Minneapolis-based Nash Finch Co., with $4 billion in annual sales, plans to open a 40,000-sf Mexican-style grocery store in the area, the first of many across the US. Nash Finch spokesman John Bousquet says the prototype grocery store, scheduled to open in April, will be studied and tweaked, as the concept is moved to other cities.

John Sevo, head of his namesake company, says the new center, to be called La Plaza de Lakeside, will certainly be the largest center of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region, and possibly in the nation. The submarket where Lakeside is located is about 34% Hispanic, about double the Denver average, he says, adding the Hispanic population is projected to grow by 260,000 people over the next 10 years.

Denver retail consultant Mary Beth Jenkins says she knows of a similar center in Houston, but the Texas project will likely be a "little more mainstream" with a lot of "Gap-style" tenants.

"I think if Sevo Miller pulls this off it will be absolutely fabulous," Jenkins, principal of the Laramie Co. tells GlobeSt.com. "Lakeside is in a very Hispanic area. I would invest in this deal in a New York minute."

Tom Mathews, a retail broker with CB Richard Ellis, also is enthused about the project.

"Demographic study after demographic study is showing that the Hispanic population in the Denver area and in Colorado is growing faster than any other group," Mathews tells GlobeSt.com. "It's an under-served market. I think Sevo Miller has an excellent concept for Lakeside. I've got to get Spanish tapes in my car, because I think it is so important to be able to communicate with people around me.