The Safeway store that has been part of the Cherry Creek neighborhood for 51 years will be no more come the first week of 2018.

“Long-standing contractual obligations” are to blame for the impending closure of the grocer at 3110 E. First Ave., Nick LeMasters, general manager of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, said in a news release. The store’s lease originally expired in December 2015, according to LeMasters. It must be out of the space by Jan. 4.

“Safeway has been an excellent tenant and a valued part of the community,” LeMasters said. “We appreciate that some people may feel inconvenienced by its closing, though the area has many other options including six grocery stores less than a mile and a half from this location.”

Neither Safeway officials nor representatives for Taubman Centers, which owns and manages the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, would elaborate on why the move was made. The Safeway building is at the northeast corner of the larger Cherry Creek center.

“This move underscores the changes happening in the retail sector and the Cherry Creek shopping district, as well as our commitment to Cherry Creek Shopping Center’s continued success as the region’s premier shopping destination,” LeMasters said.

Safeway said it is not sure when the store will close, but the company is committed to placing all 70 of its employees at nearby Safeways, officials say. The grocer’s closest location in Denver is about 1.5 miles away, at East Sixth Avenue and Corona Street.

“We are certainly disappointed having to close this store as it’s been a fixture in the Cherry Creek neighborhood for the past 51 years,” Todd Broderick, president of Albertsons/Safeway Denver division, said in a written statement. “We’ve been a longtime partner to many community organizations in and around Cherry Creek and we are grateful to our customers who patronized the store. We hope to be given an opportunity to return to the area as the mall considers redevelopment plans over the next several years.”