Trying to reverse a trend that has been seen in many downtown areas in recent years, a real estate investment and development company has announced plans to repurpose a structure in downtown Greeley, Colorado for use as a grocery store.
The company, Richmark Real Estate Partners, says it wants to transform a one-story brick building at 1320 Eighth Avenue that was formerly a part of a used car dealership.
Richmark, which is based in Greeley and specializes in residential projects in both Arizona and Colorado, purchased the site 5 years ago for around $1.2 million.
The building in question measures just under 13,000 square feet and includes parking spaces for twenty vehicles in two different lots.
The project comes some six years after a Safeway outlet at 1122 11th Avenue ceased operations in downtown Greeley. That store had been a downtown shopping mainstay dating to the mid-1950s.
The proposal to repurpose the property on Eighth Avenue is currently being reviewed by the City of Greeley.
The decline of grocery stores in downtown areas nationally has led to the creation of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls “food deserts,” seeing upwards of 20 million urban residents living at least a mile from the nearest supermarket.
A bill currently pending in the U.S. Senate called the Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act would provide tax credits and grants for developers wanting to build grocery stores in such areas.
By Garry Boulard