LAKEWOOD — Sitting in his office 1,646 miles away in Bethesda, Md., Broad Street Realty CEO Mike Jacoby said his company’s purchase of the JCRS Shopping Center in Lakewood — home of the iconic Mexican restaurant Casa Bonita — is the firm’s first acquisition outside the East Coast.

“We look for opportunities to create some value where assets are underutilized, and that center has been underutilized for a long time,” Jacoby said. “We’re excited to be in Lakewood and look forward to a strong relationship with the community and our tenants.”

The shopping center on the northeast corner of Colfax and Pierce Street is 30 percent unoccupied and showing signs of blight. Other properties included in the purchase house the ARC Store, Dollar Store and Save-A-Lot.

The company paid $8 million earlier this month for 191,000 square feet of retail space and plans improvements for parking lots, buildings and streetscapes.

City leaders say the purchase from Matrix Group Inc. is yet another positive sign that change is underway on West Colfax, which has long been known for seedy motels, pawn shops and urban blight.

In the last year, five small businesses have opened along Lakewood’s section of the historic corridor, and around $100 million is being invested in expansion or new development by companies such as First Bank and Terumo, BCT, a medical devices company with world headquarters in Lakewood.

Sitting in the epicenter of the 40 West Arts District and two blocks from a new light rail station and the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, the shopping center has great long-term potential, said Bill Marino, executive director of the Lakewood-West Colfax Business Improvement District.

“Having an East Coast real-estate player make this type of investment bodes well for the corridor and shows West Colfax is on the move,” Marino said. “They wouldn’t buy it if they weren’t going to improve it and make it a good asset.”

As for any concerns that the 40-year-old Casa Bonita may be shut down or shut out of a lease, city officials, a Casa Bonita manager and others involved in the purchase all said keeping the restaurant in place is a priority.

“We would love to keep them there. They’re iconic,” Jacoby said. “We’re meeting with some of the local government and economic folks along with prospective tenants to see what the community wants and that will all sort of gel over the next three to six months.”

Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com