King Soopers applies to redevelop Fort Collins Kmart

FORT COLLINS — King Soopers has applied to demolish the former Kmart site at the corner of South College Avenue and West Drake Road and build a new 123,722-square-foot grocery store.

According to preliminary design documents submitted to Fort Collins city planners, King Soopers said it would replace the former Radio Shack building at the northeast corner with a fueling station and demolish the Loaf n’ Jug just west of the intersection to make way for a future retail pad site.

King Soopers, which is owned by grocery giant Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), previously submitted plans to redevelop the site in 2016 but allowed that application to expire. Kroger purchased the property through a subsidiary for $8 million in 2008, according to Larimer County property records.

The size of the proposed grocery would put it in between the 137,000-square-foot King Soopers near the intersection of South College Avenue and Harmony Road and the 112,200-square-foot building near the intersection of East Drake Road and South Timberline Road.

It’s unclear what King Soopers plans to do with its smaller location just 800 feet north of the Kmart site or if the ongoing health and economic emergency created by the COVID-19 virus will cause delays to the project. A spokeswoman for Kroger declined to comment.