AURORA | Regatta Plaza, the defunct shopping center in the shadow of Interstate 225 and the Nine Mile Station parking garage, has continued its slow trudge toward rebirth this spring. Although the lot still must wade through at least one more legal proceeding before it sees a new life.
City attorneys will head to court this month to finalize the value of a roughly 1.2-acre parcel of land at the shopping center that is currently owned by Romesh Sharma, a local businessman. The city in 2015 obtained legal possession of the Sharma parcel — although not the official title — as well as a much larger, roughly 14-acre tract of land, formerly owned by John Buckley. The city condemned both parcels.
The Independence Institute, a conservative, Denver-based think tank, has criticized the city’s repeated use of its eminent domain authority at Regatta Plaza.
The city previously deposited $905,000 for the Sharma parcel, although the final price tag could fluctuate depending on the outcome of the valuation hearings scheduled to take place in Arapahoe County District Court, according to Andrea Amonick, development services manager for the city. She said the trial to determine the cost of that land is slated to begin June 12.
For years, efforts to overhaul Regatta Plaza have plodded along, although a string of negotiating snafus has delayed the process. The city has long aimed to attract a cache of trendy residential and retail at the shopping center, anchoring a new development to Aurora’s recently expanded light rail line.
Last November, the city granted the Aurora Urban Redevelopment Authority a $21.5 million loan for the acquisition of all necessary parcels at Regatta, as well as the demolition of existing structures, according to city spokeswoman Julie Patterson. Of that $21.5 million total, $3.5 million has been earmarked for demolition costs and about $13.3 million was used to buy the land formerly owned by Buckley. A portion of the remaining $4.7 million will be used to pay for other parcels.
Again acting in their capacity as the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority in February, Aurora City Council members agreed to condemn a portion of the property currently owned by KeyBank. The decision was made to accommodate a previous deal the city struck with King Soopers so the grocery chain could build a new store beside its current facility in the shopping center. Amonick said the city is going to make KeyBank an offer based on the apprised value of the land.
That new King Soopers site recently received the green light and could be operating by Thanksgiving of next year, according to Councilman Charlie Richardson, whose Ward IV encompasses Regatta Plaza.
“I am very comfortable with the progress to date, but as a neighbor would like to see the new store open as soon as possible,” Richardson wrote in an email.
Amonick said the current King Soopers site will remain open through construction and will not be shuttered until the new store is finished.
Amonick added that an electrical issue has delayed the demolition of one of the final structures still standing at Regatta, the former Firestone Complete Auto Care Building on the west side of the lot. Demolition will proceed after Xcel Energy remedies the issue, she said. After that, work on the extension of East Dartmouth Avenue will begin.
Last month, the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission finally signed off on the master plan for the development, which planners are now calling “The Point at Nine Mile Station.” The approval process had been postponed due to hang-ups in the negotiations between the city, the master developer and King Soopers.
The process of overhauling Regatta began in earnest in late 2015, when the city selected Mile High Koelbel to redevelop the ramshackle commercial space, which is located at the corner of Peoria Street and Parker Road, across from the Nine Mile Station parking garage. The area was deemed blighted in 2013.
The plan for the development calls for myriad buildings that are at least three stories tall and host at least 35 units per acre in much of the area, according to city documents. Although, the city has already conceded to leaving the option for some one-story structures in a waiver on the recently approved master plan.
Also at the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last month, city staff specified they’ve budgeted $550,000 for public art at the upcoming development.
A spokesman for Mile High Development declined to comment on the project, and a representative for the other half of the development team, Koelbel & Co., was unable to be reached before press deadline.