ages to visit often and stay longer

Throughout its 37-year history, the Mall has attracted visitors from all over the world. The Mall includes 200 shops and restaurants, 1,400 hotel rooms, and 1,250 residential units, and at 1.2 miles and nearly 18 blocks in length, is one of the longest pedestrian malls in the world.

Conversations about a pedestrian mall on 16th Street began in 1959, and the Mall was opened in 1982. The Mall extended into Lower Downtown in 1992, and into the Central Platte Valley in 2001. In 2017, voters committed $13 million from the Elevate Denver Bond Program to help fund the 16^th Street Mall reconstruction project. The FTA, Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), DURA, and the city will all contribute funding to the project.