In the last six months, many of the vacancies in the Main Mall have filled up and there’s far more reason to explore the building.
Property manager T.J. Hermesman started working to fill in the building in January with help from a real estate agent, and they have reduced the vacancies from 14 to five.
A shift in responsibilities allowed Hermesman to spend more time focused on managing and modernizing the 90,000-square-foot building, which has been under-utilized, he said.
“We have been trying to think about things a little differently,” he said.
The location and competitive rent has also helped attract tenants, he said.
Guild House Games; Los Amigos Del Sur, a Mexican restaurant; Dolce Boutique, a clothing store; C’est Bon, a specialty market; Cloud 9 Head Shop; a church; and two technology companies are among the new tenants.
Glide Durango, a tour company, also started working out of the mall this week.
The longer-term tenants in the building include: Attractions on Main; The Goal Academy; Ashley Furniture HomeStore; Pine Needle Mountaineering; Flame Grilled Wraps; Primerica, an insurance company; and Woolverton Insurance, Hermesman said.
As part of the upgrades and renovations, Hermesman involved some incoming tenants, inviting them to help shape and design their space.
For example, the owner of C’est Bon, Shane Broussard, helped design his unit, which was carved out of a larger space formally occupied by Sendero Gallery.
“His unit looks great,” Hermesman said.
The building’s remaining vacant space is mostly office space on the second floor.
Major renovation is planned for at least one office on the second floor, and other vacant office spaces are going to be repainted and recarpeted.
“I would love to have them full by the end of year,” Hermesman said.
Steve Woolverton, a partner at Woolverton Insurance, had his office in the Main Mall in the mid-1990s and recalled its energetic atmosphere.
“The mall here had a lot of little shops in it and was real active,” he said.
The mall had a Hallmark store and a yogurt shop, as well as an accounting firm, at the time, he said.
In the last few months, Woolverton has noticed more foot traffic into the building as stores have opened and the mall’s hours have extended past 6 p.m.
“They are being more creative, more aggressive,” Woolverton said of the owners.
He doesn’t think retail outlets on the second floor will disturb the offices.
Before January, the building closed at 6 p.m., but the game store and Mexican restaurant have later hours, which keeps the building open later, Hermesman said.
To bring more people into the building, Hermesman is exploring other ideas such as hosting dances or installing a rock wall. But he has not decided on any specific attraction or event.
The way the underground parking garage at the mall is managed is also changing. An automated garage door was recently installed to allow those renting monthly spaces 24-hour access. Previously, the garage was open only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
