Southglenn Mall: Denver, Colorado on DeadMalls.com

SOUTHGLENN MALL: DENVER, CO

Jeff Lowry's Commentary

Posted September 3, 2006 (user submitted)

Denver is home to a number of dead malls (Cinderella City, Villa Italia, Northglenn), and as of June 2006, another one can be added to that list: Southglenn Mall. Southglenn, located in what's now called Centennial, opened in 1974 with approximately 90 stores, including anchors Sears, the Denver (Denver Dry Goods Company), and May D&F. Though not a major player in the Denver retail scene, the mall held its own for quite a long time. There were some minor changes in the late 1980s. In 1987, May D&F bought out the Denver, and the Southglenn location was sold to JC Penney. Renovations took place around the same time to update the mall's dated 70s decor, and it had to be shut for a couple of months for asbestos removal. A few years later, in 1993, May D&F was rebranded to Foley's. Things appeared to be looking up in 1994, when Joslins (a local chain) added a flashy, flagship store to the mall after closing their downtown store. Joslins became Dillard's four years later after the chain was sold.

Throughout the 1990s, the mall had a good selection of national retailers, though the changing nature of the Denver retail scene made it difficult for Southglenn to keep up. Park Meadows, a self-proclaimed "retail resort" which opened in suburban Douglas County in 1996, drew shoppers away from Southglenn's base. JC Penney, which opened a new store at Park Meadows, closed its Southglenn location in 1999 and converted it to a home store. In contrast to Park Meadows, Southglenn didn't have a food court, and it wasn't located near an interstate highway. There was a further challenge in 2001 with the opening of Aspen Grove, a trendy shopping center located a few miles away. JC Penney closed their home store the next year, leaving a gap in the center of the mall.

Following the trend spreading across the country, the mall's owners announced in 2005 that it would be converted into an open-air 'lifestyle center'. Sears and Foley's (soon to be Macy's) would remain open during the conversion and anchor the new center, called The Streets At Southglenn. Dillard's, the old JC Penney, and the rest of the mall would be demolished. The mall closed in February 2006 and demolition began in June. According to the developer's website, the new center will contain a 16-screen theater, a gourmet grocery store, a variety of bistros and boutiques, and 300 condos. It's expected to open in the summer of 2008. More information, including pictures of the old mall just before it was shut, is available here:

Jared Hazelett’s Commentary:

User submitted Mar 2014

I enjoyed reading about your experiences with Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I, too, visited the mall for the first time in its "hayday" when I was a child. I moved to Cedar Rapids permanently in 1994 and would often visit Westdale Mall since I lived on the southwest side of town, only a few blocks away.

One of the best periods of my life began when I started working as a holiday temp and eventually the Assistant Store Manager at Suncoast Motion Picture Company, one of the store you mentioned which closed in December 2005. Sadly, I was there when it closed and was forced to find work fairly quickly. I must mention, however, that the store closing was due to corporate bankruptcy, and not the fault of mall management as many were lead to believe.

As for the current status of the mall, Westdale CR Ventures LLC is listed as the current owner, and they are currently in the process of demolishing the building, leaving the JcPenney, Younkers, and former Von Maur sections intact.

Here is an excerpt from a Cedar Rapids Gazette article which mentions the plan:

John Frew, president/CEO of Frew Development Group, said the current redevelopment plan is to create a “multiuse destination” around the mall’s anchor stores with a development of apartments, condominiums, retail stores, offices, restaurants, a park and a hotel. The site, he said, will come to be known as Westdale, not Westdale Mall, and he said it will not be unlike the transformation that turned Southglenn Mall in the Denver area into The Streets at SouthGlenn.

Most people I talk to here are skeptical about the idea, but hopeful that at least in a small way, this mall can be transformed into something useful.

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Paul Pritchard’s Commentary:

User submitted Aug 2007

There was a small mall in Littleton, Colorado called Riverfront Mall. It opened in 1985 and was known for its unique architecture. The mall was very modern and had exposed support beams and joists. This was not the normal mall as it had no major anchors. It was meant to be an upscale shopping destination with upscale shops and boutiques. The concept never really took off of course, as it was only about 5 miles south of Southwest Plaza Mall and about 10 miles west of Southglenn Mall, both in Littleton. This was also the 1980's and Colorado's economy was in the tank after the oil companies left the state, sp people shyed away from expensive clothes.

I do not remember much about the mall other then the few times I went with my parents there, I do know it was always quiet and very few shops remained. I believe the mall closed for business in 1991 and remained empty until Echostar Communications (Dish Network satellite TV) bought the bulding in 1995. The mall was gutted inside and made into the corporate headquarters until recently. It is now used as a call center for Dish Network.

The Riverfront building is located at the corner of Bowles Avenue and Santa Fe Drive in Littleton, CO. I believe the zip is 80121. There used to be a picture of the building at the Dishnetwork.com
website under About Us. I even worked there for a short time, the shell of the building remains as does the only elevator the mall had, but all else is new.

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Jeff Lowry's Commentary

Pierre Alex Odria’s Commentary:

Jared Hazelett’s Commentary:

Paul Pritchard’s Commentary: