A 79,000-square-foot King Soopers, a mixed-use space, and a walking bridge to Nine Mile Station are all in the plans at the former Regatta Plaza in Aurora.
It's a project that's been in limbo for a few years, but now Aurora city planners have announced that Kroger has finally given the long-awaited go-ahead for the construction of a 79,000-square-foot King Soopers to be built at the old Regatta Plaza, at Peoria Street and Parker Road in Aurora. The new, larger store is expected to be completed in the summer/fall of 2019. Once it opens, the existing adjacent 50,000-square-foot King Soopers store will be torn down to make room for additional development in the southern part of the property, including retail stores, entertainment, restaurants, and mixed-use residential space, as well as a pedestrian bridge that will cross Parker and connect to the Nine Mile light rail station. The new development will be called The POINT. [caption id="attachment_35327" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Courtesy of Google Maps[/caption]
Across the street, off of E. Dartmouth Ave., a 24,000-square-foot facility will be built at the same time and is expected to include a Key Bank, among other retailers.
Though announced in 2015, the project has been a source of frustration for area residents, who were understandably peeved when the development stalled out shortly after the old strip mall on the 22-acre property was torn down in 2016. The site has remained vacant -- an eyesore surrounded by fencing -- minus the tiny King Soopers chugging along in the southeast corner.
The master developer, Mile High/Koelbel, had previously not been able to move forward due to the lack of approval from Kroger's corporate office. Now that all of that has been squared away, residents should start seeing some movement on the project within the next few months.
For more information, check out the City of Aurora's website!