Sep 12, 2012

Denver Merchandise Mart Under New Ownership; Announces $4 Million Multi-Year Renovation Project

The Denver Merchandise Mart, a fixture in the Denver tradeshow, event and wholesale industries for more than 45 years, is now under the ownership and management direction of Woodhaven-Hawthorne. The company has begun a multi-year capital improvement campaign, which will feature renovations and refurbishments to both the interior and exterior of the Denver Mart over the next four years.

A privately owned venture capital company, Woodhaven-Hawthorne has committed to spending $4 million for the refurbishment and renovation of the Denver Mart. Projects include exterior refurbishments, energy conservation initiatives and interior renovations to improve the wholesaling experience for the Denver Mart’s permanent tenants, consumer tradeshow and event hosts and the attendees of these events. Woodhaven-Hawthorne has already completed the exterior painting of the building, replacement of the flooring in portions of the exhibition halls, repaving of the Mart Expansion parking lot and removal of the porte-cochere from the main entrance. Future renovation projects include a redesign of all four lobby entryways and facades, new directional signage, upgrading the HVAC systems and repaving of the Denver Mart’s entire parking lot.

This spring, Woodhaven-Hawthorne commissioned Xcel Energy to complete a comprehensive energy audit of the Denver Mart facilities, which encompasses 830,000-square-feet and 3000 parking spaces on nearly 46 acres. The first initiative of this energy efficiency engineering was the replacement or retrofitting of all of the lighting in the exhibition and common areas of the Mart with high efficiency fixtures. These efforts will reduce the Mart’s annual energy consumption and carbon footprint by nearly 30 percent. MTech, a Denver based HVAC engineering firm is currently evaluating a reengineering of the Denver Mart’s heating and air conditioning systems which will further reduce the Mart’s carbon footprint and energy utilization.

“The Denver Mart is not only a Denver institution, but one of the most successful Mart facilities in the country,” said John Doyle, CEO/managing partner, Woodhaven-Hawthorne. “We are excited to renew the vibrance, energy and breadth of offerings at the Denver Mart for our tenants, event hosts and the one million annual attendees at the Denver Mart. We look forward to unveiling a renovated Denver Mart to the Denver community and Rocky Mountain region.”

Founded in 1965 as a wholesale trade center, the Denver Mart serves as an international and regional marketplace, housing permanent showrooms and holding shows for various industries, including gifts, resort, souvenirs, western apparel and equipment, jewelry, apparel and home furnishings. Today, the Mart is home to more than 350 showrooms and hosts more than 200 public and wholesale trade events each year.