The search for a developer to renovate the vacant Fan Fare site in west-central Aurora languished last month following a lack of interested developers stepping forward during the request for proposal process.
A steering committee in charge of reviewing project proposals for the site received materials from only two interested developers in response to the site’s RFP. The committee is made up of city planners, civil engineers and other city officials.
“Of course we’re disappointed that the number dwindled so much,” said Gayle Jetchick, executive director of the Havana Business Improvement District.
Initial interest in the site appeared to be high after 23 parties attended a pre-submittal conference Dec. 10, shortly following the start of the request for qualifications process Dec. 1. That process closed Jan. 9.
The steering committee was originally expected to shortlist up to three developers by Jan. 30 and select a preferred master developer by April. However, the apparent lack of interest in the long-abandoned lot at 333 Havana St. puts the city’s long-standing development plans in limbo.
“Staff is preparing to make a recommendation to the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority board on how to proceed,” said City of Aurora spokeswoman Julie Patterson.
AURA is in charge of spearheading the project and authored both the Fan Fare RFQ and the city’s Havana North Urban Renewal Plan penned in 2010.
Some steering committee members, however, aren’t holding their breath for any action to unfold. Jetchick said she doesn’t believe any development will occur on the site for another 1-2 years.
“I was hoping to have some activity going on out there because we’ll be doing Cruisin’ Havana out there in June, but I don’t think there will be,” she said. “My gut feeling is that we’re going to have to go back out to bid on it again later this year.”
Despite the possible setback, other steering committee members like Tim Gonerka, retail specialist for the city, remain optimistic.
“I think the nice thing with Fan Fare is that because the city owns it we can take our time with finding what can best serve the community,” he said.
The city purchased the 10.3-acre Fan Fare lot for $4 million in 2013 and razed the site’s original white-domed structure shortly thereafter. Since then, thousands of cubic yards of asbestos have been abated at the site.
Gonerka said that whether the city’s ideal proposal includes a large retail center at Fan Fare is 50-50. In both the Havana North Concept Plan adopted in 2005 and the more recent Havana North Urban Renewal Plan the city called for the site to be a “highly integrated mix of residential and commercial uses, integrated with public spaces,” according to the RFQ document.
Both applications already submitted to the city will still be up for consideration, according to Gonerka.
Although frustrated by the lagging process, Jetchick said that after nearly three decades of dealing with the Fan Fare saga, the community can afford to wait a bit longer for an appropriate project.
“We waited 30 years to get that building torn down and we can wait a little bit longer for something nice,” she said. “I didn’t go through eight years of trying to get the building out of here and 30 years of it sitting vacant to just have something OK. Ideally, I would like some kind of little activity center that could hold an art fair or bring back the farmer’s market, but I don’t know if that’s going to happen.”
The fate of the project is expected to next be discussed at an upcoming AURA executive session.
You would think with all of the new Employees up there at Anschutz there would have developers chomping at the bit. I know the general feeling of people on campus is they are kind of landlocked and looking for amenities where they can spend their money. They want more restaurants and shopping. What the city of Aurora should concentrate on is Tax incentives to Del Mar shopping center to give its facia a revamp. That place needs some improvement on aesthetics. I think a remodel would invite more of those 20,000 employees less then a mile away to head down for lunch or a bit of shopping. The problem is the center is off-putting.
It’s a shame I have no where to spend my money in my own neighborhood. I am sick of Mexican food and Pho. There is no variety. I grocery shop in North Field and got out for dinner in Denver. Once again they have given up on the Art Disctrict. Fan Fare is a mud pit. Now Gaylord is turning into a battle field, and the way of our luck I’m assuming it’s not going to happen.
I think I am regreting our move back to Aurora. Even with Anschutz nothing has changed.