New Grocery Store to Open in Downtown

If downtown lacks anything, it is convenient access to a grocery store. Other than crossing a major freeway or leaving downtown proper, there are no options for a large-scale grocery store. But all of that is about to change as a Denver Business Journal article has announced that a new King Soopers is confirmed for the block at 20th and Chestnut, in the updated Union Station district.

The store will have an urban-format and take up the ground floor of a new residential building by the Nichols Partnership, Inc. But this is no small project. The store is slated to cover the almost the entire block between 19th and 20th Streets, and Wewatta to Chestnut, covering approximately 42,000 square feet and costing upwards of $82 million.

A grocery store was chosen to fill this spot because of the residential boom in the Central Platte Valley, Riverfront Park, and the anticipated buildings in the Union Station district. An expected 5,000 new apartments will be built in the next two years, including the 312 Class A residences above the new King Soopers. This project will fulfill a dire need for the amenities a grocery store can provide.

With the addition of the King Soopers to this area, it is pretty clear that this part of downtown is booming. Once the Union Station project is completed, many anticipate that this neighborhood will rival Larimer Square and Cherry Creek as Denver’s new “hot spot”. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until 2014 to enjoy it!