Article Contributed on: 7/25/2008 4:25:12 PM
Construction crews have finished most of the work on the new Rancho Liborio supermarket in Thornton and planners say the store is expected to open by November.
With much of the construction complete, the focus now shifts to filling the anchor tenant stores located next to the supermarket, said
Kevin Kelley, regional director of Minnesota-based United Properties, which oversaw construction of the project.
Officials with United Properties also are working on developing a five-acre parcel of land near the site that will include more retail, Kelley said.
The Rancho Liborio store, located at the southeast corner of 88th Avenue and Washington Street, is part of a redevelopment project of the old Northland Shopping Center. City officials hope the new 90,000 square-foot store and 13.4-acre retail center will help jumpstart the area's economy.
"We're absolutely thrilled it's come to this point," said
Martin Postma, redevelopment manager for the City of Thornton. "It will be a tremendous improvement to the economic vitality of that area."
Rancho Liborio will anchor the site of the retail center, which will be called "Plaza Las Americas." Outreach efforts are being made to fill in the retail center's other stores with local operators that cater to Hispanic and Latino shoppers, Kelley said.
Several tenants have expressed interest, though only one is under lease, Kelley said. That should change closer to Rancho Liborio's opening.
"Most of our tenants don't get serious until they can actually touch and feel their space," he said.
The Rancho Liborio market will be the latest store to join the Adams County area, which already is home to a store in Commerce City and another in Westminster that's scheduled to open prior to the store in Thornton. In all, it will be the fifth Rancho Liborio store in the state.
The Thornton market, however, is the only store to be built from the ground up. The other stores were built out of existing buildings.
Rancho Liborio already has set off a small wave of construction in the area, Kelley said. United Properties has sold a parcel of land nearby slated for an Advanced Auto Parts store and a McDonald's restaurant at Washington Street and Sheldon Drive recently was torn down to allow for reconstruction of a new McDonald's building.