7-Eleven is taking a Big Gulp out of the Denver real estate market with its rapid growth that’s seen 17 stores added to the Denver metro area in the past 12 months.
Have you noticed all the green, red and orange-striped 7-Eleven signs popping up in downtown lately? It seems you can’t swing a Slim Jim without hitting one.
In the past 12 months, eight new stores have opened in Denver, five in Aurora, two in Littleton, one in Centennial and one in Longmont, according to figures supplied by 7-Eleven’s Dallas headquarters.
The seemingly sudden proliferation of a brand that’s been around since 1927 is due to the strength in the Denver market and the recession-driven lower cost of capital and tenant space, said Margaret Chabris, 7-Eleven spokeswoman.
“We’re a strong company, and strong companies grow,” Chabris said about 7-Eleven, which reached a 40,000-store milestone (surpassing any other company) worldwide late last month. “Properties that we might have been interested in before the recession may have been too expensive. As companies retracted development plans or shortened their leases, that becomes more opportunities for us.”
Richard Oneslager, a franchisee who owns five 7-Elevens in Fort Collins and Greeley, said Colorado is underserved by convenience stores on a per capita basis.
Nationwide, there are 146,341 convenience stores for a population of 307 million — one store per 2,100 people. Colorado, with a population of 5 million, has 1,763 — one per every 2,830 people, according to statistics from the National Association of Convenience Stores.
“The secret with 7-Eleven and why we’re seeing such growth now is (the company) has put together such an infrastructure from the delivery and commissary point of view,” Oneslager said. That means each retail outlet can offer more fresh merchandise including sandwiches, salads, fruit and baked goods.
Jeff Lenard, spokesman for the convenience store association, based in Alexandria, Va., said 7-Eleven’s growth also is fueled by the increasing value of convenience in our lives.
“It’s one of those things where time has never been more important,” Lenard said. “Denver is continuing to expand, and convenience stores are telling customers, ‘Give me two minutes of your time, and I’ll reward you (with grab-and-go convenience).’ “
Denver commercial real estate consultant Mary Beth Jenkins says she’s been tracking the 7-Eleven surge downtown.
She said the new downtown locations are strategically located near office, hotel and residential foot traffic.
“If you have apartments nearby and have hotel customers, that fills the impulse grocery needs,” she said. “If you’re a landlord with a corner and a tenant who’s not paying, why wouldn’t you look at a 7-Eleven?”
Is there a danger of over-saturation?
“As long as the density in customers is there through residences, high-rises, hotels or office tenants, downtowns are target rich,” she said.
Iverson owes.
Former Nuggets star Allen Iverson‘s Cherry Hills megamansion is under contract and expected to close April 8, but not before Iverson quit paying the mortgage. Iverson, who bought the 6,848-square-foot six-bedroom, nine-bathroom spread for $3.875 million in January 2008, let the property in the Buell Mansion subdivision slip into foreclosure on an outstanding balance of $2,572,914 owed to Wells Fargo Bank, according to a Notice of Election and Demand for Sale filed Feb. 28 in Arapahoe County.
Luxury real estate expert Edie Marks, who represents a buyer slated to purchase the Iverson estate, said the property went under contract before Iverson defaulted on the loan. The sale is expected to close early April for a price that “was close” to the asking price of $2.85 million, Marks said.
With this turn of events, what happens to the pending sale? It can still go through as planned, but someone is going to be on the hook for attorneys fees, foreclosure costs and default interest, according to Denver real estate attorney Alan D. Sweetbaum — and that someone likely will be Iverson.
“I’m surprised that Iverson did that, but the sale can still occur,” said Sweetbaum, who is not involved with the transaction. “It’s unusual, and (Iverson) will (likely) end up throwing away $10,000 on attorneys fees alone. He could pay or the buyer could pay the amount that hasn’t been paid to reinstate the loan.”
Meanwhile, Iverson reportedly is convalescing in the United States due to a calcium deposit in his right leg. Iverson was playing with Besiktas of the Turkish League after getting no National Basketball Association offers.
EAVESDROPPING
A woman and a man discussing the new season of “Celebrity Apprentice”:
“Did you know that NeNe Leakes (left) from the ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ is a contestant?”
“What about her brother Wiki?”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Hear her on “Caplis Silverman” between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-630 AM. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
Article source: http://www.denverpost.com/pennyparker/ci_17544886
