Aurora – They can almost see it now.
A rose garden with trellises, a public plaza with a water fountain, and dozens of retail shops and residential units in an outdoor urban village.
City officials on Wednesday said those plans for the redevelopment of the old Buckingham Square shopping center are closer than ever under a new city financial plan to partner with Arapahoe County and the Cherry Creek School District.
“A new, vibrant Buckingham Square is the cornerstone for the Havana District,” Mayor Ed Tauer said. “Residents and business owners have asked us to help, but we can only do that if we build a team of partners.”
Tauer has been working with the county and the school district to redevelop the site under an urban renewal district. Cherry Creek and Arapahoe would agree to continue receiving the property- and sales-tax revenue the site now generates. Once the district is created, new revenue would go toward demolition and new roads, sewer, lighting and other improvements until the district ends in possibly 15 years.
After that, the three entities would share the tax revenue, which would be much higher than it is now.
Cherry Creek schools Superintendent Monte Moses said he is excited about the proposal and its potential effect on the entire community.
By giving up some money now to get much more revenue down the road, the plan would ease the tax burden for homeowners paying school and property taxes, he said.
“At this early stage, it looks very promising,” Moses said. “That area does need to be redeveloped. If left alone, it will be a detriment to the community.”
The once-thriving Buckingham Square is a shadow of its former self. Only a Target store sits on the property on South Havana Street and East Mississippi Avenue.
The $110 million, 850,000- square-foot redevelopment project is being built by Miller Weingarten and will be called the Gardens on Havana. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
Officials for the school district, county and city still have to approve the agreement. But it seems they’re prepared to do that.
“I really see Buckingham as the heart of southwest Aurora,” said Councilwoman Molly Markert, who represents that part of the city. “It’s where things will happen, where people will go, where events will be held. We don’t have anything like that there now.”
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
