Lisa Evans, a longtime Denverite, moved to the 16th Street Mall, in July of 2021, months after downtown residents pushed Mayor Michael Hancock to beef up policing and crack down on crime.
At the time, downtown had been emptied by pandemic closures. Office buildings sat vacant. Restaurants, dependent on business from office workers, struggled to stay open. Once vibrant streets felt grey.
By April 2022, construction, a decade in the planning, started on the 16th Street Mall.
The entire strip, once a car-free playground for visitors and residents alike to wander, shop, relax, and enjoy semi-public space, turned into a massive, fenced-off construction site.
The project was an investment in the future but a sacrifice for now.
For Evans, the emptiness caused by 16th Street Mall construction has been a loss.
Unlike other residents who find daily life in the city center to be scary, Evans generally feels safe.
She walks to the store, Union Station, restaurants, Ball Arena and Coors Field.
“I have not seen anyone using drugs,” she said. “And yet I talk to friends that live in Centenial: ‘Oh, I don’t know about coming Downtown.’ I’m like, ‘Come on!’”
For more than a year, she's been pushing the city to find ways to re-activate Downtown.
“I love Denver,” she said. “There's so much investment here. But people don't come.”
On Wednesday, Evans watched the city celebrate the first of 13 blocks to be re-opened after construction.
Evans was there to enjoy the hundreds of people gabbing, dancing to the music and shopping from pop-up vendors.
A brass band played. Councilmember Hinds held a big key. Guests walked through a golden door to see the completed block.
“I just want this activity every day,” Evans said.
At the festivities, Mayor Mike Johnston described the 16th Street Mall as the “spine of Denver.”
Finally, one vertebra is functioning. And it looks good.
The redesigned block includes pop-up vendors, new light poles, a new bee hive and improved paving.
Restaurants from the Cheesecake Factory, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Overland Sheepskin, Blue Agave Grill, Mellow Mushroom and Smashburger finally have a free block.
“It's nice to see so many people on 16th Street,” said Blue Agave Grill owner Brenda Lucio. “It's been a long couple of years.”
While the construction project has hurt business and been a struggle, she said “the city did a wonderful job” and the mall will be a main attraction for visitors.
Yet some businesses haven’t survived the 16th Street Mall construction, but many were saved and others opened.
Adeeb Khan, head of Denver Economic Development and Opportunity, celebrated a $1.28 million business stabilization program supporting 114 businesses.
“Since the construction has started, we have not lost a local business on 16th Street,” he said.
National businesses and chains, on the other hand, shuttered in droves. Among them included two Starbucks, Chili's, Montbell, Hard Rock Cafe, Corner Bakery and McDonalds.
Evans, the downtown resident, said her dentist shut down his office.
Even Tea With Tae, a business that launched a 16th Street Mall location as part of the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Pop-Up Denver business incubator, considered extending its lease but ultimately closed down that location.
The owners were frustrated by safety issues and empty streets, as Westword reported.
Happily, some new businesses also opened during construction. Those included: the Thompson Hotel, Chez Maggy, Dragonfly, Ike’s Sandwiches, the Museum of Illusions, Trompeau Bakery, Casa Tequilas, The Yard Milkshake Bar, JARS, Taco Bell, Top Golf, Bezel, Que Rico and Done Deal.
Evans continues to push big ideas about how the 16th Street Mall can recover.
During the mayoral election, she gave both Johnston and his opponent Kelly Brough a three-page memo with suggestions about revitalizing the mall..
In the mix: Incentivize the contractors to finish work in 90 days. Move people experiencing homelessness and panhandlers away from the mall and provide them services. Mandate an end to remote work for city workers and offer daycare and tutoring for their kids.
She proposed the city give residents and city workers discount cards for in-person dining, convert class C office buildings into employee housing for downtown workers, and promote special events and festivals Downtown, among many other recommendations.
Johnston has pushed some of these policies, though far from all of them.
And Evans continues to want construction wrapped as soon as possible. She has attended public meetings and encouraged the city to allow the contractor to work at night, despite concerns from some neighbors about noise.
“You need to plan festivals,” she said. “Get people down here. Get them loving it again. The only other time this block has looked this good was for the fireworks display. Even Opening Day this year was rather slow.”
Over the past two years, too much money has been spent on branding initiatives, she said.
Not enough has been invested in events to draw new people downtown.
The Downtown Denver Partnership does have some events in the works branded under the My Denver Summer umbrella. That will include daily concerts and a beer garden at Skyline Park.
“A place is not a place unless there are people,” said Kourtny Garrett, head of the Downtown Denver Partnership. “So we need each and every one of you to spend your time, spend your money, bring friends, bring family and show off the beautiful new signature spine of our city. We are absolutely committed to rekindling your love of 16th Street.”
Evans hopes that pans out.
“I want desperately for this to succeed,” she said. “We need energy.”
