Colorado Real Estate Journal -
THF Realty and Denver-based Chandelle Development are moving forward on developing the only full-sized Wal-Mart under construction in the Denver area. THF Realty recently put up large leasing signs in front of the 13-acre site along West 44th Avenue, just west of Sheridan Boulevard, in the tiny community of Lakeside. The 147,806-square-foot Wal-Mart will have a full-sized grocery store when it opens in early 2013. “We used to call them Supercenters, but now we call them Wal-Marts with grocery stores or Wal-Marts without grocery stores,” said Joshua Phair, spokesman for Wal-Mart. “This one will have a full-sized grocery, including a deli, bakery, fresh produce and that kind of thing. I think Lakeside is the only store of this size under construction in the Denver area right now,” although several others are in various stages on the drawing board, he said. “We have some that are in the early entitlement stages and we are not sure all of them will even go forward. Lakeside appears to be the only one moving forward, per se, at this time.” Giant earthmovers can be seen moving ground on the site that is also bordered by Harlan Street and is near the longtime amusement park sharing the Lakeside name. “We anticipate that construction will really begin in earnest in the next month or two and building will likely take nine to 12 months to complete, with a grand opening to be set on a date to be determined.” Previously, the site had housed a Target and other stores that have long-since been demolished, although it was a thriving retail center in the 1970s. “Certainly, the customer feedback we’ve gotten indicates there is a need for access to additional groceries and access to other merchandise at competitive prices. We are excited to be entering that marketplace and working with the surrounding community.” The Wal-Mart is expected to create about 300 jobs. Karen Blumenstein, who leads the development efforts for THF Realty’s new shopping centers, couldn’t agree more. THF was founded in 1991 by Michael Staenberg and Stan Kroenke. Kroenke is an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune whose Kroenke Sports, among other things, owns the Pepsi Center and the teams that play there, the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche. THF manages all of the centers it develops. “That neighborhood area is really underserved in many, many ways,” said Blumenstein, a lawyer by training who is responsible for assembling land, securing government approvals, economic incentives and financing, managing design and construction, and relations with THF’s anchor tenants. While it is expected to draw from surrounding areas, including the nearby West Highland and Berkeley neighborhoods in Denver, another appeal is that it is minutes from Interstate 70. “There really is a significant demand for diverse goods and services” in the area, Blumenstein said. In addition to the Wal-Mart, the center will include about 20,000 sf of in-line space, where individual tenants can range from about 700 sf to 3,500 sf, as well as six or seven out-parcels. “We tend to have a mix of national and local tenants,” Blumenstein said. “We have nothing we are ready to announce yet, but other tenants could include office supply stores, pet stores, eyeglass stores, vitamin retailers, and other types of stores that are found in and around Wal-Marts. There could also be a gas station.” What may surprise some is that they aren’t necessarily all national chains. “We might see some local restaurants and some local retailers.” she said. Those who don’t follow WalMart’s construction and operating practices also may be surprised to learn how green the building will be. “We have several pilot programs in various stores across the country where we look and track green practices and features across the spectrum, and then integrate the most cost-effective ones into our stores,” Wal-Mart’s Phair said. “You might recall that the WalMart at I-70 and Tower Road was one of those experimental stores for three years, where we tested everything from solar to wind power.” The Lakeside store is not anticipated at this time to have solar panels, but that does not mean that it is ignoring the sun. “The store will utilize ‘daylight harvesting,’ with skylights on the roof and fluorescent lights that will be dimmed when not needed. And our HVAC and refrigeration systems, which take up the vast majority of the energy consumption, are all state-of-the-art systems. We also have a pretty extensive recycling procedure that eliminates almost all of the waste in store and we will install low-flow water fixtures and toilets. All in all, the Supercenters we build today are about 40 percent more energy efficient than they were five years ago.”