Denver Mart to be shuttered, sold
The high-profile location off 58th Avenue and I-25 offered an 807,000-square foot facility on 34 acres to some 100 trade shows annually. Author: Dennis Huspeni (Denver Gazette) Published: 9:15 PM MST February 21, 2021 Updated: 6:55 AM MST February 22, 2021
DENVER The 54-year-old Denver Mart – which was supposed to enjoy a second life after new owners came in 2013 promising millions in upgrades – closes its doors March 31 mired in debt and at least one breach of contract lawsuit.
Retail tenants and show producers were notified abruptly Feb. 12 with a letter stating “The property since March 2020 has been default with its lender, is now being placed into receivership proceeding, and will be sold through this receivership process by the end of March 2021.”
For nineteen years running, the Fly Fishing Show has lured more than 12,000 fly-fishing fanatics to the Denver Mart, bringing business to hundreds of exhibitors and generating upwards of $1 million for the local economy, estimates Ben Furimsky, the show s president.
But after the Denver Mart announced that it will close at the end of March, Furimsky and other event organizers were left without a venue for their 2021 shows. Under current COVID-19 restrictions, those shows would have been able to host no more than 100 visitors at a time, anyway but Furimsky worries the closure may affect not only events in 2021, but in 2022 and beyond.