The owner of a prime piece of retail space at the corner of TejonStreet and Platte Avenue is planning to split the 6,400-square-footbi-level space into two units in hopes of drawing from a larger poolof potential tenants.
Julie Phillips at Fountain Colony Co., the leasing agent forAcacia LLC, said the site had been occupied by ListenUp for morethan two decades. ListenUp purchased a 12,000-square-foot formerfurniture showroom for its local operation near Woodmen Road andInterstate 25 last year and moved out of its downtown space inNovember.
The corner space, vacant since then, includes a main, street-level space and a basement level space, but could be easilyconverted into two store fronts with separate entrances.
'One space is roughly 4,000 square feet, 2,000 square feet oneach level, and the other is roughly 1,000 square feet on eachlevel,' Phillips said. 'The space has drawn a lot of interest, butmost of that has come from the smaller-sized tenants. We're workingwith some prospects now and we're excited to see something come fromthat.'
Phillips said the site at 230 N. Tejon St. features brick walls,hardwood floors and wrap-around windows at the corner.
Renovation won't begin until a tenant or tenants have committedto the site.
Craft brewers ride economy out
Need further signs the economy hit consumers hard in 2009? Here'sanother: Beer sales fell by more than 5 million barrels last year.That said, one segment of the industry performed well: small andindependent craft brewers.
The Boulder-based Brewer's Association said American craftbrewers watched their sales climb 10.3 percent in 2009. The segmentis growing too. The total number of U.S. craft brewers, defined asany commercial brewer that produces less than 2 million barrels ayear, climbed from 1,485 to 1,542. Those establishments combined toproduce 600,000 more barrels of beer during 2009 compared to 2008.
Brewer's Association Director Paul Gatza pointed to the ever-increasing flavors and varieties craft brewers have to offer as onereason customers have flocked to the smaller producers.
Industry observers have taken notice as well. The NationalRestaurant Association Chef Survey, for example, cited locallyproduced wine and beer among its top five overall trends to watchfor 2010.
Craft beers represent just 4.3 percent of the volume of the U.S.beer industry, but have become popular in Colorado, which is home to114 craft breweries.
Major sporting goods players see uptick
Two sporting goods retailers with strong links to ColoradoSprings reported large sales increases in the fourth quarter.
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp., which operates three locations inColorado Springs, reported its earnings vaulted 77.8 percent in thequarter as sales advanced 8.2 percent.
Dick's Sporting Goods, a company with two large stores in thearea, said its sales jumped 10.7 percent primarily due to a 2.5percent increase in same-store sales.
