Check Out Sarah Wiebenson’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Wiebenson

Hi Sarah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the youngest of five children, I had a lot of freedom to explore the city on my own. Traveling on foot, I noticed so much more than when I was driven from place to place. I became familiar with local characters and noticed as houses were built and businesses came and went. This curiosity eventually translated into my work creating places in which people want to spend time; first as an urban planner in Chicago; and now working on commercial district transformation with the Downtown Denver Partnership, a non-profit place-making organization. I love helping my team engage with businesses to match them with opportunities and create places that I would have enjoyed exploring as a child.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What I do is very niche, so there was not a clearly visible path to where I am now. Instead, I worked in a variety of fields, picking up knowledge and insights along the way, which could feel rudderless and haphazard compared to peers who were on a corporate professional track. Now I am grateful for my understanding of how architecture, policy, regulation, finance, politics, entrepreneurship, and the arts all influence and contribute to making great places. When I talk now with students and young professionals, I try to reassure them that the threads between different experiences they pursue now will likely become apparent later, eventually revealing their true professional passion.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The team I lead at the Downtown Denver Partnership focuses on business recruitment, business development, and business retention. Economic development – the overarching field for this type of work – can sound very dry and uninspiring. Applying an economic development lens to urban placemaking, however, is incredibly creative. Each day is different: we are constantly responding to new conditions and opportunities, making it challenging to pick and choose which opportunities to pursue, which often is all of them! I prefer to say yes to exploring ideas, ultimately dedicating resources only to the ones that make it through our “due diligence” tests of funding, politics, policy, partner support, etc. I am proud that over the last three years, my team has directly contributed to nine businesses opening in Downtown Denver, and that we have built an innovative, interactive website to make it easier for businesses to find opportunities: www.whydowntowndenver.com

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I really enjoy witnessing the consumer economy shifting back toward small-scale retail: spaces that offer a sense of discovery and human interaction for customers. When “big boxes” were the only type of retail that was thriving, they were primarily accessed by car and constructed on “greenfield” sites like farmland or other previously undeveloped land. As customers have shifted toward primarily purchasing commodity goods online, urban commercial districts with their historic, smaller-scale building forms have become more attractive as an opportunity to feel connected to history; to local entrepreneurs; and to fellow community members, just like I did back in the days of my childhood exploring.

Image Credits
Personal photo: Street Wise Arts Boulder (2024)
Business development workshop: Julia Trujillo, Downtown Denver Partnership (2024)
Why Downtown Denver website screenshot
Small-scale storefront interior (Gran Torino, Williamsburg, Brooklyn): Sarah Wiebenson (2024)