A developer withdrew part of a controversial proposal to redevelop the Asia Center on Federal Boulevard. That has led some to celebrate — but there’s no sign that the controversial redevelopment is being canceled altogether.
The shopping center at 1000 S. Federal Blvd. is home to a variety of Asian-centered businesses, with many operating for decades in the mall.
Plans submitted in April showed it could be replaced by a four-story mixed-use housing complex, drawing a flood of concern that a community anchor would be lost. Nearly 19,000 people have signed onto a petition to “Save the Asia Center.”
More recently, the developer made news by withdrawing the “concept plan” for the development. That indicates that the developer may make substantial changes to the design of the project, but it is a fairly typical turn of events for a big development project.
The original design had “significant issues with the plans related to massing and design that rendered it sort of unfeasible as submitted,” said Alex Foster, a spokesperson for Denver’s planning department. “Massing” refers to a building’s three-dimensional shape — basically, how it takes up space.
Those kinds of design issues would typically be addressed by resubmitting a concept plan, which the developer is free to do now. Foster had not heard any indication that the developer is walking away from the plan, she said.
The city reviewer “sent a letter to the developer-applicant, and with that an invitation to have a meeting to work through those (issues),” Foster said. “And then they can determine how they want to move forward. In terms of next steps for the site, there’s still a possibility that they may re-submit or submit a new concept.”
The Asia Center was sold to Asia Center Development LLC, a conglomerate that includes locals, in 2023 for $5.75 million.
The Asia Center is already zoned for three-story development, with allowances for taller development if affordable housing is built on-site. That could allow the developer to build the project without Denver City Council approval, but the project still must pass the city planning review process.
The property owners haven’t replied to Denverite’s requests for comment. But Westword’s Gil Asakawa spoke with an attorney for the group
“The media and social media has really blown it out of proportion,” Chuong Le wrote to Westword. “The group continues to work with the city and the Master Plan is still ongoing. The original exterior drawing was simply a placeholder and once the (final) drawing has been developed, it will be submitted and will be shared with the community.”
Councilmember Flor Alvidrez said she took the plan withdrawal as a sign the project was slowing down, citing a conversation with the would-be developers last week.
“We had a conversation and they reiterated wanting to do the right thing, wanting to slow the process down and engage in a better way with community,” she said.
An early submittal for the site included a rendering of a blocky apartment building, as NakedDenver first reported.
“It is one of the few communities that's been untouched for so long because it's very historical to us and it provides us access to the most authentic restaurants, the grocery stores where we can find recipes for the food that we make for our families and stuff like that,” said Katrina Nguyen, who started the petition, in an earlier interview with Denverite.
On Instagram this week, Nguyen described the withdrawal this way: “A temporary win — but a win worth marking.”
She added: “I don’t take this lightly. The fight isn’t over — they can resubmit, and we’ll be ready. But today, the businesses that have anchored Federal Boulevard for decades get to keep their doors open. Tony Pho. Hong Kong BBQ. Kim Son Jewelers. The places that made us.”
In an earlier letter sent to tenants, the landlords emphasized that there are “no finalized plans and no timeline for construction” and that plans were filed to explore options to “ensure when collaboration expands, including with tenants, it is meaningful and productive.”
Alvidrez said the developers were initially motivated by upcoming plans for bus rapid transit on Federal Boulevard.
“I don't think they're in a hurry to get this going,” the council member said. “I think part of their timeline was tied to the bus rapid transit, and after talking to Colorado Department of Transportation, even though the project would start in fall of 2027, they'd start on a more northern end of federal and come down south. So that loosens the timeline a little bit and we really don't know when the BRT will be coming to this part of Federal at the moment.”
The specific people behind the development proposal haven’t been publicly identified, as far as we can tell. A driving force behind the redevelopment is the Asia Center’s owner, Jason Truong.
“One thing that stuck with me from what he said was that he wants to have a place where young Vietnamese people can go and feel proud of their culture and not necessarily have a rundown place,” Alvidrez said — potentially including a community center.
“And so I think his intentions are really good. I think it's scary to get on the other side of the rage machine of social media, and that has made him very shy and a little freaked out for his safety and just his emotional mental health wellbeing.”
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