As part of that effort, developers Chuck Perry of Denver and Jonathan Rose of New York City bought the Media Play space as a retail condominium and Media Play has been their tenants. But with short notice, Media Play pulled out, leaving the space dark. Tracy Huggins, executive director of DURA, recently gave her board members an update.
"The question of course is DURA's ability to make its scheduled debt payments," Huggins says. "Because these were the first bonds out in the $60-million, 15-block tax increment financing district Downtown, Denver Dry is in a priority position. My staff and I have spent the last few days going over to see how the loss of Media Play's departure would impact us, and I'm happy to say we are well-positioned at this point of time."
Media Play still has five years left on its 15-year lease, and Perry is negotiating a termination fee with the chain. That doesn't help DURA, as it needs money primarily from sales taxes and property taxes to meet its bond payments.
"We're very hopeful that Chuck Perry, who is our partner in this building, will be able to find a tenant quite quickly," Huggins says. "I believe that corner has the highest pedestrian count of any corner in Downtown, so it should be a great opportunity for some tenant. Hopefully, it will be a sales tax producing tenant."
A Media Play spokeswoman says the store was closed because its sales weren't meeting its projections. She tells GlobeSt.com it was the only Downtown store in the chain and the only two-story Media Play. A former employee there tells GlobeSt.com the store was hurt by a drop in CD sales, because so many people now download their music. However, its DVD sales were rising, as were its books sales.
The store faced competition from the nearby Virgin Records in the Denver Pavilions, as well as the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in the Pavilions and the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Lower Downtown. "Virgin Records must be doing hand-flips now that we're gone," he tells GlobeSt.com.
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