DENVER — Spherical two of the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Popup Denver formally launched final week. This system offers native entrepreneurs the possibility to arrange store on 16^th Avenue Mall with free lease and a stipend for storefront and advertising.

Spherical two will award eight companies the chance, up from 5 companies in spherical one. DDP stated it has taken classes from the pilot, which launched final yr, to enhance the method and hopefully enhance the prospects for long run enterprise success.

Of the 5 companies chosen in Popup Denver’s first spherical, three have since closed and one remains to be underneath development.

Picture En Mouvement, an artwork set up produced by entrepreneurs at Dance2B in downtown Denver, remains to be working and can proceed via the month of February. In contrast to the opposite small companies chosen in spherical one, IEM was created to be a free expertise for passersbys on 16^th Avenue Mall.

A sequence of nonetheless picture and video panels, set to music, inform an intergalactic story of “The Adventures of Captain Eon” via time and area.

“We wished to current one thing that was for all ages and all races, that was inclusive,” stated producer Henry Graham. “It’s at all times enjoyable to see individuals’s reactions to it, as a result of some individuals will have a look at it prefer it’s bizarre after which some individuals will hook up with it. And a few individuals will deliver their youngsters and level at it. So, it’s positively a dialog starter.”

Whereas IEM was not created to usher in recurring income for its creators immediately, Graham and co-producer Jennifer Tisdale got here into the challenge with enterprise expertise in downtown Denver. They function the Dance2B studios in decrease downtown, and as such, had a eager sense of the challenges and pitfalls that may include a brand new enterprise launch.

That hole in information is among the key areas for enchancment in spherical two of the Popup Program, representatives with the Downtown Denver Partnership stated.

Two completely different tracks will likely be supplied: an “Explorer Observe” for established entrepreneurs able to develop their bodily retailer presence and a “Maker Observe” for starting entrepreneurs who need extra publicity for his or her merchandise with out having to run their very own bodily store.

“Now we have discovered via our pilot stage that a few of these retail entrepreneurs are usually not fairly able to function a storefront,” stated Sarah Wiebenson, DDP director of financial growth. “These Maker Observe people can apply to be part of our retail collective, the place as much as 30 makers may have their merchandise featured in a downtown retailer within the collective sponsored by Wells Fargo. After which these skilled retail entrepreneurs within the area can apply to be on the Discover Observe. They are going to be given their very own storefront to function. They’ll have one other storefront in Colorado and many expertise with the way to juggle the complexities of working a storefront.

“We’re going to be operating [business owners] via a sequence of workshops with metropolis companies and our vendor companions to speak about what it takes to function a storefront downtown. We’ll be going via metropolis allowing processes, signal code concerns, issues they could not have skilled of their different downtowns that they are working in. However we’ll additionally run them via a security and safety evaluation and even present funding to do mitigations, crime prevention via environmental design,” Wiebenson continued.

Based on the DDP, the return of site visitors to downtown Denver has been a combined a bag. Weekend guests have reached 95% of pre-pandemic ranges, in keeping with DDP, and restaurant eating is definitely forward of 2019 ranges. In the course of the work week, nevertheless, foot site visitors remains to be barely over half of what it was earlier than COVID-19, a development that has been seen in cities throughout the nation.

Security and safety downtown is one other most important concern that has been raised by each enterprise house owners and residents. In November 2022, DDP and the Metropolis of Denver introduced a public security initiative with 40 accomplice organizations to deal with security considerations downtown. The plan features a heavier police presence, in addition to psychological well being specialists and substance abuse navigators to attach people with companies.

Each the DDP and the producers of Picture En Mouvement stated the presence of the Popups themselves play a key position.

“It cleans up the perimeters of the streets, as a result of now individuals have respect for what the town represents,” Graham stated.

“And we noticed that with our set up, in order quickly because the music began enjoying, movies went up, and the artwork went up… homeless individuals didn’t dangle on the market,” co-producer Jennifer Tisdale added. “Simply displaying that we respect our area, others will are likely to respect it.”

Functions for spherical two of Popup Denver will likely be accepted via Friday March 3. You may study extra about this system and the appliance course of on the Popup Denver web site.