The two buildings that bookend The Streets at SouthGlenn have been dark for years. Sears left the south end in 2018, and Macy's left the north end in 2022. Together they hold about 307,000 square feet of the center's 948,853 square feet of leasable retail space. Under the City of Centennial's current rules, the center has to keep 621,000 square feet of retail.
What comes next on each end runs on its own clock.
The Math Behind the Empty Ends
The City of Centennial's SouthGlenn project page sets out what the site allows. Most of what residents will see over the next few years follows from these numbers.
| Rule or figure | What the city's page says | What it means on the ground |
|---|---|---|
| Leasable retail today | 948,853 sq ft, including Sears and Macy's | About 307,000 sq ft of that sits in the two empty anchors |
| Required retail | 621,000 sq ft | For the center as a whole |
| Residential units allowed | 1,125 total | 214 already exist at The Portola at SouthGlenn |
| Height on the Sears and Macy's parcels | 75 feet | Lower than The Portola, the center's tallest building at about 85 feet |
| Public open space | At least 25,000 sq ft on the Sears parcel | Must be built before the first residential building there gets final occupancy |
The north end has a proposal in planning review. The south end has no application.
The North End Has a Plan and a Developer's Calendar
As of the city's September 2026 update, Alliance Residential Company proposes a five-story building with 358 apartments on the former Macy's site. The formal application arrived April 30 and is in planning review.
The April 7, 2026 project presentation gives the details. The site covers 5.239 acres. Units range from studios to three-bedrooms, and about 557 parking spaces sit in a garage inside the building, more than one space per unit. The building is organized around landscaped courtyards. Its site plan shows a private pool and amenity area for residents, plus two spaces open to the public: the existing plaza and an "enhanced pedestrian alley" the plan calls a mews. The ground floor has townhome-style units with entries facing the street, not storefronts.
The proposal shows front doors and a walkway rather than another row of stores at the north end of the promenade.
The developer's estimated timeline, which the presentation labels "subject to change," runs as follows:
- Demolition of the existing building: Fall/Winter 2026
- Site construction begins: Winter/Spring 2027
- Vertical construction begins: Spring 2027
- Opening: Summer/Fall 2028
These are the applicant's estimates, not approvals. The city's latest update still lists the project as under review. On the city's Have Your Say page for the project, the approval date and construction start are marked to be determined.
What Neighbors Told the City
The north-end proposal has already had a public round. The city's community comment page collected 436 comments before its April 22, 2026 deadline. The comments went both ways. Some supported more housing and new life on the north end. Others raised traffic, parking, affordability, and the loss of a department store as concerns.
According to the city, the developer next prepares a Community Participation Report from those comments. The report becomes public once the project is formally in review. That document is the place to see how the design answers the parking and traffic questions. The 557-space garage is the developer's main answer so far.
The South End Has No Plan, but It Already Has a Park
The former Sears parcel is moving more slowly. The Denver Post reported that Sears sold its real estate to Denver-based Northwood Investors in 2017 for $15 million, and that the owner met with city officials about housing but did not go ahead at the time. As of September 2026, the city says the owner is marketing the site for residential redevelopment and has not filed an application.
Even without a plan, a few things about the south end are already set. Any homes built there trigger the open-space rule: at least 25,000 square feet of public open space, green space, or common public space along the north side of East Easter Avenue, built before the first residential building gets final occupancy. Height on the parcel tops out at 75 feet, lower than The Portola next door.
The Portola has 214 units, and Alliance proposes 358. In summer 2025, Alberta Development Partners, which still owns the north end, asked the city to raise the cap to 1,675. The city's September 2026 page still lists 1,125.
The Middle Changed Owners and Stayed the Same
Between the two empty ends, the shopping core is busy. In January 2026, Taos developer Asher Luzzatto bought about 100,000 square feet of SouthGlenn retail for $28 million, as the Denver Post reported with its partner BusinessDen. The purchase covers three blocks along York Street, including Whole Foods, Sephora, Old Navy, and about a dozen other storefronts. Luzzatto told the paper his portion was 100% leased. When spaces open up, he wants to bring in "experiential" tenants that people will drive half an hour to visit. The city says it expects no immediate tenant changes, and that the deal did not include the Macy's or Sears properties.
Luzzatto described his reasoning to the Denver Post in terms that fit the city's framework:
"South Denver, this area could use a good center of gravity because it is pretty suburban and spread out. … I think people are missing an experience that is just walkable, livable."
He also told the paper that "having a Whole Foods-anchored retail center is still incredibly valuable," even if nothing else on the site changed.
What to Watch Through Winter
- Planning review on the Macy's site. The city's project page is where the review status will change first. The developer's estimate puts demolition in Fall/Winter 2026, but there is no confirmed approval yet.
- The Community Participation Report. Once it's public, it will show how Alliance answered the 436 comments, especially on parking and traffic.
- Any filing on the Sears parcel. As of September 2026, no application had been filed.
- The unit cap. The city's September 2026 page lists 1,125 units for the center.
- New storefronts in the Luzzatto blocks. Under his stated plan, any turnover along York Street is the first chance to see what an "experiential" tenant looks like here.
If you own near SouthGlenn and want to talk through how the north-end plan and a future south-end park could shape the blocks around your home, Coleen Sanders is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
