Schmer family proposes King Soopers for east Loveland

LOVELAND — The Schmer farm at the corner of U.S. Highway 34 and Interstate 25, along with Evergreen Development, will take the temperature of the Loveland City Council Tuesday night about a King Soopers-anchored development on part of the Schmer farm.

The plan as outlined in documents in the council packet would call for development of 30 acres of the farm to include a 130,000-square-foot grocery, with fuel and retail pads. The family would retain the yellow house adjacent to the Best Western Plus Loveland Inn and continue to farm the remaining 89.5 acres of the property.

The council meets in a study session Tuesday, which means that decisions won’t be made. But the proposal from the family and Evergreen  — a property-development firm that often works in conjunction with King Soopers — would require $26.7 million in public improvements that the developers would like to finance using a commercial metropolitan district with a 50-mill maximum tax levy, a 1% sales tax public improvement fee and a 3% services PIF.

The City Council imposed a moratorium on metro districts in November but signaled that it might let the moratorium lapse if certain changes to city requirements are implemented. 

The project also depends upon improvements that will be part of the Centerra South development that is slated for construction just west of the Schmer property. Included in that plan are public improvements that include a sewer lift station, water mains and improvements to Rocky Mountain Avenue and U.S. 34.

The developers plan to privately finance the difference between the total cost of public improvements and what the metro district would generate coupled with what is already in the works for Centerra South. Centerra South is expected to include a Whole Foods grocery although it’s not clear if McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc. has received a signed agreement from Whole Foods.

The city’s economic development department, in its presentation materials for Tuesday, said the King Soopers grocery would employ about 325 people and other retail on the site would employ about 320 people. 

The city also will gain $9.8 million in permit and impact fees and $15 million in direct economic benefit from sales taxes collected over 10 years. The city would also collect $1.5 million in increased property taxes over 10 years. The property tax increment anticipates that the entire farm would be annexed and zoned for either business or agriculture depending on its usage.

Completion of the grocery store would be in the fourth quarter of 2026 if the plan receives approvals from the city.