Kentro Group co-founder Jimmy Balafas speaks during a King Soopers groundbreaking ceremony April 11, 2025. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Denver has a new King Soopers under construction, set to replace an existing one along Colorado Boulevard in Belcaro.
The grocery chain, a division of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger, and Denver-based development firm Kentro Group held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday to mark construction on the new store at 4201 E. Arkansas Ave.
The store is being erected a half-block east and about a mile south of the one it will replace at 825 S. Colorado Blvd. King Soopers has operated there for more than a half century.
It’s being built on a site where the Colorado Department of Transportation once had its headquarters. The state agency relocated to a site off Federal Boulevard near Empower Field at Mile High.
CDOT sold the headquarters site along Colorado Boulevard, along with a regional office site nearby, to Kentro in 2018 for $19.3 million, with the city acting as something of a middleman. Kentro has already built a 151-unit income-restricted apartment building on a portion of the site.
Plans for a 103,000-square-foot King Soopers on display during an April 11, 2025 groundbreaking ceremony. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Kentro co-founder Jimmy Balafas told BusinessDen that a grocery store was always a top choice in terms of development.
“Grocery stores are community gathering spots,” he said.
Kentro has co-developed three other stores for King Soopers, and is the company’s landlord for a fourth, Balafas said.
The new store will be 103,000 square feet. King Soopers has a ground lease. It will own the building that Kentro is constructing, but Kentro will continue to own the land beneath it.
The store is expected to open in the spring of 2026, according to Jessica Trowbridge, a King Soopers spokeswoman.
Kentro has already co-developed an income-restricted apartment building on a portion of the former CDOT site. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
The Belcaro store will close as the new one opens, Trowbridge said. King Soopers owns that 7-acre site, but is under contract to sell it to Kentro, which plans to redevelop it. The company has been considering whether to seek to rezone the site. Right now, it has three-story zoning, although a fourth story is possible if a project were to incorporate income-restricted housing.
Kentro also still has about 1.5 acres at the former CDOT site for additional development. Balafas said he’s planning about 4,000 square feet of development intended for a restaurant. About two-thirds of the site will be turned into green space.
Kentro Group co-founder Jimmy Balafas speaks during a King Soopers groundbreaking ceremony April 11, 2025. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Denver has a new King Soopers under construction, set to replace an existing one along Colorado Boulevard in Belcaro.
The grocery chain, a division of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger, and Denver-based development firm Kentro Group held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday to mark construction on the new store at 4201 E. Arkansas Ave.
The store is being erected a half-block east and about a mile south of the one it will replace at 825 S. Colorado Blvd. King Soopers has operated there for more than a half century.
It’s being built on a site where the Colorado Department of Transportation once had its headquarters. The state agency relocated to a site off Federal Boulevard near Empower Field at Mile High.
CDOT sold the headquarters site along Colorado Boulevard, along with a regional office site nearby, to Kentro in 2018 for $19.3 million, with the city acting as something of a middleman. Kentro has already built a 151-unit income-restricted apartment building on a portion of the site.
Plans for a 103,000-square-foot King Soopers on display during an April 11, 2025 groundbreaking ceremony. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
Kentro co-founder Jimmy Balafas told BusinessDen that a grocery store was always a top choice in terms of development.
“Grocery stores are community gathering spots,” he said.
Kentro has co-developed three other stores for King Soopers, and is the company’s landlord for a fourth, Balafas said.
The new store will be 103,000 square feet. King Soopers has a ground lease. It will own the building that Kentro is constructing, but Kentro will continue to own the land beneath it.
The store is expected to open in the spring of 2026, according to Jessica Trowbridge, a King Soopers spokeswoman.
Kentro has already co-developed an income-restricted apartment building on a portion of the former CDOT site. (Thomas Gounley/BusinessDen)
The Belcaro store will close as the new one opens, Trowbridge said. King Soopers owns that 7-acre site, but is under contract to sell it to Kentro, which plans to redevelop it. The company has been considering whether to seek to rezone the site. Right now, it has three-story zoning, although a fourth story is possible if a project were to incorporate income-restricted housing.
Kentro also still has about 1.5 acres at the former CDOT site for additional development. Balafas said he’s planning about 4,000 square feet of development intended for a restaurant. About two-thirds of the site will be turned into green space.
