A shuttered Kmart on Colorado Springs’ east side that’s stood empty since it closed nearly a decade ago finally is getting a new life.

Utah-based VASA Fitness says it will take over the former Kmart at 5885 Palmer Park Blvd., southeast of Palmer Park and Powers boulevards, and plans to open a new gym at the location next summer.

It will be VASA’S third Springs location; the chain opened in 2018 in a former Albertsons grocery at 455 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd. on the south side and added a second gym a year later in a former Kmart at 3020 N. Nevada Ave. in north central Colorado Springs. VASA remodeled both buildings to accommodate its gyms.

The Kmart on Palmer Park Boulevard closed in May 2014 at a time when the retailer’s parent company was shutting stores around the country. It had anchored the Powers Centre at Palmer Park and Powers, though the Kmart property’s ownership was separate from the rest of the shopping center.

The vacant Kmart building, which El Paso County land records show was constructed in 1982 and occupies a nearly 7.4-acre site, had become somewhat of an eyesore; it was an occasional target for vandals and its parking lot is pockmarked with potholes.

“Former grocery stores make the perfect locations for VASA gyms as they are typically the ‘anchors’ of shopping centers with large square footage and big parking lots,” Mindi Bridges, VASA’S chief brand and marketing officer, said via email.

“The square footage of the location is 68,337 which makes it one of VASA’S largest gyms and provides plenty of space for us to build out our ‘mall of fitness’ concept, providing something for everyone, at every stage of their fitness journey, all under one roof,” she said.

VASA’S new location will feature the largest performance lifting area in the company, along with large capacity spaces for studio classes that include high-intensity interval training and infrared yoga, Bridges said. It will employ 50 people and will be the largest facility among VASA’S three gyms in the Springs.

“VASA Fitness is very popular in Colorado Springs with two successful locations already and the third location will help us serve more members,” Bridges said.

In May, HD Powers, a Colorado-based limited liability company, paid $4.63 million to buy the Kmart building, county land records show. The property was purchased from a partnership that included a New Jersey-based real estate company controlled by the Wilf family that owns the Minnesota Vikings football team, according to Colorado Secretary of State records.

Leasing representatives of David, Hicks & Lampert, a suburban Denver-based commercial brokerage that’s marketing the Kmart property, said via email that HD Powers is a “single purpose entity for a private local Colorado real estate development firm.”

VASA has signed a lease for the former Kmart and will be its sole occupant, said David, Hicks & Lampert representatives.

“VASA has a long history of revitalizing vacant and blighted anchor buildings,” according to David, Hicks & Lampert. “We anticipate this will be similar to the renovation of the former Kmart that VASA completed at the intersection of Nevada and Fillmore (3020 N. Nevada) in Colorado Springs.”

David, Hicks & Lampert is in the preliminary stages of marketing a portion of the former Kmart parking lot, which would be available for a ground lease, the brokerage said in its email.

Two 5,000-square-foot buildings that could house banks and credit unions, restaurants, car washes or other drive-thru users are envisioned in the parking lot, David, Hicks & Lampert’s website shows.

The brokerage has received strong interest from potential users, though no letters of intent or leases have been signed for the potential new buildings, the brokerage said.