More than a year ago, Steve Rogers, president of 8020 Builders, and top officials from LCP Development stood on the roof of the forlorn and long-vacated King Soopers building that once anchored a 7-acre site in Edgewater.
As Rogers and the developers looked to the east, with Sloan’s Lake in the foreground and Denver’s skyline as the backdrop, they immediately knew any future development needed to take advantage of that one-of-a-kind view.
“It was simply stunning,” Rogers recalled last week, while walking the site at West 20thAvenue and Depew Street with Rebchook Real Estate Corner.
Indeed, LCP (formerly Littleton Capital Partners) will take advantage of the view.
Rooftop deck coming
The new development rising on the site, the Edgewater Public Market, will include a 3,000-square-foot rooftop patio and bar.
A customized Airstream trailer, about 30 feet long, will serve as a bar on the roof of the King Soopers building.
In total, the $13 million construction project will include about 75,000 sf of restaurant and retail space. The development will include a food hall. In total, when the development is entirely leased, it will have about 35 tenants, according to Rogers. “In the food hall, the tenants will take about 300 sf each, with the potential for a 7,000-sf space on the west side,” Rogers said.
Rooftop view from the Edgewater Marketplace, scheduled to open later this year
By the numbers, the four-building Edgewater Public Market will include:
- The 48,000-sf renovated King Soopers building, which will include a food and market hall;
- A 16,000-sf renovated building to house retail;
- A 7,500-sf new retail building; and
- A 4,500-sf refurbished building that some may remember as the former home of Depew Liquors. Depew Liquors, by the way, will be a tenant at Edgewater Marketplace.
In addition, Edgewater Public Market will include a pedestrian promenade, bike parking, a dog park area, a movie screen plaza and much landscaping.
Opening this year
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of August.
The food hall features 12 small-format food retailers around a common area that will seat at least 150.
Multiple large timber and raw-steel accents will highlight the renovated King Soopers building. The building will be flooded with natural light from south-facing, floor-to-ceiling windows in the front and 19 added skylights in the roof.
Steve Rogers
The city of Edgewater acquired the site and building in 2004, after King Soopers opened a new grocery along nearby Sheridan Boulevard.
At its peak, about 150 people will be working at the site, according to Rogers.
Architect knows area
The architect for Edgewater Public Market is Meridian 105 Architecture. Meridian 105 has designed a number of houses and commercial buildings in the area, including the Avanti Food & Beverage establishment in LoHi. Avanti would be the closest food hall operation to Edgewater Public Market, according to Rogers.
Since acquiring the site, the city of Edgewater has entertained a number of uses for the property, which once was a city dump.
Potential redevelopments that never got off the drawing board included a civic center, an ice rink, and a residential and grocery store anchored proposal from an Atlanta developer. “LCP is the perfect developer for this site,” Rogers said.
The former King Soopers in the heart of Edgewater is being sculpted into a food hall and retail development by 8020 Builders. Photo credit: Britt Nemeth Photography.
“They are experts at infill developments and their vision for this site has been well-received by the market, as you can see from all of the interest from tenants.”
Rogers: high praise for LCP
Rogers said that LCP also is great to work with from his perspective because it treats 8020 Builders as a partner and not a hired hand.
The contractor takes its name from the Pareto Principle.
The Pareto Principle, among other things, observes that in general, 20 percent of the input creates 80 percent of the results.
Laura Spitzmiller, an assistant project manager for 8020 Builders, at work at the Edgewater Public Market site. Photo credit: Britt Nemeth Studios.
That may seem academic, but it means that input from a general contractor can help shape the vision of the developer, architect and tenants.
“Obviously, there are building steps we need to follow,” said Rogers, whose background includes working in construction at Opus, and Confluent Development. Rogers has the knowledge and ability to construct a $100 million high-rise.
It’s all in the details
At the same time, details can be tweaked to make a development such as Edgewater Public Market.
For example, early on there were discussions about whether the site should be home to two or three big-box retailers.
As the rooftop view by Rogers and LCP made clear more than a year ago, a few big retailers on the site probably would not have been the highest and best use for the property.
A rendering of the Edgewater Public Market. Credit: Meridian 105 Architecture.
