CU Denver associate dean at the business school and marketing professor Cliff Young weighs in on the significance of Trader Joe’s first store opening at Eighth and Colorado today. Here’s what he had to say:
“For many years, the area around Eighth and Colorado was a medical center area. I remember back in 1962 when the hospital was called Colorado General. I remember because I accidently slashed a finger and went there for emergency treatment. The area was fairly stable and grew to be a primary medical area with Rose Medical Hospital and the Veterans Hospital. Because of the large number of staff, of course, there arose a substantial support retail group of restaurants and associated services. I still patronize O’Briens Tonsorial Parlor East of Bellaire on Eighth.
“In the 1990s University of Colorado Medical Center needed to expand to meet its needs. Attempts to expand the campus at Eighth and Colorado were met with opposition by the local residents with Mayor (Wellington) Webb siding with the residents. In 1995, Fitzsimons Army base was closed and negotiations began to move the medical school out to Aurora. University of Colorado Medical School has since moved completely to Fitzsimons and was renamed the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus. By the end of 2008, academic and research operations of all Anschutz Medical Campus health sciences schools and colleges were relocated to the new campus.
“With the move of the hospital, schools and colleges, the area around Eighth and Colorado has seen a dramatic drop in retail business. Restaurants (Annie’s) moved to Colfax from its original location at Eighth and Colorado. Development efforts included a proposal to build a Walmart neighborhood market. This proposal was strongly opposed by the local inhabitants feeling it was further add to the deterioration and ambience of the area. Arguments included increased traffic and congestion.
“Then along came the proposal from Trader Joe’s. The response was completely different. Now, it was viewed as an enhancement to the area. Concerns about traffic congestion seemed to go away. Whereas the draw for the Walmart Neighborhood Marketing would have been local, the draw for Trader Joe’s will be much broader. I think the appeal is due to the difference in the target markets.
“Traffic will be impacted. Trader Joe’s parking is not on Colorado Boulevard. It’s off the next street East on Albion. Draw for the store will come from several upper middle class neighborhoods including Capitol Hill, Washington Park, Congress Park, Mayfair, Crestmoor, Montclair, etc. Within the close area around Eighth and Colorado are several local supermarkets. King Soopers on 14th and Krameria historically has had the highest sales per square foot. I don’t think it will be affected. It targets more of the Park Hill area. A new King Soopers in Glendale targets the local population there and has the exclusive liquor license for Colorado. There might be some small effect as Trader Joe’s on Eighth and Colorado will also have the exclusive liquor license for Trader Joe’s in Colorado. Target Market in Glendale should not be affected. The only store I see being affected to any extent would be the Sprouts on Colfax west of Colorado. Its market is more similar.”
Recent Comments