A long-awaited $78.7 million mixed-use development in Aurora is under construction.
Parkside @ City Centre is a ground-up, mixed-use property comprising 216 market-rate apartments and approximately 36,000 square feet of retail space on 5.6 acres at South Sable Street and East Alameda Avenue. Northstar Commercial and Milender White are co-sponsors for the project that Summit Capital Venture Group is co-developing.
“This is an exciting project in one of Colorado’s fastest-growing cities,” said Brian Watson, Northstar chairman and CEO. “We think the retail development has a chance to positively impact Aurora by creating new jobs while offering the area high-quality multifamily apartments at a more affordable price point than many surrounding markets.”
Northstar purchased the land for Parkside in 2015 and after several years of securing development approvals and forming partnerships, construction started on the project in April.
Milender White also will act as general contractor. OZ Architecture is the architect for Parkside. Canyon Partners Real Estate provided the preferred equity for the project. A total of $24.5 million of equity and preferred equity has been invested.
Parkside will feature studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with balconies and Class A finishes. Apartments will average 875 square feet. Community amenities at the five-story, wood constructed building will include a fitness center, top-floor lounge and large clubhouse opening to a courtyard with grills, a pool and hot tub. Additionally, the development is located near Interstate 225 with direct access to the R light-rail line.
Retail at Parkside will be located both on the ground floor of the multifamily building as well as in stand-alone space.
Five Guys has signed a lease for a portion of the space while the developers also are looking to lease to local urban concepts, including a 16,000-sf collective eatery with an outdoor beer garden.
Retail space is available from 1,000 to 11,000 sf. Jason Marcotte of Summit Capital Venture is handling leasing of the retail space with Urban Partners acting as consultant.
Retail space is expected to be available in early 2020 while the apartments are slated for a summer 2021 delivery.
“We see this as a major economic benefit for the city of Aurora, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of city leadership and their forward thinking,” said Watson. “We know the area well as we have invested in this community for more than 20 years, and strongly believe the proximity to the Anschutz Medical Campus, the Denver Tech Center, Denver International Airport and downtown Denver will entice people to live and work in Aurora.”
Additionally, with Aurora not delivering multifamily product at the same velocity as the rest of metro Denver, there is a need for developments like Parkside as well as a lot of excitement surrounding Parkside from the city, according to Northstar.
“We see the strength of the Aurora market and are excited to be a part of what we believe will be a very successful project,” added Bryon White, president and CEO of Milender White. “Parkside’s proximity to parks, transit and a variety of retail options make it a very appealing community for future residents. We couldn’t be more excited about this partnership and the opportunity to build upon our extensive multifamily resume to bring this community to life.”
In 2015, Aurora City Council created a new urban renewal area at the northeast corner of Sable and Alameda, which provided tax increment financing to facilitate the redevelopment of the former bank and shopping center into Parkside.
