PARKER —Replacing a grocery store with another store from the same chain doesn’t sound like a landscape-changing retail project. But officials in Parker are celebrating the opening of the on the site of a former King Soopers in the Cottonwood neighborhood as a key component of the largest redevelopment effort in town history.
The new store is a 125,000-square-foot, expanded concept featuring clothing and home goods departments, an expansive prepared foods section and dining area, in-store jewelry store, clinic and other uncommon amenities. It opened at 17761 Cottonwood Drive on Nov. 12, King Soopers officials said. It replaced a 55,000-square-foot King Soopers location that had been vacant at the northwest corner of Parker Road and Cottonwood Drive for nearly a decade.
“The economy is different than it was then. There are more rooftops and growth there,” King Soopers spokeswoman Kelli McGannon said of the company’s decision to open its seventh metro area marketplace concept store in Cottonwood. “It’s really about one-stop shopping and customer convenience.”
The town has agreed to a with King Soopers that will grant the company a portion of the sales tax collection from the new store over the first eight years it is open, or up to $3.9 million, whichever comes first, officials say.
An existing retail strip center was demolished during the redevelopment, and another was downsized. Between the smaller, remaining center and two retail strips south of Cottonwood Drive — which include some relocated businesses from across the street — there are few vacancies in the area.
“The surrounding neighborhood has many more retail opportunities than they have had since 2002,” Parker business retention and marketing manager Weldy Feazell said. “Not many businesses wanted to move up here before the King Soopers announcement.”
Feazell said records show that the average rental cost of retail space along Cottonwood Drive increased from $13.94 per square foot in 2011 to $20.76 per square foot in 2015.
Last week, crews poured concrete on a parcel northeast of Parker Road and E-470 for a 57,761-square-foot outdoor goods store. Just south of that, dirt has started to move on a 9-acre site that will be home to a , complete with outdoor go-cart track, Feazell said.
“Nothing begets success in economic development like success,” Parker business recruitment manager Matt Carlson said of the construction near King Soopers.
Just east of the King Soopers across Parker Road, preliminary approval has been given for at least 400 new apartments, Feazell said. The town also expects to be built in the neighborhood to the west of the King Soopers, near where Cottonwood Drive connects with Jordan Road, she said.
said he used to live in Cottonwood and is pleased the area has its own grocery store again that is also generating sales tax revenue. He said success on the north side of town, along busy regional roadways Parker Road and E-470, is symbolically important.
“That northern corridor there has really seen a resurgence because of a lot of factors, but this is one of the large factors,” Waid said of the King Soopers. “You don’t want to drive into one of the top 20 small towns in the nation and see a big, empty building. You want to see a good community partner and strong business presence there.”
has been operating in a strip center in the King Soopers lot for more than 15 years. Owner Chris Wedemeyer said he was very unhappy when the redevelopment of the property resulted in the demolition of his original space and relocation into a smaller — but still standing — portion of the same center. He also said his business suffered during the eight months this year that construction left him with no parking lot. Still, he sees promise in the development — particularly residential development — planned for the area, and he is planning to stay put for now.
“We’re still trying to regroup,” Wedemeyer said of his business post-construction. “It’s just really scary right now, but you’ve got to hang on.”
Joe Rubino: 303-954-2953, jrubino@denverpost.com or @RubinoJC
