Mayfair Center Renovation on Tap

Mayfair Center Redevelopment - Artist Rendering

Highlights:

• Key retail center in Mayfair being redeveloped.
• Chair Five Equities owns Mayfair Center at 14th and Krameria.
• One new tenant already is on board.

Chair Five Equities LLC plans to invest $2.25 million to restore the Mayfair Center at East 14th Avenue and Krameria Street to its former glory. In recent years, the 11,700 square-foot center had been ignored and fallen into disrepair. Chair Five Equities purchased the property in late 2012. In the past, the center’s tenants have included the Bagel Deli, Baskin Robbins, the Hair Bender and Milt’s Fine Meats.

“There are many reasons why this purchase and redevelopment make sense,” said Jamie Harris, managing member of Chair Five Equities.  “The more we looked at the community and the property, the more our improvement plans grew.”

He said it quickly became apparent that it would take a larger investment that was initially planned and it was needed “sooner rather than later,” to “benefit the neighborhood and add to the property’s success.”

Mayfair is becoming increasingly trendy and a derelict building won’t provide the draw for tenants that want to be in the neighborhood, he said. Mayfair is one of the hottest housing markets in Denver at this time, according to CoHomefinder.com. The median for sale price of a home is $350,000 and with some homes priced just under $1 million.

“The Mayfair neighborhood is on the rise and we can’t attract the kind of tenants the neighborhood wants with the property in its current condition,” Harris said.  “The bones of the center are in good shape, it’s just tired and needs a lot of help.”

The center is being designed as a place where people can come to eat, shop, and have a conversation with their neighbors.
Some of the improvements include:

• The installation of a large pedestrian sidewalk with patios that will replace the dated smaller walkways in front of the shops; 

• Benches and bike racks will be integrated into the design to enhance the shopping experience;

• A new two-foot high illuminated design band will follow the 1960’s era roofline;

• All of the individual tenant signage will be located on a new sign framework that will provide greater visibility for all of the businesses.

• The entire parking lot will be replaced and re-striped in December.

The project will create an estimated 40 jobs upon completion.

“This is a catalyst project for the Mayfair Town Center area,” said Hilarie Portell, executive director of the Fax Partnership. “It’s aligned with the community vision, eliminating blight and strengthening connections with surrounding neighborhoods. We look forward to organizing events there and attracting more new investment.”

The property is being leased by Jeff Germain of the Crosby Real Estate Group. The center can accommodate tenants from 605 square feet to 1,816 square feet. Germain already has landed the first tenant, the Garlic Knot. The family oriented, full-service Italian restaurant wants to take advantage to the site’s proximity to a King Soopers and a Safeway.

“It’s a great location,” said Joe Giampietro, owner of the Garlic Knot, which will have indoor dining, take outs, and provide deliveries of what he calls the best pizza and pasta in Denver. It is scheduled to open in the spring.

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