In November 1998, Denver’s leaders celebrated a moment they had planned for years: the opening of a three-story shopping mall — emblazoned with the city’s name in gigantic neon lettering.

“The Denver Entertainment & Fashion Pavilions,” sitting along 16th Street, was the finishing touch on a decades-long effort to reinvent Denver’s urban core, powering it out of the malaise of the ‘80s.

The local government and the property’s developers had pumped tens of millions of dollars into the project. In return, it was expected to draw hordes of locals and visitors alike — and their tax dollars.

“It was successful, until COVID,” recalled developer Susan Powers.

Now, that crown jewel is looking pretty tarnished. Pandemic-era closures, a surge in work-from-home culture and years of construction on

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