Northglenn has struck a three-way deal to get the Huron Center on the southwest corner of 104th Avenue and Huron Street under construction this summer after more than a decade of slow, painful decline felt by the residents and business owners in the area.
City council this week approved an agreement between the Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority, Denver-based Evergreen Development, and Impala Capital from California, which owns about 16 adjacent strip mall style storefronts in the 10.5-acre shopping center, to redevelop the entire property by next year.
So far, two unannounced anchors are slated to open on-site by the end of the year — a 21,000 square foot neighborhood grocer and a 35,000 square foot automotive retail facility. Tyler Carlson, principal at Evergreen Development, said he will be able to reveal both store’s identities in the next month.
“The grocery store was really important to the city and to the neighbors,” Carlson said. “The situation today is that anyone who lives in Northglenn has to go shop for groceries in either Westminster, Federal Heights or Thornton. Those are the closest stores. We’ve really spent the last several years looking for the right grocery partner for this project.”
The Northglenn Urban Renewal Authority today owns 51 percent of the property, including a nearly 58,000-square-foot former Albertson’s and Rite-Aid that closed in 2006 at 1000 W. 104th Ave.
The city declared the site an urban renewal area in 2008, and tried for years to strike a deal with Mike Zhang, manager for Impala Capital, to redevelop the area. Two years ago, city council authorized the urban renewal authority to employ eminent domain on the property if necessary. That came after a to improve his portion of the 104,322-square-foot site.
Now, under the new development agreement, Evergreen will buy the property from the city and everyone — NURA, Evergreen and Impala — will chip in on the development costs, exterior remodeling, infrastructure improvements and new parking lot construction. The estimated cost of the project is $9.4 million.
“It’s great for everyone,” Zhang said. He will continue to own the east and west wings of the center, as well as the two existing restaurants near 104th Avenue. “Everyone put a lot of effort in to get to this point, and I’m very happy with what we’re doing. It’s going to look totally different and everything is going to be completely improved.”
A new, 2,400-square-foot Arby’s restaurant will also be built next to Bank of the West and is scheduled to open fall 2018.
“Redevelopments like this with existing tenants and other property owners can be a challenge,” Carlson said. “So it’s good to be at the finish line of the starting line finally.”
Redeveloping the Huron Center has been a priority for Northglenn, for more a decade.
“This has been a complex project from the beginning,” Debbie Tuttle, executive director for NURA and Northglenn’s economic development manager said in a statement. “But it will be worth everyone’s efforts when we see how this project will transform this property and revitalize the area.”