Target to Open in Downtown Denver in 2018

The Downtown Denver Partnership is excited to welcome high-impact retailer Target to Downtown Denver!

Scheduled to open by summer 2018, the small-format store at 16th and California will have products tailored to meet the needs of the Downtown community, including a robust grocery assortment, home décor and apparel, health and beauty products and a CVS Pharmacy. The store format is the first-of-its-kind to open in Colorado.

“Target is thrilled to bring our first small-format store to Colorado and be part of a thriving community in Downtown Denver,” said Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Properties, Target.

Recruiting high-quality amenities to Downtown Denver, especially high-impact retail concepts that are attractive to residents, visitors and employees alike, is a core component of the Partnership’s place-based economic development strategy to build an economically healthy and vibrant center city.

Target has been at the top of the Partnership’s strategic list of retail brands that we know will have a significant impact on Downtown Denver’s economic vitality. Their selection of the center city as a location for their national brand further signals the strength of our retail market and showcases the center city as a place where people want to live and work, and where businesses succeed. Downtown Denver’s residential population is projected to grow by 11% over the next five years, far outpacing the national average. The store’s location is also identified in the 2007 Downtown Area Plan as an important retail hub for the center city.

Mark Sidell, president of Gart Properties which owns the property with Rifkin Family Investment Company, is a Partnership Board member and visionary center city developer who has demonstrated significant commitment to Downtown Denver’s economic engine, the 16th Street Mall. The 16th Street Mall generates nearly 40% of the total sales tax collected in Downtown, and Target is a welcome addition that will allow the 16th Street Mall to continue thrive as a strong economic corridor for the city and region.

“We are excited to spearhead the effort working with the City, the Office of Economic Development and the Downtown Denver Partnership, to create a mutually beneficial opportunity for Target to join other leading retailers on the 16th Street Mall,” said Sidell.

Target plans to open more than 130 small-format stores around the country by 2019. The Downtown store will feature modern décor elements and a third-level glass atrium that will offer views up and down the 16th Street Mall.

Additional strategic retail openings this year include Sephora and Whole Foods.

Downtown Denver retail is on a roll, and our work will continue to ensure this trend continues. Partnership staff and several center city developers will be attending the International Council of Shopping Centers conference next week in Las Vegas to further showcase Downtown as one of the best places in the country for retail.