The aged strip-mall buildings that made up the shopping center at Regatta Plaza in south Aurora have been gouged into crumbling bricks and beams or completely flattened by bulldozers. In approximately five years, a multiuse urban hub for the city will rise in its place.
“We are hoping to start vertical construction around the end of the year,” said Erik Husted, project manager with Mile High/Koelbel, the city’s master developer for Regatta Plaza. “The majority of the site will be (demolished) in the next 45 days.”
Construction crews moved in on the multiacre site at the end of May, and redevelopment plans are well underway.
Among them are the development of a massive central office tower, 100,000 square feet of retail space and as many as 350 rental units throughout the site. The old center sits next to Interstate 225 at Parker Road, directly across the street from the existing Nine Mile light-rail station.
“Regatta Plaza is located at the southern gateway to the city and also at the expansion of the light-rail system in the metro area,” Husted said. ” We think it’s a catalytic site for the city of Aurora, at the intersection of two very busy roadways.”
Most of the housing will be midrise apartments with about 10 percent considered affordable housing units. Due to Colorado’s construction defects laws, there will be no more new condominium development, but that is something Mile High/Koelbel is hoping to pursue on the site in the future.
The two businesses that will remain open through construction — Key Bank and King Soopers — will both eventually be moved and reintegrated into the area.
“That King Soopers store will not close at any point during development,” said Jessica Cussins, King Soopers spokeswoman. “The existing store is 50,000 square feet, and we will (build and move) into a 78,000-square-foot building.”
Husted said the new King Soopers should tentatively break ground by the end of this year, and that moving the grocery anchor is the first construction priority.
“When King Soopers moves from their old store to the new one, that will free up the southern half of the site for a mixed-use, transit-oriented development,” Husted said. “We are actively working to (find leasing tenants) to add niche restaurants and entertainment to the south side of the site, where the King Soopers is now.”
For Aurora’s part, the authority is moving through the process of eminent domain, as a last-resort solution to take control of the property from private land owners who for more than 10 years. In February, the authority took control of 14 acres on the site.
“Without the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority’s intervention, the plans for this site would not have materialized for many more years due to owner conflicts, projected redevelopment costs and market gaps,” said Andrea Amonick, manager of the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority. “The AURA and the Aurora City Council have been steadfast in their dedication to eliminating the blighting conditions and redeveloping the site as an active and vibrant transit-oriented development and gateway into the city.”
The first part of eminent domain involves the landholders agreeing to vest title to the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority, and the second involves the authority paying for the land. Amonick said the authority will go to court in January to settle on a final price.
The urban renewal authority will also continue to support any debt on the property to complete the redevelopment through tax increment financing.
“This is an achievement for the entire community,” Amonick said. “The neighborhood has been looking forward to the redevelopment of this site since the early 2000s.”