Capitol Question:
Safeway stores have been purchased by Albertsons. Does this cancel the new store and shopping center that was to replace the Pershing store?
Cheyenne Mayor Rick Kaysen responded to this Capitol Question while on Cheyenne Today on Monday, October 13th:
“I wish I had the most definitive answer possible for that, whether it’s been cancelled or not, and I do not. The person asking the question hit it right on the head. There is an acquisition by Albertson’s. I have not heard, and I’ll underscore that, I have not heard that there are any plans of changes to what was originally planned for the old Cole Shopping center and the Cole Safeway.
“That said, we’re still waiting for the final approval by the Federal Trade Commission. They’re the ones that have to look at these types of acquisitions. They’ve happened in Cheyenne before with some of the older stores in town… Usually what the Federal Trade Commission will look at is if there is going to be some kind of a monopoly by one entity of stores. So when you look in that general area you the Cole Safeway and just a little further down Pershing you have the Albertson’s at Ridge and Pershing.
“So again, I repeat myself, I’ve heard nothing as far as changes, but we still have to wait for the FTC to make their announcement, which I believe is due in the month of November. Then we will see what will happen for those stores in that general area. I am trusting that we will move forward. There’s been a lot of improvements made in the general area and I’m hoping that will also continue on for that additional property.
“Safeway did purchase the entire property from the Cole family. So they not only own the Safeway stores involved but those outer buildings as well.
“They were [planning] to build a brand new Safeway store on site and demolish the existing store. And then the outer buildings, they would also make improvements to those stores, that would also be similar in design, color and everything else, to the new Safeway store that was planned to be there.
“There was a service station to be provided that would have been right off of Pershing Boulevard, pretty much where the abandoned Crossroads Café is now sitting. And then they had the possibilities of looking for those other buildings, of outer types of services that could be brought into there, for a kind of neighborhood setting.
“The best we can say is those plans are still on the drawing board as presented to us by Safeway initially, and we’ll wait to see what the decision is on the approval and any directions that the Federal Trade Commission will give to the Albertson’s Corporation.”
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