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H Mart update: Is the long-awaited grocery store still coming to Colorado Springs?

H mart

Colorado Springs residents who have been waiting for years to shop at H Mart, the Korean- and Asian-themed grocery store, will have to wait to keep waiting — but at least there’s still hope.

In December 2021, The Gazette first reported on plans for the New Jersey-based grocery store chain to open a store on Colorado Springs’ far north side; the proposal called for construction to begin the next summer with completion in 2023.

Three and a half years later, no H Mart. And this week, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department posted this on Facebook: “Over the past year or so we have been getting a lot of questions about the H Mart so we wanted to give a little update to its status. The plans for a Colorado Springs store were submitted back in 2023 and were rejected and sent back to the design team for revisions. Those plans were never resubmitted after Feb 2024 and have now been administratively canceled due to lack of activity.”

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The post concluded: “Sorry if its not the update you hoped for. We just wanted to keep everyone informed.”

But H Mart still plans to bring a store to the Springs, Brendon Choi, the general affairs manager for H-Mart’s locations in Aurora and Westminster, said this week.

“As far as the overall plan goes, it is still in process and we are still planning to expand to Colorado Springs,” said Choi. “We’re working with the architects to get the building designed and will be reapplying for a permit.”

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State regulations on allowable refrigerants changed, Choi said, forcing H Mart to redo its refrigeration. H Mart is also making adjustments to the building type, he said.

The original plans called for construction of a 29,000-square-foot store at 1872 Democracy Point in the mixed-use development of Victory Ridge, between InterQuest and Voyager Parkways.

As part of the process, an H Mart-associated entity bought 2.6 acres for $1.8 million in 2022, El Paso County Assessor’s Office records show. H Mart owns the land, according to the office. Its market value is slightly more than $2 million. As things added up, though, the plans sat dormant at the Pikes Peak Regional Building. After a certain time, it cancels applications.

“It happens. … It’s not wrong,” Choi said. “It’s not anyone’s fault, the state is trying to make things better for people environmentally. … It’s also the nature of the project.”

The company hopes to expand to Colorado Springs “as soon as possible,” Choi said.

H Mart bills itself as the largest Asian supermarket chain in the U.S., with nearly 100 stores, according to its website. It’s known for a diverse lineup that includes live crabs and lobsters, tropical fruits and numerous varieties of noodles.


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