Littleton is engaging in a tax shareback program with King Soopers in hopes a new store will ignite redevelopment in the surrounding area.
King Soopers is looking to demolish its store at the corner of Littleton Boulevard and South Broadway. Business has largely left that corner of Littleton, leaving several vacant storefronts in the strip mall anchored by the grocery store.
Littleton will give back $381,319 in new sales tax over six years, or if the six-year period ends before that amount of sales tax revenue is generated. The deal also includes a 50 percent reduction in permit fees and use tax up to $118,681 for the first year. That number comes from original cost estimates, said City Manager Michael Penny. That means King Soopers could get a total of $500,000 over the six years if the company invests in the property and reaches the sales tax projections.
Kelli McGannon, a spokeswoman for King Soopers, said the company is looking to construct a store that is 25,000 square feet larger than the existing store, which is 50,000 square feet. The store also will include a fuel center and drive-through pharmacy.
“It’s to create a more modern facility that will create a better shopping experience for our customers, and to carry more items and merchandise that they’re looking for,” McGannon said.
Penny said King Soopers last did a minor store remodel about five to seven years ago and a full remodel 11 years ago, and that the company is not interested in another remodel.
While McGannon declined to disclose how much the rebuilding would cost, Penny said it would cost about $20 million.
“It will garner a lot of interest by folks who may have been waiting to see and not wanting to be the first person to invest in this neighborhood, and if King Soopers is doing it, ‘We might as well start doing it ourselves.’ “
The shareback program is a way for the city to ensure its bet is more of a sure thing. He also said King Soopers is being courted by other communities, so the incentives are necessary. Englewood did tax sharebacks recently for a major remodel of the King Soopers at Belleview Avenue and Federal Boulevard.
King Soopers also is planning better access to the store from South Broadway, water retention efforts, which Penny said are in dire need, and water quality improvements. King Soopers also will improve pedestrian access and American with Disabilities Act access. The new store is slated to include 17 new full-time jobs.
McGannon said King Soopers is looking to start demolishing next month, and construction on the new store will take about a year after that.
Clayton Woullard: 303-954-2671 or cwoullard@denverpost.com
