Greeley’s holiday shopping not dampened by Centerra

Before the Promenade Shops at Centerra opened last fall in Loveland, some people predicted the demise of the Greeley Mall and a dip in retail sales tax revenues for the city of Greeley.

But high gas prices and recent retail development in Greeley appears to have played in the city’s favor.

From October of last year through February of this year, Greeley retail sales-tax revenues increased about 10 percent or more compared with the previous year. Sales taxes collected in December, which reflected retail sales for November, increased the most – 15.47 percent.

That coincided with the beginning of the holiday shopping season and the opening of the Promenade Shops at Centerra in late October. It was the opposite of the dip in retail sales-tax revenue some thought Centerra would bring to Greeley.

“I expected to see a blip, but I haven’t seen it,´ said Tim Nash, director of the city of Greeley’s finance department.

Nash attributes that to significant retail development in the city within the past three years.

“We always heard that once you hit a certain population threshold, you’ll get more retail development,” Nash said. “I think that’s true. Once we hit 75,000 people, things started coming in. When we hit 100,000, we’ll probably see another boom.”

New retailers in Greeley include Kohl’s department store, Lowes Home Improvement, Michael’s craft store, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Circuit City and a few smaller retailers that have filled empty spots in the Greeley Mall.

Chain restaurants such as Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings have also opened in Greeley within the past couple of years.

Reasons to shop close to home

The retail development means Greeley residents have fewer reasons to travel to Loveland or Fort Collins to shop. Ten years ago, shopping and chain restaurants in Larimer County lured Weld County residents away.

“There’s a pretty good selection of restaurants in Greeley now,” Nash said. “That and $2.75 a gallon for gas, I think, are reasons not to leave Greeley.”

Sixty shops and restaurants opened between the end of October and December at the Promenade Shops at Centerra, only about a 15-minute drive from west Greeley. Fall sales for the shops came in two to three times higher than some expectations. The open-air shopping center has boosted Loveland’s sales tax revenues.

In late March, American Eagle Outfitters closed its store at the Greeley Mall, in part because it had another location at the Promenade Shops at Centerra.

But otherwise, it’s hard to see the impact of Centerra, said Meg Patenaude, senior marketing manager at the Greeley Mall.

“We haven’t seen the impact some thought we would,” Patenaude said. “I think the biggest misconception before it opened was it was a closed mall like ours. But it’s a different environment out there. You’re out in the open and the elements. It appeals to a different market.”

Patenaude said Centerra draws shoppers from Loveland, Fort Collins and Windsor, while the Greeley Mall draws from Greeley, Evans and eastern plains cities including Brush, Sterling and Fort Morgan.

The Promenade Shops offer stores shoppers can’t find at the Greeley Mall, but the reverse is also true. In the past two months, four new retailers have opened stores at the Greeley Mall: Doctor’s Vision Works; Marble Slab Creamery; Miss Serendipity, a locally owned store that offers event planning, gourmet foods and bridal and formal wear, and Your Senior Store, which offers products for senior citizens.

This year, the city of Greeley expects about a $4 million increase in overall sales-tax revenue, which is $2.1 million less than what was originally budgeted. But the blame doesn’t fall on Centerra. It’s because of a downturn in building activity, Nash said. The city collects sales taxes on building permits and use taxes on construction equipment bought elsewhere but used in the city.

Greeley retail sales-tax revenue collected in March, which reflects sales in February, was up only slightly, at 1.67 percent. That’s not the 10 percent or more increase reported in previous months, but Centerra isn’t the cause there, either, Nash said. He attributed it to some grocery stores that changed the way they reported their increases.

“That’s not to say Centerra won’t hit us,” he said. “We just haven’t seen anything yet.”

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