A series of closed meetings regarding the highly anticipated redevelopment of the Regatta Plaza shopping center in south Aurora has some people concerned that things aren’t going according to plan with the project’s main anchor, King Soopers.

More than a year ago, the developer of Regatta Plaza started tearing down the condemned strip mall next to Interstate 225 at Parker Road. Since then, there has been little activity on the 21.5-acre site, which has been targeted for redevelopment for nearly 15 years.

At the center of the redevelopment effort is King Soopers, whose parent company, Kroger Co., lost more than $7 billion in market value one week after online giant Amazon announced plans earlier this summer to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. There is widespread speculation that Amazon will reorient the organic grocer to compete head on with local Kroger Co. chains like King Soopers.

“I think the picture of Regatta Plaza is pretty clouded with this business about Kroger and what’s happening in the grocery industry,” said John Parfrey, who has lived about a mile from Regatta Plaza for 13 years. “If they decide to just pull out and close their store or just leave it the way it is then … (Aurora) may have to do a complete redraw of its plans.”

Aurora approved a master plan for Regatta Plaza in May and officials have been negotiating the rest of the deal with the site developer, Mile High/Koelbel, and King Soopers, which is slated to tear down its existing 50,000-square-foot building at 3190 S. Parker Road and build a 78,000-square-foot store in the center of the site.

Redevelopment plans also include a massive central office tower, 100,000 square feet of retail space and as many as 350 rental units at Regatta Plaza. Officials hoped King Soopers would begin building long ago.

“We’re bogged down with Kroger,” Aurora City Councilman Charlie Richardson said. “We cannot get a firm date for them to start construction on the new store and vacate the existing store, and of course, the commitment to vacate the current store is critical to the redevelopment of the entire site.”

Richardson said redevelopment negotiations were smooth until the Amazon-Whole Foods deal was announced. Then, Aurora started holding Regatta Plaza update meetings in executive session, prompting some to believe that Kroger is re-evaluating its local holdings.

City leaders and Mile High/Koelbel representatives are devising contingency plans in case the project must move forward without King Soopers, Richardson said.

“The wedding arrangements were made, everyone had their airline tickets, and then Amazon came along and acquired Whole Foods,” Richardson said. “And now the wedding can’t be consummated. As the Ward 4 councilman, I could no longer tell my constituents that everything was fine; just be patient, it will all work out.”

Andrea Amonick, manager of the Aurora Urban Renewal Authority, called the Regatta Plaza redevelopment project complicated and said there were bound to be snags along the way.

“While it is true that there has been some concern in the grocery industry about new models of grocery and the acquisition of Whole Foods, there has been lots of other progress being made on the site,” Amonick said. “While we’ve been doing demolition, the master developer has also been working on the overall site and infrastructure master plan for the entirety of the site, which was unanimously approved.”

The city is waiting for King Soopers to sign a simultaneous exchange agreement to arrange for the mutual swap of properties on the site, she said. The document also solidifies timelines and deadlines for the project.

“This agreement is an important step in moving the project forward,” Amonick said. “Our first choice is obviously to make sure that we can move the project ahead as planned, however, we are good stewards of the public trust, and so I would say that we have had some discussions (in executive session) about timing, and working with King Soopers to make sure that we can continue progress on the site while we’re refining the details.”

Without the signed agreement, there is speculation that King Soopers could leave the project. But the grocery company says there’s nothing wrong.

Local Kroger spokesman Adam Williamson said via email that King Soopers submitted its site plans for the new store to the city and is awaiting approval before its signs the simultaneous exchange agreement.

“Our intentions for Regatta Plaza haven’t changed and … our plan is to make a significant investment in this unique Colorado neighborhood,” Williamson said. “There are many interested investors at the table … and each of these parties have a vision, and many times those visions conflict with one another.”

He said money to build the new store was certified long before the Amazon-Whole Foods deal, and that deal has no bearing on Kroger’s work in Aurora.

“The community is going to love their new King Soopers,” Williamson said. “We are committed to build a new store that everyone will be proud to call their own. We acknowledge how competitive Colorado’s grocery business is and we work hard every day to continue to remain Colorado’s favorite grocery store.”

He said a 2019 store opening is planned.

Amonick said the most recent version of the King Soopers site plan was submitted to the city July 28 for second review. She said there is no need for the site plan to be approved before the simultaneous exchange agreement is signed. However, the agreement must be signed for the project to continue.

In the meantime, Regatta Plaza is an eyesore for the nearly 4,000 residents who live within a half-mile of the aging shopping center.

“The big piles of dirt and fences everywhere are worse than the empty shopping center,” said Kelsee Miller, who grew up in Aurora and lives a couple blocks from Regatta Plaza. “When they started redeveloping, no one thought it would take this long. It is a complete mess.”

She’s cautiously optimistic the city will see improvement.

“It keeps being promised, but we haven’t seen a whole lot delivered on those promises,” she said. “I’m keeping hope, though.”