9+CO Development Adds Tenants As It Nears Finish Line

The 26-acre redevelopment of a former hospital campus at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in central Denver took another step toward completion with the announcement of six new retail tenants this week.

The 2M SF mixed-use project broke ground in 2015 and is remaking 12 city blocks on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. Ten of those blocks are complete, according to a spokesperson for Continuum Partners, the developer on the project.

Four of the latest batch of tenants at 9+CO are open. They include a spa called Skin Laundry, home goods retailer Datura Home, coffee and juice bar Toastique and Sploot Veterinary Care. 

The two remaining retailers, Ohm Fitness and Huntington Bank, are expected to open their doors in early 2024, according to a press release. 

Datura Home owner Jonah Bradley said in the release that the company chose to move into the 9+CO development because it offers a “similar vibe of people living, working, and shopping in a walkable community” that the company found at its Central Park location.  

The community includes 900 one-to-three-bedroom residential units, as well as luxury condominiums that sell for $1M or more. It also includes more than 220K SF of retail space and approximately 65K SF of office space. 

9+CO is in Denver’s Colorado Boulvevard submarket, which has struggled to regain its footing. The submarket has recorded negative net absorption of more than 55K SF in 2023, though landlords there charge the highest rent in the metro area at $27.78 per SF. The Denver metro area overall has recorded positive net absorption of nearly 25K SF and carries an average rent of $19.90 per SF. 

CBRE also anticipates Denver’s retail woes to reverse during this holiday season. A report from the firm shows that Denver’s retail sales are expected to grow 1.6% year-over-year in Q4, landing the city in the top 10 metro areas for retail sales growth. 

“Colorado retailers, while largely experiencing positive year-over-year same store sales growth, seem cautiously optimistic about sales this season and are using both their in-store and online presence to market deals,” CBRE Senior Vice President Jon Weisiger said in a press release. “Retail vacancy is at record low levels in Denver, which is likely to impact the number of holiday pop-up shops we see in the metro area this season.”