Colorado Real Estate Journal -
Demolition recently began on a long-vacant Target store in Thornton, which the city hopes will entice the development community to take a closer look at redeveloping the prime retail site of about 15 acres. The Target, closed in 2001, is on the south side of East 104th Avenue, between Grant and Washington streets. The site features access to 104th Avenue, Grant and Washington streets, with potential for a wide variety of redevelopment for retail, commercial and outparcel development. The city of Thornton, Thornton City Council and the Thornton Development Authority made the decision to demolish the store, and demolition and remediation began last month. “We are certain the demolition of the vacant former Target building will create a positive momentum that will spur new development interest on the site,” said Thornton interim Economic Development Director Jessica Erickson. “The redevelopment is an important part of the city’s overall revitalization efforts in the South Thornton Urban Renewal Area. “Once the site is cleared, the full 15-plus acres will be prepared for redevelopment under the direction of the TDA. City of Thornton staff will then ask developers to bring forward their best proposals for all or part of the site.” Target vacated the 109,000-square-foot store in 2001, and the Thornton Development Authority purchased the site and surrounding land in 2008 for just under $9 million, Erickson said. “We had put out several requests for proposals to the private sector, but none of those resulted in a successful resolution for development,” Erickson said. “We had a couple of parties interested in it, but nothing ever came to fruition,” she said. At one point, there was a hope that another big-box retailer might take over the existing building, she said. “But the building had fallen into significant disrepair,” Erickson said. For example, the roof leaked and there was mold in the structure. “There was a some criminal activity at the building,” she added, noting that people had broken into it to steal copper pipes, further damaging the building. “We decided we would demolish the building and then submit another RFP and see if a private developer would be interested in the site, now that it is more ‘shovel ready,’ so to speak,” she said. It is estimated to cost about $450,000 to demolish the building. The demolition should only take 60 to 90 days, she said. There is no “wish list” for the site, she said. “Not so far,” Erickson said. “Our intent is to see what kind of response we get from the RFP and then the developer or developers will work with the Thornton Development Authority.” The city is open to many possibilities, she said. “We are open to the whatever the highest and best use of the land is and what is best for the city,” she said. “That could include one master developer, for example, or selling multiple or individual parcels to a user or users.” Current zoning allows retail on the site, she said. “It is possible that the site could simultaneously be rezoned and a PUD (planned unit development) possibly put on the land.” She said the site would seem to be best served by a retail use, but it is not out of the realm of possibility that a developer might want some multifamily units or even an office component on the site. “Depending on what is proposed, I would imagine it would see a maximum of 150,000 square feet on the site,” Erickson said. She said the city doesn’t see any synergies between this site and the Cabela’s being built to the north. “We’re not looking it at that way,” Erickson said. “The Cabela’s is on 144th and this is on 104th. They might not seem that far from each other, but they really are very different market areas.”