If both ends of The Streets at SouthGlenn turn into housing, what happens to the Whole Foods run, the Sephora stop, and the walk past the fountain on the way to the library?
The City of Centennial has already worked through that question in its own planning documents. Its answer is more reassuring than the boarded-up windows at the north end suggest. Under the rules already approved for the center, both former department stores can be redeveloped as homes and the retail core would still sit above the minimum the City requires. At the shopping center at Arapahoe Road and University Boulevard, the plans so far put housing at the two dead ends and leave the shops in the middle where they are.
Four Years of Plywood at the North End
Macy's at SouthGlenn held its final sale over March 18 to 20, 2022, and closed on the last of those days, as the Denver Gazette reported at the time. The building has been boarded up and vacant since, the Centennial Citizen noted this spring. At the south end, Sears went dark even earlier. Colorado Community Media reported in 2018 that the store was slated to close near the end of that year.
Denver-based Alliance Residential Company now has a formal application with the City for the Macy's site. It proposes a five-story building with 358 apartments. The City received the application on April 30, and according to the City's September 2026 SouthGlenn update it is moving through planning review. Earlier coverage used a figure of 361 units, taken from the pre-submittal application Alliance filed on Feb. 25. The later presentation and the City's current page both use 358.
The Fountain Plaza Gets Front Doors
The design is what matters most to anyone who walks the center. Alliance's project narrative describes a building that "fronts directly onto the street and the old Macy's fountain plaza." Patios, stoops and ground-level units are meant to put "eyes on the street."
The same document makes a point about how people move through SouthGlenn. When Macy's closed, the north-south pedestrian spine through the center was cut off. The plan uses two-story townhome units with direct sidewalk entries, a public plaza edge and a visible clubhouse to "stitch it back together." Behind the existing retail, where the new building would face the backs of the shops, the narrative proposes a landscaped mews with special paving and wall art.
Parking would go in a screened internal garage of about 557 spaces, reached from S. Vine Street. The developer told the Centennial Citizen that works out to roughly 1.56 spaces per unit. The plan doesn't include ground-floor retail. The street-level energy is supposed to come from front doors and plaza space, not from more storefronts.
The Arithmetic That Protects the Middle
The plan doesn't add shops, and the reason sits on the City's SouthGlenn page. The center already has more retail space than its approvals require, and the two empty anchors account for most of the extra.
| Measure at The Streets at SouthGlenn | City figure |
|---|---|
| Total leasable retail, including both former anchors | 948,853 sq ft |
| Former Sears and Macy's buildings combined | about 307,000 sq ft |
| Retail the approvals require the center to keep | 621,000 sq ft |
| Retail left if both anchors become housing | roughly 642,000 sq ft |
| Residential units allowed across the whole center | 1,125 |
| Units existing today at The Portola at SouthGlenn | 214 |
| Units if the Macy's plan is built | about 572 |
The retail-left and units-if-built rows are simple subtraction and addition from the City's figures, so read them as approximate. Even so, the pattern is clear. Take both department stores out of the retail count and the center still clears its 621,000-square-foot floor by about 21,000 square feet. Add the Macy's apartments and SouthGlenn would still have roughly half of its housing allowance left for the Sears parcel.
Height has limits too. Both the Sears and Macy's parcels are capped at 75 feet, and no building at the center may exceed 100 feet. The tallest building there now is The Portola, at about 85 feet.
The ownership picture in the middle points the same way. In early 2026, The Luzzatto Company bought about 100,000 square feet of retail at SouthGlenn, including the buildings that house Whole Foods and Sephora. The City says no immediate tenant changes are expected, and the purchase doesn't include either former anchor.
The South End Comes With a Park Attached
The Sears side has less to show so far. The property owner is marketing it for residential redevelopment, and no application has been filed.
The approvals already on the books still say a lot about what any future plan there has to include. The Sears parcel must deliver at least 25,000 square feet of public open space, and it has to be built before anyone moves into the first residential building on that parcel. A separate requirement calls for at least 25,000 square feet of open space, green space or common public space along the north side of E. Easter Avenue to serve that housing. At the Sears end, a public park comes before the first resident.
What 436 Comments Asked For
The City ran a virtual community meeting on its Have Your Say Centennial page. Comments closed on April 22, and the thread shows 436 of them. The Centennial Citizen counted about 139 residents behind those comments. It reported concerns about traffic, parking, the lack of affordable units and water capacity. Other commenters pointed to putting a long-empty building back to use, added property tax revenue, and support for the remaining shops.
Traffic came up most often, and the City has a defined next step for it. Jenna Campbell, a principal planner for Centennial, told the Centennial Citizen that the City requires a traffic impact analysis comparing the apartments with what the SouthGlenn master traffic study already assumed. She also offered some context:
"It's also important to note that this site previously housed a large retail store that generated its own traffic, and the new residential use introduces a different and often lower peak hour traffic pattern."
Campbell said the study will be made public once it's finished. On the City's project page, the timeline for approval and for the start of construction is still marked TBD.
The Middle, This Week
While the ends wait on paperwork, the part of SouthGlenn people actually use keeps its own calendar.
- Spooky Streets, Friday, Oct. 23, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The free evening takes over Commons Park along Commons Avenue with face painters, balloon artists, costumed characters, photo spots, music and dancing.
- Street Smarts, through April 30, 2027. Shoppers turn in receipts from stores, restaurants, services or a movie at the center, and participating local schools earn at least five points per dollar toward awards of $350 to $2,500. The center says the program has donated $213,850 since the 2009–10 school year.
- Southglenn Library, 6972 S. Vine St. The Arapahoe Libraries branch is open for browsing, computer use and hold pickup, and its fall calendar runs regular toddler and family storytimes.
- Lucky Charm Bridal. Colorado Community Media's Business Happenings column listed the shop's opening at the center in a March 27, 2026 item.
The center's holiday parade ran on Nov. 21 last year. The 2026 date will appear on SouthGlenn's events page when the center announces it.
If you're wondering how changes like the Macy's redevelopment could shape daily life, or later the value of a home near Arapahoe and University, I'd love to talk it through with you. Plans like this move slowly, and I'm happy to keep you posted as the City sets its review timeline. At Lisa Snyder, the conversation starts wherever you are. Let's Connect.
