The River North Art District is a place of rapid change, where every day seems to bring a new redevelopment project that will transform an old industrial building into a hip new restaurant or office space.
But the nonprofit organization that oversees the art district wants it to be known: There is still art being created on a daily basis within its Denver boundaries.
“We have dressmakers, we have bookbinders, we have a facility here that sells tortillas that get shipped internationally but you can’t just walk in and buy them,” said Jamie Licko, president of the RiNo Art District. “As the neighborhood changes, it’s easy for people to say, ‘Oh, the art is all gone, the industry is all gone, it’s all just residents and restaurants.’ It’s not.”
To that end, RiNo is hoping to make it easier for district visitors to find that perfect RiNo-made souvenir and for resident artists and makers to get their goods out in front of the public.
It’s opening its own retail store later this year.
The art district shop will anchor the market hall on the ground floor of Zeppelin Station, a 100,000-square-foot office building currently under construction at 35th and Wazee streets, near the pedestrian bridge that spans the commuter rail tracks.
The district also plans to move its administrative offices into the hall, which developers Mickey and Kyle Zeppelin are envisioning as a public gathering place for the A Line’s 38th & Blake Station in the same vein as LoDo’s historic train hall is for Union Station.
“The artists put the neighborhood on the map — it’s why it’s so appealing to so many people — and now they’re getting priced out,” Kyle Zeppelin said. “This is really trying to address that in a positive way.”
Sixty percent of the shop’s sales proceeds will go directly back to the artists and makers, with the rest supporting the work of the art district organization, Licko said.
“We can’t always control rising costs of rent. We’re doing what we can on the affordability side, but we can give artists a platform to make more,” she said.
The district opened a public-facing office last summer in the Bindery on Blake, and after registering the address on Google, quickly realized that people were hungry not only for neighborhood guides and maps but also RiNo-branded items like T-shirts and hats, Licko said.
The new store will carry branded goods as well as locally made art, jewelry, clothing, food products and more. Only goods “made, created, designed, developed” within RiNo’s boundaries will be eligible for sale in both the physical shop and a planned online store.
“I see this as both a starting point for exploration of RiNo and an exit point, the last stop before you get on the train to leave, to take some RiNo with you,” Licko said.
The rest of the 25,000-square-foot market hall will feature multiple food vendors with a bent toward multicultural offerings representative of the greater Denver metro area, as well as retailers selling design goods, Zeppelin said.
None of the food tenants have been announced yet, but renderings and marketing materials mention menu items like tacos al pastor, poke and banh mi sandwiches. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter.
“We want to add some dimensions that don’t currently exist in the neighborhood,” Zeppelin said.