In 1990, the construction of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center sparked a development boom around the neighborhood southeast of downtown Denver.

Then came Clayton Lane.

The mixed-use development, completed in 2004, brought about a 650-car parking lot, a corporate headquarters, the four-star Hotel Clio, Whole Foods, smaller retail shops and condominiums — launching a wave of more mixed-use projects like it. After that, major zoning changes for Cherry Creek in 2014 initiated another boom.

Now, the two first major sites on both sides of 1st Avenue are home to the biggest construction projects in Cherry Creek again.

And there are several more developments nearby also coming up from the ground.

“In my time here, almost 30 years, this will be the fourth development cycle that we’ve seen,” said Nick LeMasters, CEO of the Cherry Creek Alliance. “And I don’t think we’re done.”

Cherry Creek is one of the hottest markets not only in Denver but also in the nation.

It’s a major economic engine that generated more than $115 million in tax revenues for the city in 2024, up nearly 3% from the previous year, according to a new report released Tuesday from the Cherry Creek Alliance, an organization representing the neighborhood’s businesses.

Office vacancies were “ultra low” at 6.6% in 2024, the report said. As are retail vacancies at 1.4%.

Cherry picking: Cherry Creek draws employers from Denver downtown

More development for Cherry Creek

The positive leasing figures, even as places like downtown are struggling, show how highly coveted Cherry Creek has become.

Between 2020 and 2024, the “State of Cherry Creek” report said seven new projects added more than 470,000 square feet of office space to the neighborhood.

Last year, there were four projects under construction. This year, the number has doubled.

That’s counter to the development activity happening elsewhere around Denver, Hanna Scovill, senior manager of economic competitiveness at the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said at the annual State of Cherry Creek Breakfast event hosted at Halcyon Hotel.

“While we’re seeing some slowdown in development activity across the region, we’re actually seeing continued strong growth in the Cherry Creek area,” Scovill said.

There are many economic headwinds that have hit the region over the years, including high interest rates, rising construction costs and high land values. Still, that hasn’t stalled developers in Cherry Creek.

LeMasters said the neighborhood has the advantage of already being one of the most popular corridors in the area.

“These developers are forging ahead because they believe in the future of this neighborhood and they believe that the value is going to be there,” he said.

From the eight developments coming off the ground, the neighborhood is slated to see about 450,000 square feet of office and retail space, 489 apartments and 37 Waldorf Astoria-branded condos.

Most of those projects are scheduled to be completed by 2027.

In March, the developers behind the Clayton Lane expansion, now known as Cherry Lane, tore down the Sears store and Crate & Barrel to make way for a major outdoor shopping hub, seeking to attract top fashion houses with more than 116,000 square feet of retail.

And there’s another seven developments in the pipeline preparing to break ground, amounting to another 1 million square feet of office and retail space planned for the next decade.

Cherry Creek West project

The biggest project is Cherry Creek West, at the site of the former Bed Bath & Beyond store and the closed flagship Elway’s steakhouse on the west side of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center.

Last year, it got the Denver City Council’s needed approval to move forward.

Some demolition work was scheduled to begin this year and an official groundbreaking was originally set for summer of 2026.

Cherry Creek West envisions seven office and apartment buildings up to 13 stories high, adding up to 825 residences (about 100 of which will be designated as affordable), 600,000 square feet of offices, 100,000 square feet for retail, a 4-acre park and underground parking with more than 2,000 spaces.

It’ll also be the new home for the neighborhood’s fresh market.

Cherry Creek is more diversified than downtown but could be even more diversified

It stands out to developers because it’s not too heavily concentrated with offices like downtown, which is seeing decades-high vacancies.

On the contrary, Cherry Creek is lacking in office space, said Chris Leinberger, a leading urbanist expert in the U.S. and the keynote speaker at the breakfast event.

Leinberger said Cherry Creek should invest more in offices, housing specifically within the neighborhood’s core and in cultural amenities, such as parks, theaters and museums, to build a more balanced live-work-play portfolio.

“In particular for Cherry Creek, culture needs to really bloom here,” he said.

Another suggestion from the urbanist? Pedestrianizing 1st Avenue, which separates Cherry Creek North from the mall.

“People come to the shopping center, they park there. When they want to come across the street, they drive here,” Leinberger said. “That’s mad.”

The traffic thoroughfare acts as a “wall,” he said, when it should be a connector.

“If you have it connect both sides, it’s going to help both sides,” Leinberger said. “It’s part of the upward spiral.”

Amidst bright spots, falling retail sales

The period of construction is expected to be “disruptive” to Cherry Creek, LeMasters said, adding the neighborhood alliance is working with developers to set up walkable tunnels for pedestrians to get through the construction.

Cherry Creek is one of the largest shopping areas in Denver but retail sales have been falling since pandemic recovery highs.

Cherry Creek’s available space for new shops, restaurants at record lows

The neighborhood generated about $60 million in retail sales tax revenue in 2024, a decline of 4.1% from 2023.

Despite that, the total taxes generated in Cherry Creek grew to $115 million last year, as other categories, such as property taxes, parking revenues and hotel taxes, all saw increases.

The number of visitors to Cherry Creek fell from 14.2 million in 2023 to 13.7 million in 2024.

Not as many people are shopping as they were immediately after the pandemic, the result of pent-up demand. People have also been more cautious of their spending due to inflation and high living costs, LeMasters said.

And the construction disruption “bears some responsibility” in veering shoppers away, he said.

“I am confident that once we get over this little hump over the next couple of years, we’re going to see a neighborhood that is continuing to deliver on its promise of walkable streets, great retail, and terrific restaurants,” he said.