St. Charles Town Co. plans to redevelop the property it controls near East High School as a retail center, including a grocery store.
St. Charles president Charlie Woolley said he has been talking with grocers Sunflower Farmers Markets and Sprouts Farmers Market about their interest in locating in an old Safeway most recently occupied by the Beth Abraham Church in the City. The church relocated in March from the 25,000-square-foot building to a former synagogue at East 16th Avenue and Gaylord Street.
Woolley and development partner Allied Realty previously planned to develop the site with 260 apartment units but were unable to get financing for the project.
Sunflower and Sprouts officials confirmed their interest in locating a store in the area.
“It’s definitely a site we’ve been looking at and are interested in,” said Doug Sanders, president and chief operating officer for Sprouts.
Both companies said the area is attractive because it has the proper demographics, traffic and population density.
“We are very, very interested in a site in that area,” said Bennett Bertoli, vice president of legal and real estate for Sunflower. “They are not easy deals in that kind of an urban setting. It’s always hard to put together enough land.”
The grocery store would serve as the anchor for other retailers interested in locating at the site, Woolley said.
“We have been contacted by developers for retail chains that want to put stores there,” Woolley said. “We’ve got the beginnings of a really nice (property) assemblage where we can make a huge impact on Colfax.”
Woolley already has made an impact on East Colfax with the redevelopment of the old Lowenstein Theatre, where the Tattered Cover bookstore and Twist & Shout music store are located.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
