One of the last open fields just south of Cabela’s in north Thornton has been snapped up by a national developer and will be transformed into an outlet mall with more than 80 retailers that may be open as soon as fall 2017.
The Simon Property Group will build a 350,000 square foot shopping center called Denver Premium Outlets on 45 to 50 acres of land at the northeast corner of 136th Avenue and Interstate 25. The intent is to break ground in the middle of 2016, and finish up about 11 to 12 months later.
The storefronts within the center will be largely designer and name-brand. Stores in recent premium outlets created by Simon across the country include Ann Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Coach and Wilsons Leather.
“There is no rival to this development at this point, and we are just so incredibly excited that they’re coming to Thornton for their project,” said Julie Jacoby, retail and local business administrator with the Thornton Office of Economic Development. “This is just a phenomenal development for both the city and its residents.”
The project will be done in multiple phases. Simon bought a total of 94 acres and will use the remaining approximately 40 acres to construct a 50,000-square-foot store space and things like a hotel, restaurant and other supplementary retail spaces. The developer is investing about $134 million.
And Simon has the support of Thornton City Council, which approved an incentive package last week that will help build new roads, including the extension of Grant Street, and utility lines for the new buildings.
The deal is for a maximum of $25 million over the first two phases, or a maximum of 25 years, whichever comes first. That money is coming from a portion of the sales taxes collected there, and a city public improvement fee of 1.8 percent on sales.
Jacoby said her office negotiated the land deal with Simon over a period of about two years.
“I know people are excited about this because I’ve had many people come up and ask about when it was coming,” Thornton Mayor Heidi Williams said in a statement. “We’re all very excited about this and it’s something we are really looking forward to and I appreciate all the hard work of Simon and city staff.”
Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, mmitchell@denverpost.com or @Mmitchelldp
