Colorado Mills signs three new tenants

Move comes as part of shopping center's overhaul

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Rocky / 2005

Colorado Mills has signed three new tenants, Steve & Barry's, Victoria's Secret and Nike Factory Outlet. New owners took over the Lakewood shopping center last year.

Colorado Mills signed three new tenants - Steve & Barry's, Victoria's Secret and Nike Factory Outlet - in the Lakewood shopping center's first major overhaul since new owners took over last year.

Steve & Barry's, set to open this summer, will plug a 63,000-square-foot vacancy that was left when restaurant and entertainment center Jillian's closed in September.

The 10,000-square-foot Nike Factory Outlet is set to debut this spring, and the 9,000-square-foot Victoria's Secret will follow in the fall.

Each of the retailers brings "a new dimension" to Colorado Mills' mix "of brand name and outlet stores," said Carol Winiger, director of marketing for the mall.

Colorado Mills' parent company, Mills Corp., was purchased last year by a joint venture involving Simon Property Group for $1.6 billion.

Virginia-based Mills had struggled to recover from the burdens of heavy debt that largely stemmed from a rapid growth spurt and a massive accounting investigation.

Colorado Mills, located at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and I-70, opened with a splash as shoppers spent some $4 million on its opening day in November 2002.

But some of its parent company's troubles rubbed off on the shopping center, and its vacancy rate slid from 98 percent to 85 percent in 2006.

The mall's fortunes were on the upswing last year, with the city of Lakewood reporting sales tax collections increased 4.3 percent to $3.7 million. Still, that's well below the projected $6 million in sales tax figure that was floated during the planning phase for the 1.2 million-square-foot mall.

The Colorado Mills location will mark the third Steve & Barry's store in the Denver region.

The Port Washington, N.Y.-based discount adult and teen retailer specializes in celebrity-endorsed lines, including sneakers designed by NBA players Stephon Marbury and Ben Wallace and apparel line by Sarah Jessica Parker and teen actress Amanda Bynes.

Steve & Barry's has started construction on the former site of now defunct Jillian's, which filed for bankruptcy in 2004 and sold most of its assets to rival Dave & Buster's.

The Victoria's Secret will be a full-line store, not an outlet store. The lingerie store was among the most-requested stores by shoppers, Winiger said.