Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Center Attraction ; Lowry Shops Help Foster Community Spirit

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2003 22:38:56 -0500

Center Attraction ; Lowry Shops Help Foster Community Spirit
Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News
Publication date: 2003-01-03
Arrival time: 2003-01-04

Twenty retail stores have opened at Lowry in the past three months, adding
what's hoped to be a community hub for the new neighborhood.

Dubbed the Lowry Town Center, the 118,000-square-foot shopping center at
Quebec Street and East Second Avenue in Denver is a key element in the
redevelopment of the former Air Force base.

"The Town Center has always been envisioned as the heart of the
community," said Hilarie Portell, marketing director for the Lowry
Redevelopment Authority.

The Lowry neighborhood has emerged slowly since Denver took over the
3-square-mile site in 1994.

Under the supervision of the Lowry Redevelopment Authority, private
developers have built 2,000 homes, six schools, a church, an ice skating
rink and several office buildings.

But until recently, no shops.

"I have worked here for seven years, going on eight, so to have coffee and
wine, it's civilized," Portell remarked of the new Lowry Liquors and Peaberry
Coffee shops. "For so long, we hunted and gathered."

The retail development is designed so that shops look out onto streets and
drivers can park next to storefronts.

Old-fashioned street lamps, canvas awnings, wrought-iron benches and new
trees grace the otherwise austere design. Developer Miller

Weingarten said the center is 75 percent leased.

"It reminds me of an old village. It's the furthest thing from a strip mall," said
Ryan Peterson, assistant manager at Lowry Liquors.

Denver-based David Owen Tryba Architects designed the center, and it has
drawn plaudits from civic leaders for its pedestrian- friendly layout.

But the jury is still out on whether the retail center, and Lowry itself, which
considers itself "new urbanism," can fulfill the movement's goals.

New urbanism is a decade-old planning movement arguing that well-
designed neighborhoods can build community spirit, reduce automobile use,
preserve historic buildings and improve residents' quality of life.

Classic new urbanism neighborhoods mix commercial, residential and retail
buildings, much like old American towns.

The movement also encourages developers to build walkable streets and
offer housing at a wide variety of prices in order to increase diversity.

For Susan Landie, a three-year resident, the Lowry's mix is working.

"It's a real community. People know their neighbors," she said. The retail
center is "real nice to have. I love it. It's comfortable, convenient and close,"
she added.

But insurance agent Dave Meyerotto has lived at Lowry for two years and
still hasn't felt a twinge of community spirit.

He regularly stops for coffee at

Peaberry and says folks drive up, buy their coffee and leave. They don't
linger.

"I don't know any of my neighbors," he said. "It's a lot of professionals who
tend to have busy lives. They come here to eat and sleep."

INFOBOX

Lowry Town Center tenants

* Albertsons

* Bella Flora

* Citywide Bank

* Cost Cutters

* Daniel Diamonds

* Delectable Egg

* Esquire Fabricare

* Executive Tans

* Fergie's Frozen Custard

* Film Noir

* Frame by Frame

* Lowry Liquors

* Nails Touch

* Nextel

* Peaberry Coffee

* Penguin Photo

* PostNet

* Qdoba Mexican Grill

* Salon Tobie Urban Spa

* Seroiz Pizzeria

* Starbucks

* Timbuk Toys

* Urban Harvest Bakery and Cafe

* Vision First
http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=35626347&ID=cnniw&scategory=Business+and+Finance&

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