AURORA | A Los Angeles developer purchased 9.5 acres of land earlier this year to build 10 townhouses and 217 apartments at the Gardens on Havana.
The multifamily housing project represents the last piece of the large-scale vision for the Gardens on Havana project that replaced the former Buckingham Square Mall, development officials say.
“It kind of rounds out the whole project, it’s like the icing on the cake,” said Dean Insalaco, vice president for Miller Real Estate Investments, owner of the Gardens on Havana property.
Land for the housing development was purchased by Post Investment Group in March, according to a statement.
Alex Condos, president of development for Post Investment Group, declined to comment on specifics of the deal, but he said the townhouses and apartments will be rental properties. Construction will begin “as soon as possible” after the developer receives building permits from the city, he said.
Gayle Jetchick, president of the Havana Business Improvement District, said the apartments, located at the corner of South Joliet Street and East Garden Drive, will be three stories high and include a pool and clubhouse.
The townhouses will be built east of the rose garden, she said.
Jetchick said she’s thrilled that housing will finally be built at the Gardens on Havana.
“It’s marvelous,” she said. “The retailers are really looking forward to having the residential piece. It completes the small-town feel that you’re living, working and shopping all right together.”
Plans for that parcel of land at the Gardens originally called for retail and apartment development similar to the Belmar project in Lakewood. But the economic downturn made it nearly impossible for that to happen, Jetchick said, so the plans were amended to include only residential development without retail.
Another Gardens on Havana housing development being built at the old Aurora City Hall at 1470 S. Havana Street is nearing completion and set to open to tenants in May, Jetchick said.
The 98,000 square-foot retirement community will have 86 units and include in-home health care providers, community rooms and other amenities for seniors.
In other parts of the Gardens on Havana development, retail projects are picking up.
Construction is continuing on the Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us near the corner of East Mississippi Avenue and South Ironton Street.
The store expects to open its doors in September.
A drive-thru Starbucks is also moving into the Gardens on Havana, which will also open in September.
Other retailers that could move into the Gardens on Havana within the next few months include a pizza restaurant and a Mongolian restaurant, Jetchick said.
Gardens on Havana has become a popular retail destination during the past couple of years, which is a huge turnaround, she said.
“In 2009 … nobody was expanding and it was really tight,” she said. “Now, things are turning around.”
Insalaco said the Gardens on Havana development is an economic success story. The Buckingham Square Mall was demolished about five years ago during the peak of the economic recession. He said it was the “worst possible time in recent memory” to redevelop the area and attract retailers and businesses.
“We definitely had our challenges, and we had to work hard and we’ve stayed the course and it’s turned into a very successful project,” he said.
The development has become so popular that retailers such as Lane Bryant, Office Depot and Toys “R” Us have relocated or are relocating to Gardens on Havana from other parts of the city, he said.
“This project is clearly the shining, exciting project,” he said.
The top shopping district in Aurora in 2012 was Gardens on Havana, which city retail specialists said was becoming a “retail hub” similar to the Southlands Mall and the Town Center at Aurora.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.