Shops at the Bluffs demolition coming soon

A makeover for the Shops at the Bluffs could begin Friday, Aug. 10, for the shopping center on the northwest corner of Austin Bluffs Parkway and Academy Boulevard. United Properties, the Minneapolis-based company that bought the property in 2005, plans a "demolition party" on Friday, although it's unclear if any actual demolition will take place that day. If not, the work will begin soon. United Properties plans to tear down large portions of the 1970s-era mini-mall, retain and remodel other portions and build a new King Soopers grocery to replace an existing store. The result will be a traditional shopping center, with large, freestanding buildings to house anchors and smaller buildings for banks, restaurants and other stores (shown in a computer-generated aerial, above). Also, the shopping center will be renamed Marketplace at Austin Bluffs. Much of the work will be completed in mid-2008.