AURORA — The city’s Urban Renewal Authority began the process of condemning the mostly shuttered Regatta Plaza shopping center last month after more than 10 years of unsuccessful redevelopment efforts.

And area residents got their first chance to see plans for the reconstruction once the city gains control of the land later this year.

Mile High Development and Koelbel and Co. is the selected redevelopment team for the 22-acre site directly off Interstate 225 and Parker Road. Recently, the team presented a digital tour of their vision for Regatta to the community.

In its early stages, the plans include the relocation and expansion of King Soopers, a potentially 12- to 15-story “iconic” office tower, a central park, and diverse housing options that range from high-end apartments layered on top of store fronts to low-income units.

The entire design is meant to transform the site, which was declared an urban renewal area in 2006, from a defunct, mostly vacant grocery center to a versatile, integrated community.

“We’re going to be creating a main street by extending Dartmouth from where it dead ends now into the site, creating a really great, main street with retail on either side of it, including around the King Soopers center,” said George Thorn, CEO and principal of Mile High Development. “It will be a walk-able, pedestrian type neighborhood where people will live and work.”

The redevelopment of Regatta Plaza cannot go forward until Aurora acquires the property, which is currently divided among four separate land owners with varying degrees of cooperative interest in the redevelopment project.

“I would not expect acquisition of those properties to happen before the end of the year,” said Andrea Amonick, manager of the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority. “We’re moving forward, but there should be realistic expectations about when activity will occur on that site.”

On Aug. 24, City Council began the process of authorizing the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority to claim eminent domain over Regatta Plaza after years of unsuccessful negotiations with some of the property holders.

Most of the land — about 15 acres — is owned by a local man named John Buckley. King Soopers, which is among the only remaining businesses open on the site, owns about 4 acres, and Key Bank and Romesh Sharma each control about 1 acre.

“After formal offers by the developer went unanswered or un-countered, staff recommended to the City Council that they consider giving the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority the formal authority to use eminent domain to ensure that the project moves forward,” Amonick said. “It is a last resort.”

The final reading on that order is Sept. 14, and it will likely not go into effect until the middle of October. After that, negotiations with the property owners will pick up again. The city also needs to execute its contract with Mile High/Koelbel, a move they’re ostensibly holding off on until all of the property is secured.

“I feel like we’re going to have to take the rest of the year for the condemnation to play out,” said Charlie Richardson, Aurora’s former city attorney and current Ward 4 City Council candidate. “Even though the city appears to be making progress on acquiring this site, the biggest concerns will come next year when planning for specific buildings and uses take place — which will be adjacent to existing neighborhoods.”

There are about 4,000 Aurora residents who live within a half- mile of the aging shopping center.

Once the project does get underway, it is promised to be a whirlwind of demolition and construction activity. First up would be the move of the currently 44,000-square-foot King Soopers further west on the property, and enlarging it to a 78,000-squar0 foot store. Its adjacent fuel center would also be moved, and early plans suggest that it will nearly double in size, as well.

Housing plans could accommodate several hundred people in the “super block,” as Thorn called it. There would be units supported by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, as well as owner-occupied units ranging from $350,000 to $550,000.

The plans also include a pedestrian bridge that would be built over Parker Road to get people to Nine Mile Station. That portion of the project is not yet funded, but is a priority for city staff and the development team. vmi

“The bridge is a key piece of this project,” Thron said. “We want (Regatta Plaza) to be a gathering place. We have a beautiful central park, and we want a themed restaurant to attract people from around town. We want people to come here and spend time.”

The design plans for the center were shown to a crowd of around 250 residents at a recent community meeting that was so packed that city staff agreed to hold the same presentation at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 17 in City Council chambers.

Megan Mitchell: 303-954-2650, mmitchell@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Mmitchelldp