When I first joined Erie politics in 2006, the number one question I heard from that April day forward to today was - when are we getting another grocery store in Erie? Im happy to say, after years of effort, if all goes according to plan King Soopers will break ground in March. King Soopers has been a priority issue for me since being elected Mayor last April. In fact, one of the first meetings I attended as Mayor was a sit down with executives from King Soopers and their Retail Sales Broker. At that time they were still debating if the store would be in Erie or in Broomfield. I assured them they wanted to be in Erie and went about proving it in the subsequent months. More on that later. This is a huge accomplishment for town staff (especially AJ Krieger, who negotiated the deal), the current Board of Trustees and the two previous boards; as each Board from 2006 on has worked diligently to bring King Soopers to Erie. To top it off we didnt just get a King Soopers we landed a 125,000 SqFt mega store that will draw customers, increasing Eries sales tax revenue by millions. I have heard several complaints about the location. However, I couldnt be more thrilled with the location. We beat out Broomfield, who has three of the four corners at Sheridan and Hwy 7 in their plan area. If the store had gone to one of the Broomfield corners it would have had a negative impact on Erie for several reasons. Number one it would have effectively blocked Erie from obtaining a grocery store anywhere on the Hwy 7 corridor. Number two the sales tax revenue of Erie shoppers would have gone to Broomfield. And number three Erie would not have been able to signal to the retail and commercial industry that we are a player in the game. Another note on location - King Soopers was not interested in building a store in the core of Erie, at Erie Pkwy and Countyline Rd.. Im sorry to say that, but it is the honest truth. The traffic counts at the core are not high enough to warrant a King Soopers. In addition, Erie can not tell King Soopers where to build. They have highly skilled statisticians and projectionists who determine where to build. That is not to say Erie cannot get a grocery store at the core. We can! I have met with the developer at the southwest corner of Erie Pkwy and Countyline Rd., and he has also met with town staff. He has plans for a smaller grocery store as well as several small boutique type stores. I asked him if I could talk to my citizens about his plans before I typed this post. Im wondering, have any of you happened to notice the core drillers at the southwest corner Erie Pkwy and Countyline Rd. gathering samples the past few days? That signals to me he is moving forward with his development. Great things are happening in Erie! The current Board of Trustees is highly aware of your wants and needs. We are doing the best, within the restraints of a developing community, to bring you what you desire. We are also just as concerned as the rest of you about the health, safety, and welfare of Erie. We are listening. For today let us all celebrate this major milestone in our towns advancement towards becoming a community where we all our needs are met. We did it! See you at King Soopers.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 15:34:40 +0000
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