Teh One Who Knocks
02-25-2014, 05:38 PM
By Megan Mitchell - Denver Post
http://i.imgur.com/DPLPPvc.jpg
AURORA — A group of Aurora residents who are African immigrants have formed a partnership with a private investor to create the city's first African-centric mall and community center, to open in May.
The vision for Afrikmall is to provide space for African businesses as well as businesses from other cultures for restaurants, cafes, shops, barber shops, salons and offices, said Cobina Lartso, president and CEO of Afrikmall, and head of the Ghanan Council in Aurora.
"We intend on spurring African businesses, thereby economically uniting Africans to improve our lives and contribute to the development in the city we live in," Lartso said.
Afrikmall is under construction at 10180 E. Colfax Ave. The three-level, 56,000-square-foot former furniture warehouse was purchased for $1.3 million Feb. 13. As soon as they had the keys, members of the Afrikmall management team started meeting with prospective tenants.
"We have more tenants than space," said Edward Mensah, one of five managing partners of the Afrikmall team, and a general contractor. "There has been a need for this in the African community for a long time."
Mensah said the entire idea for an African mall came out of a noise complaint more than two years ago.
"The Ghanan Council rented a conference space in (a local hotel) for a celebration," he said. "There was a lot of drumming and dancing, and some of the tenants called the police because the music was too loud. Afterward, we thought, 'Why don't we just get a place for ourselves?' "
So members of Ghanan Council — Lartso, Albert Quartey and Seth Assabil — met with Mensah and Emmanuel Eliason, another Afrikmall partner and CEO of Eliason Consulting Group, to search for a space. Those five make up the mall's management group.
The property on Colfax Avenue opened in September, and the Afrikmall group snapped it up immediately with financing from Northstar Commercial Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment company based in Denver.
Northstar will contribute an additional $1.2 million for construction and renovation, Mensah said.
The overall development plan is to use the entire first level of the space for shops and restaurants. There will also be a informational cultural display at the front entrance of the building that will feature different African countries or subpopulations every month.
Mensah said one of the group's primary goals is education about African communities.
"Imagine a place where children in Aurora Public Schools can come one afternoon and learn about a country in Africa," he said. "There would be someone there to walk them around the display, tell them stories and show them pictures and maps."
The second level of the building will be almost entirely devoted to a 14,000-square-foot event and meeting center for people of all cultures to use. A third floor will be developed into office spaces and leased out.
The soft opening target for Afrikmall is April 15, with a grand opening slated for May 1. The managing group is accepting a limited number of partners and investors now.
http://i.imgur.com/DPLPPvc.jpg
AURORA — A group of Aurora residents who are African immigrants have formed a partnership with a private investor to create the city's first African-centric mall and community center, to open in May.
The vision for Afrikmall is to provide space for African businesses as well as businesses from other cultures for restaurants, cafes, shops, barber shops, salons and offices, said Cobina Lartso, president and CEO of Afrikmall, and head of the Ghanan Council in Aurora.
"We intend on spurring African businesses, thereby economically uniting Africans to improve our lives and contribute to the development in the city we live in," Lartso said.
Afrikmall is under construction at 10180 E. Colfax Ave. The three-level, 56,000-square-foot former furniture warehouse was purchased for $1.3 million Feb. 13. As soon as they had the keys, members of the Afrikmall management team started meeting with prospective tenants.
"We have more tenants than space," said Edward Mensah, one of five managing partners of the Afrikmall team, and a general contractor. "There has been a need for this in the African community for a long time."
Mensah said the entire idea for an African mall came out of a noise complaint more than two years ago.
"The Ghanan Council rented a conference space in (a local hotel) for a celebration," he said. "There was a lot of drumming and dancing, and some of the tenants called the police because the music was too loud. Afterward, we thought, 'Why don't we just get a place for ourselves?' "
So members of Ghanan Council — Lartso, Albert Quartey and Seth Assabil — met with Mensah and Emmanuel Eliason, another Afrikmall partner and CEO of Eliason Consulting Group, to search for a space. Those five make up the mall's management group.
The property on Colfax Avenue opened in September, and the Afrikmall group snapped it up immediately with financing from Northstar Commercial Partners, a privately held commercial real estate investment company based in Denver.
Northstar will contribute an additional $1.2 million for construction and renovation, Mensah said.
The overall development plan is to use the entire first level of the space for shops and restaurants. There will also be a informational cultural display at the front entrance of the building that will feature different African countries or subpopulations every month.
Mensah said one of the group's primary goals is education about African communities.
"Imagine a place where children in Aurora Public Schools can come one afternoon and learn about a country in Africa," he said. "There would be someone there to walk them around the display, tell them stories and show them pictures and maps."
The second level of the building will be almost entirely devoted to a 14,000-square-foot event and meeting center for people of all cultures to use. A third floor will be developed into office spaces and leased out.
The soft opening target for Afrikmall is April 15, with a grand opening slated for May 1. The managing group is accepting a limited number of partners and investors now.