Details emerge in Southwest Plaza mall renovation in Jefferson County - The Denver Post

Jens Larsen, owner of Perfect Pets, gives a newly arrived French bulldog puppy a check-up on April 23, 2014, at Southwest Plaza Mal in Jefferson County. (Anya Semenoff, Your Hub)

JEFFERSON COUNTY — Signs around the mall and closed shops hinted at a major renovation project at Southwest Plaza Mall for the past several months. Other signals popped up in March as the area around Sears was gutted with visible steel beams and a partially enclosed walkway leading to the department store.

While mall owner General Growth Properties didn't provide information early on about the project, details have begun to emerge on the mall's future.

A puppy for sale at Perfect Pets in Southwest Plaza Mall on April 23, 2014, in Jefferson County (Anya Semenoff, Your Hub)

"The property is going to remain an enclosed shopping center," Southwest Plaza senior general manager Greg Sims said. "There will be some tenants with outside access, but only where it makes sense."

All five department stores — Sears, Macy's, Dillard's, J.C. Penney and Dick's Sporting Goods — will stay in place and remain open during construction, which Sims said should be complete by October 2015.

Sims said the renovation is a response by General Growth Properties to the diminishing customers the mall has seen in recent years as many have headed to Park Meadows Mall, Belmar, Aspen Grove and Colorado Mills to meet their shopping needs. He mentioned that when the mall opened in 1983, there was no better shopping destination in the area.

"At one time, Southwest Plaza was the top in the heap in the southwest Denver metro area. We've lost that a little bit and want to regain that foothold," he said.

He compared the future of the mall to Park Meadows, also owned by General Growth Properties, but said the idea is to complement that mall rather than copy it. The layout of the mall will attempt to incorporate natural light and vistas with clean, smooth lines. The mall will also have wireless Internet.

Sims called Park Meadows, which has the feel of a ski lodge, a retail destination, while Southwest Plaza will try to have a community-center feel.

Shopper Donna Evans said she lives in the area but only comes to the mall about once a month and often goes to Park Meadows and Colorado Mills instead.

"I've been shopping at Park Meadows because there are so many shops closed" at Southwest Plaza, she said.

She said if there were more higher-end retail shops at Southwest Plaza she would likely come more often — but she did suggest that she likes local retailers, as well.

Sims said he couldn't be specific as to which shops are coming to the mall but said it would be a mix of national chains and local retailers.

According to Sims, about 50 shops in the mall are still open; some have gone dark with the intention of returning. Others are moving out by their choice, or because their lease expired.

One shop that is moving on is Perfect Pets. Owner Jens Larsen said that despite spending 21 years in the mall, he was informed that his lease will not be renewed.

"I was told in January that they will not renew my lease due to the trend of malls to no longer think that pet stores are part of the mall co-habitating environment," Larsen said.

He expressed disappointment at the mall's decision to move on and suggested that he was misled late last year when his one-year contract was about to expire. He added that he is close to signing a lease nearby and is on a month-to-month contract with the mall.

Larsen said he never knew the details of the renovation during his time there but did think things needed to change.

"Customers referred to it as ghetto mall. People didn't want to go there," he said. "Now they are all in and that's great; I wish I was part of it."

Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc

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