A large development is coming to the shopping mall located halfway between Denver and Boulder.
After years in the works, the owners of FlatIron Crossing are ready to build an “entertainment district” with a housing community next to the mall on highway US-36.
Construction is set to begin this month, Jacob Knudsen, vice president of development for the mall’s owner Macerich, told The Denver Gazette.
The mixed-use project will be called “The HiFi,” short for Hello FlatIron and inspired by other neighborhood abbreviations across Denver such as LoDo, LoHi and RiNo. It will be built in the area surrounding the current AMC Theatres.
While many indoor shopping malls across the country are being demolished or redeveloped after struggling with the rise of online shopping, FlatIrons Crossing will remain untouched.
The mall is doing well and exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the period between July 2021 and July 2022, according to a presentation owners gave city officials in 2022.
Instead, the mall’s owner sees an opportunity to build on the “underutilized real estate” next to it.
The HiFi will be situated on 20 acres of surface parking lots and the former outdoor retail center The Village that used to stand on the southwest side of the property.
The movie theater, Red Robin, 2nd & Charles and the PF Chang’s buildings will also remain as is.
The “Live-work-play” development — with a focus on diversifying and densifying the area — is expected to be a boon for the mall that opened in 2000.
“The goal of doing this is to drive traffic and drive sales to the enclosed mall and create a great walkable urban environment,” Knudsen said.
Macerich filed its plans for the redevelopment with the city of Broomfield in 2021. But plans stalled after it got city approval in 2023. Knudsen said the delays were due to the current financing market, which has been rattled by the rise in interest rates.
With a mixed-use project covering retail and residential, whether its rent prices or construction costs, Knudsen said they waited till economic conditions improved.
“We’ve finally got there and we’re finally ready to go,” he said.
A rendering of The HiFi, the FlatIron Crossing shopping mall’s entertainment and residential district, set to add 65,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, a 2.5-acre park and 345-apartment community.
The construction work in August will focus on preparing the area’s infrastructure for the new buildings, which are scheduled to begin rising next year.
The district will include a five-story luxury apartment complex with 345 units, with 20% of apartments allocated for affordable housing as Broomfield requires.
The mall’s owner partnered with Crescent Communities to develop the residential complex, Novel FlatIron. Crescent Communities developed NOVEL RiNo and has another residential community in the works in downtown Denver’s Central Business District.
The Novel FlatIron will primarily cater to young professionals, some who may feel priced out of Denver or Boulder but still want to live in an urban environment, Knudsen said.
“If they’re commuting either to Boulder or Denver,” he said, “they’re halfway there already.”
The HiFi is set to add 65,000 square feet for shops, restaurants, entertainment concepts and a 2.5-acre park.
It’ll be the first phase of the redevelopment project and is set to wrap construction by the end of 2026.
The mall is considering attracting an “eatertainment” business to its planned district, Knudsen said. Eatertainment is a rising business model that has been a popular option to fill empty mall store spaces into fun centers with arcades, bowling lanes, music as well as dining.
The mall’s owner also plans to activate the park area year-round with concerts, events and potentially an ice rink during the winter.
The park’s landscaping will cross the street toward the food court entrance, Knudsen said, and connect the entertainment district with the mall to make it feel like “one project.”
After that, the next phase of the project includes adding office buildings and potentially more residential, but it depends on how the first phase plays out and how market conditions look in the future, Knudsen said.
Broomfield’s Mayor Guyleen Castriotta expressed support for the project within one of the city’s biggest sales tax generators.
“Because there is so much demand to live and work in Broomfield, and because Macerich is such a high-quality company,” Castriotta said in a news release, “we believe the new residential use at FlatIron Crossing will be extremely successful.”
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