RiNo Art District Launches Pop-Up Program To Combat Vacancies

The River North Art District Business Improvement District has launched the RiNo Made Pop-Up Program, pairing local artists with vacant storefronts to chip away at one of Denver’s most stubborn retail challenges.

Bisnow previously reported that RiNo’s 9% retail availability rate, driven in part by zoning overlays requiring ground-floor activation, is nearly double the citywide average. 

The district’s earlier No Vacancy program tackled the issue in a similar way, giving artists temporary space in older buildings. RiNo Made Pop-Up focuses on newer commercial corridors where asking rents have priced out many creatives, according to a press release.

“This replicable, flexible model for activations came out of real conversations with artists and developers,” Kiah Butcher, programs manager for RiNo Art District, said in the statement. “They told us the same thing: retail and gallery spaces are too expensive and it’s hard to keep them full.”

Through the pilot, the RiNo Art District leases vacant space from landlords at a subsidized rate and provides participating artists with a $1,500 stipend. The first location, a 2601 Walnut St. storefront owned by national developer Edens, features five local artists and offers public open studio hours.

“At a high level, retail likes to be around retail,” Edens Managing Director Thomas Picarsic told Bisnow in March. “When you just have 6K SF or 7K SF of ground-floor retail sitting in a building by itself, it doesn’t create connectivity.”

The business improvement district has committed $25K to fund at least two more pop-ups in 2025 and hopes to expand to more locations in 2026.

CORRECTION, AUG. 6, 11:22 A.M. MT: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the artist stipend.