Around the late 1940s, Jim Austin’s father purchased Square One retail center through a $100 handshake deal at a bar. “My father ran across someone who was obviously in the mood to sell, I’m guessing at the bar in the old Cosmopolitan Hotel,” Austin said. “That was the down payment, but I’m sure there was more money involved.” “The family legend is that it was bought back when Colorado Boulevard was a two-lane dirt road,” he added.
Demolition work is expected to get underway next week on a former Colorado Department of Transportation regional headquarters in southeast Denver, the first step in bringing 198 new homes to the area.
Chris Viscardi of Kentro Group wrote in an email that the group expects to start construction during the third quarter of 2020 and is planning to have the work completed and potentially open the stores by summer 2021. Kentro Group also developed and owns the Kum & Go at Lusher Court and Summit Boulevard in Frisco.
Over the course of three weeks in March, our lives were turned over forcefully by the tsunami-like winds of a global pandemic. For those who’ve lost loved ones, friends, jobs or any chance of maintaining your business, we are thinking of you during this challenging time. Our team is working daily with 100 or so mostly retail tenants to find common ground that makes sense for everyone. We believe in small business and have staked our reputation on the core ethic of always doing the right thing (even if it’s not to our own best advantage). Here’s how trying to adhere to those principles over the past few months has been working so far.
The former 13-acre campus for the Colorado Department of Transportation is the latest parcel in south Denver slated for redevelopment after city council approved a tax package and voted to blight the property last month.
The grocery development is at the border of historic residential neighborhoods and a fast-changing industrial area and the complex would rise up to five floors; it’s unclear how many floors the grocery would fill. Councilman Brooks noted, “Land use is the most powerful position that we play in the city. It’s the most immediate way we can impact our communities.”
Feinstein, and Denver-based development partners Elevation Development Group and Kentro Group, ultimately want to build an approximately 30,000-square-foot retail space intended for a grocery store on the 2.6-acre site, along with 200 residential units.
Local developer Kentro Group has agreed to include at least 150 below-market apartments and 150,000 square feet of commercial space in a development at the former Colorado Department of Transportation headquarters at 4201 East Arkansas Ave.
The company will include 150 units of affordable housing as part of the deal
“Great real estate, great neighborhood,” Balafas said. “And we think there’s a need for a great restaurant there.”
The Kentro Group is preparing a plan that would create the kind of mixed-use development that is more common in the city center, with at least 150 below-market apartments and enough retail to fill a large city block. A proposal that would go before the Denver City Council this year would allow buildings to reach eight floors on parts of the Arkansas property, which is in Virginia Village.
“We’ve been eyeing this site for a long time. It’s just a rare piece of property that’s 13 acres in the middle of the city,” said Jimmy Balafas, Kentro Group co-founder.
It’s the kind of development that the city government has been trying to encourage.
Sixteen development projects were held up this month as the standard of how buildings can excel in architecture, design and place-making.
The 2017 Mayor’s Design Award went to a variety of projects including a tiny home village, boutique shops, a coworking space and a food hall. An awards ceremony for the projects was held earlier this month.
Kentro Group also sees opportunity in Colfax Avenue. The Denver-based firm is behind the Colfax Collection building where Tacos Tequila Whiskey, The Three Lions and other popular retailers are located.