Windsor approves $6M incentive agreement for second King Soopers store

WINDSOR — King Soopers is set to build a new location in east Windsor next year, and it took only eight years to settle on a site.

But that doesn’t mean the current store on the west side of town will close. Imagine grocery store bookends.

“I think it’s probably not a secret that our current store is just packed, and we need to figure out how to add some square footage and provide a more updated shopping experience to the town of Windsor,” said Nick Tompkins, senior asset manager, real estate for The Kroger Co, addressing the Windsor Town Board at its meeting on Monday. “We’ll have a store on each end of town, and a new marketplace format of 123,000 square feet.”

The Windsor Town Board voted unanimously to approve a $6 million incentive agreement for 10 years.  The incentive, business development specialist Terry Schwindler said, will make up for Kroger having to pay a bit more for the 22-acre plot of land at the northeast corner of Hollister Lake Road and Colorado Highway 392.

“We’ve been working with King Soopers for over eight years, looking at various properties and almost everyone had some sort of fatal flaw,” Schwindler said. “The price is a little higher (on this side of the road), but we feel the $6 million (incentive agreement) will bridge the gap so they can move forward.”

The new King Soopers represents a $43 million investment into the building’s construction, and a total economic benefit of $22.56 million to the town. With the new store, Kroger reports that it will bring 375 new jobs with an average salary of $50,000. The east store is expected to be operational in 2026.

King Soopers sold its building at 1520 Main St.,  in 2020 for $14.7 million, and it is now owned by GKT Windsor MarketPlace LLC. The store was built 21 years ago, and it will be shut down briefly at some point for a remodel.

Schwindler said the Town of Severance will cover 10% of the incentives, and it will get 10% of the sales tax. Windsor town manager Shane Hale said he will bring that agreement before the town board next.

Tompkins said the need for a store on the east end of town is clear.

“Pretty quickly it was clear you have to be on both sides,” Tompkins said. “There’s no intent to close that store. This would be an addition. We are working on a lease restructure that would extend our term through 2038, a 15-year base term commitment, so we’re locked in for 15 years.”

“The King Soopers in Greeley will be very glad to hear this too,” Schwindler said, adding that many Windsor residents shop at that larger-format store, which is just 10 miles south. “The shoppers will be happy.”

One town board member asked what would happen to the plans amid the issues with the merger of Kroger Co. and Albertsons that are ongoing in Denver courts. Tompkins said he could not discuss that litigation, but Kroger is moving forward on this project as if that were not happening.

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