print Hobby Lobby on the move to southern Colorado Springs from city’s west side (copy)
Arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby is drawing up a new store location in Colorado Springs.
The Oklahoma City-based chain is moving from its nearly 30-year-old home at 525 S. Eighth St. on the city’s west side to the Broadmoor Towne Center shopping center, southeast of Nevada Avenue and Southgate Road in southern Colorado Springs.
Hobby Lobby didn’t respond to multiple emails and phone calls seeking information.
The retailer remains open on Eighth Street and customers are being told that the location will stay open until its move is completed.
Hobby Lobby is targeting an April opening at the Broadmoor Towne Center, though it’s possible the move could be delayed beyond next month, said broker Manny San Fernando of Kratt Commercial Properties in Colorado Springs and who markets the portion of the shopping center the retailer will occupy.
San Fernando said Hobby Lobby will take over a 49,955-square-foot space that had been occupied by Gordmans, the now-defunct department store chain that closed at the Broadmoor Towne Center in May 2020.
Some brick-and-mortar stores that compete with online retailers have sought to reduce their physical space in recent years.
Though Hobby Lobby didn’t comment, the retailer’s space at Broadmoor Towne Center will be slightly smaller than its Eighth Street location, San Fernando said.
“They’re downsizing a bit from where they are on Eighth Street,” San Fernando said. “We’re seeing that a lot with some of the larger players. They’re trying to downsize their footprint however they can.”
At the same time, San Fernando said he believes Hobby Lobby wanted to upgrade its curb appeal with the move.
The retailer operates adjacent to Office Depot in a former Walmart store that’s set back off Eighth Street and separated from the road by a large parking lot.
At Broadmoor Town Center, Hobby Lobby potentially can draw customers from the shopping center’s stores and restaurants, which include Home Depot, PetsMart, Old Navy, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta Beauty, 24 Hour Fitness, Panera Bread, Noodles & Co., Chipotle, Panda Express and Red Robin.
“They were kind of there by themselves on Eighth Street,” San Fernando said.
Hobby Lobby opened its Eighth Street store in late 1997 and moved at that time from the northwest side Uintah Gardens shopping center, according to Gazette archives. The retailer continues to operate two other Colorado Springs stores — at 6950 N. Academy Blvd. in the Woodmen Valley shopping center and at 5994 Barnes Road in the Barnes Marketplace.
Hobby Lobby will be one of the newer retailers to join Broadmoor Towne Center.
Kids Empire, a chain of indoor playground and entertainment centers based in southern California, opened its first Colorado Springs location in mid-December at the shopping center and operates next door to Hobby Lobby’s future space.
The building that housed the Sears department store at Broadmoor Towne Center, which closed in 2019, was purchased by a private group and has undergone a makeover; the remodeled building now houses a Magnum Shooting Center, Broadmoor Storage and a Big R store.
Hobby Lobby will take over a nearly 50,000-square-foot space, left, at the Broadmoor Towne Center shopping center on Colorado Springs’ south side. The arts and craft retailer is moving from its Eighth Street store on the city’s west side and is targeting an April opening.
Arts and craft retailer Hobby Lobby will take over a nearly 50,000-square-foot space at the Broadmoor Towne Center shopping center on Colorado Springs’ south side, adjacent to a Kids Empire playground and entertainment center that opened in December. Hobby Lobby is moving from its Eighth Street store on the city’s west side and is targeting an April opening.
