New district opens with festive weekend

BOULDER – Happy days are here again, or at least there’s a place to buy a pair of pants or a pair of lamps, ogle the latest computer, get a haircut, meet a friend for lunch and even enjoy a massage – all in a brand-new shopping district designed just for Boulder.

The Oct. 13 opening of the Twenty Ninth Street retail district is the culmination of three years of intense research, design, marketing and construction, all in the name of improving the city’s tax coffers by giving the community a central place to shop locally.

“We are very excited and feel like we’ve got a number of tenants that will make Boulder very pleased with the outcome,´ said Dave Scholl, senior vice president of development for Twenty Ninth Street developer Westcor.
Scholl was tasked in 2002 by Westcor’s parent company, Macerich, to come up with a plan to replace Crossroads Mall, the defunct regional mall Twenty Ninth Street is replacing.

The Oct. 12 pre-opening bash “will be a kickoff to a six- to eight-month celebration, the beginning of a season of openings,” Scholl said.

Satisfying Boulder was not an easy task, Scholl admitted. “(Westcor) always has had the strength of good stakeholder outreach. Boulder tested that. We had so much community input and gave people a chance to have input, and I think the project is better for it. We’ve probably never worked in a community that had so many opinions.”

The Oct. 12 opening gala, called When Worlds Collide to reflect Twenty Ninth Street’s onsite science exhibits representing the area’s national laboratories, is sponsored and catered by long-time Boulder caterer A Spice of Life. The $50-per-person party is a fundraiser for Boulder’s Impact on Education. A silent auction also was planned to help raise money.

More than $3,000 worth of products and services was donated to the auction by Twenty Ninth Street tenants. Auction items include an iPod Shuffle donated by Apple, a $250 gift certificate and two cookbooks donated by California Pizza Kitchen, two three-month memberships donated by Massage Envy, lightweight outdoor wear donated by MontBell, a “pampered pooch pack” donated by Muttropolis, $400 worth of product from Origins, gift baskets donated by Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Wild Oats, Juicy Couture sunglasses donated by Solstice, and other items.

The party’s “weird science” theme will be played out in many ways, including wait staff dressed in lab coats and a signature cocktail called “Liquid Fusion.”

Partygoers were invited to perfect their “science of shopping” by previewing the center’s 40 or so stores ready to open the next day.

Many of these stores are new to Colorado, including The Territory Ahead, lululemon athletica (due to open around Nov. 1) and Muttropolis, and some are new to Boulder, including lucy, M.A.C. and Z Gallerie.
In addition to nibbling on A Spice of Life selections and tasting treats from Twenty Ninth Street restaurants including Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks’ chicken tortilla soup, MAD Greens’ salads, Panera Bread samples, Wild Oats products, California Pizza Kitchen pizza and other goodies, guests will receive pocket protector name tags and a commemorative test tube, see retailer product demonstration and get discount coupons, giveaway items and goodie bags.

They also will groove to the tunes of Sambadende and experience a bit of a time warp when Thomas Dolby, famous for his 1983 hit “She Blinded Me with Science” hits the stage at Macy’s plaza.

Dolby is back on the road after a 10 year or so hiatus spent building his high-tech company, Beatnik Inc. The Silicon Valley company developed the Beatnik Audio Engine, the sound engine that plays ring tones inside about two-thirds of the world’s cell phones, Dolby said.

Dolby is performing his one-man synthesizer-based show again because, “Beatnik is now a mature enough business to work without me,” he said.

He’s also re-entering the music business because it’s changed since he left it. “I quit the music business in the early ’90s because I was unhappy with the record industry (owning the rights to music). That’s now disintegrated because of the Internet and music technology that allows people to make records on their laptop. You can publish yourself and retain ownership.”

He is playing Twenty Ninth Street because gala organizers, Twenty Ninth Street marketing staff including Lori Giggey and Patty Hazlett, told him, “They wanted someone with an interesting slant,” he said. “I was invited to play there because of the science theme of the opening.”

Dolby, known for his mad-scientist attire and quirky video that plays behind him, last played Boulder in 1998 at Macky Auditorium on the campus of the University of Colorado.

The entire Oct. 13-15 weekend will be a whirlwind of activities, Giggey said.

A “Rube Goldberg” ribbon cutting is being designed by teams of eighth graders to officially open the shopping district at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 13. Each team was given certain criteria for a mechanical puzzle that, once set in motion, will cut the ribbon, Giggey said.

The first 250 shoppers will receive a $20 gift card just in time for the doors opening at 10 a.m., and there will be many special discounts and promotions throughout the center all weekend long.

Z Gallerie is offering the first 100 customers a $5 gift card, and throughout the weekend customers can register to win shopping sprees valued at $150, $500 and $1,000.

Musical entertainment includes a 6 p.m. performance by Quemando followed at 7 p.m. by the University of Colorado marching band.

Saturday, Oct. 14 has been dubbed “Science Saturday,” when visitors can meet Boulder’s innovative scientists, and kids can see demonstrations from Mad Science and Mad Science shows. There will be science-oriented face painting and tattoos and a science-oriented balloon artist.

FlipCrash performs at 4 p.m., followed by FACE at 6 p.m. and meniscus at 7:30 p.m.

“Wellness Sunday” will feature a Seniors Fit-n-Strong demonstration at 1 p.m. and 29 yoga poses on the plaza with lululemon athletica.

Origins will be offering complimentary Center Peace wellness services and samples, and CafÇ of Life will have demonstrations and games.

Numerous activities will take place all weekend including Twenty Ninth Street’s “The Wonder of Science” self-guided tours and registration at Guest Services for a “Weekend in Boulder” drawing.

Wild Oats, which won’t open for a few months, will have a booth all weekend with staff, information, samples and products, said spokeswoman Christa Coleman.

Clark’s will have a drawing for a $500 shopping spree and other giveaways; Panera Bread will have chalk art demonstrations, and Massage Envy will be offering chair massages.

Apple Computer is expecting a large crowd, since that’s been the case when its other stores have opened, said spokeswoman Amy Barney.

The first 1,000 customers on Friday morning will receive a free T-shirt that’s designed only for that store.
The store will have a grand-opening sweepstakes as well. The grand-prize winner will receive a package Barney said is valued at more than $2,500 including a black 13-inch MacBook, a one-year membership to ProCare, a silver 4 gigabyte iPod Nano, an iPod hi-fi, a one-year .Mac membership, iWork software and the AppleCare protection program. The 10 first-prize winners get one-year memberships in ProCare.

Those who present a current University of Colorado ID at Guest Services will receive a Shopping & Dining Incentives card.

Muttropolis will have treats on hand for visiting dogs (Twenty Ninth Street is dog-friendly), and a percentage of the weekend sales proceeds will benefit the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. The humane society will also be on hand with adoptable dogs. Shoppers will receive a gift with any purchase of $29 or more.

Contact Caron Schwartz Ellis at 303-440-4950 or csellis@bcbr.com.

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