Developers Set To Renovate Aurora Village

SHORELINE

After falling into a state of disrepair and becoming a haven for crime, the Aurora Village shopping center is once again poised to begin a new life.

With a nod from the Metro Council last week, Lynnwood-based First Western Development is set to build a shopping center at the site, which will include Costco and Home Depot stores, said Jim Lindsay, land-use coordinator at First Western.

First Western plans to start construction later this year and open the center by the spring of 1994, he said. The 370,000-square-foot mall will include four other major retailers and about 50,000 square feet of smaller shops, Lindsay said.

First Western was finally able to move ahead after the Metro Council voted to sell the Aurora Village building once occupied by Frederick & Nelson to the development group.

That deal includes over eight acres of land at a price of $3.95 million, if the developer satisfies all contingencies by June 1. If not, the price will rise to $4.42 million.

The buyer also will pay retroactive interest at 8.5 percent on the purchase price from Nov. 1, 1992, when Metro bought the land. Metro will keep the three acres occupied by its transit center and slightly less than one additional acre will be reserved for future use by Metro.

Metro bought the 11.5 acre F&N site for $6.7 million to protect and maintain its transit center there. Metro had operated the transit center under a lease, which was involved in the Sabey Corp. bankruptcy filing.

First Western's plans are the latest chapter in the longstanding story of Aurora Village, which has brought plenty of difficulties to several past developers.

The latest plans did not escape controversy.

Westgate Chapel, an Edmonds church, made its own proposal to buy the property from Metro.

The church bid $4.7 million and was disappointed that Metro chose to sell to First Western instead, said Alec Rowlands, Westgate Chapel pastor. "We did all we could do. We felt shut out of the whole process," he said.

However, many Shoreline residents are pleased that Aurora Village may be revived.

Anna Blasi, one of a group who circulated a 4,000-signature petition requesting that the center be redeveloped, says she is happy with the outcome. She says the mall, which just opened, has been attracting homeless people, drug dealers and drug users.

Meanwhile, Rowlands said Westgate Chapel will remain in the wings, hoping the latest development plans fall through so the church can once again try to purchase the property.

However, he said the church will not pursue legal action against Metro, which would further delay the development.

"We already spent about $20,000 in legal fees and there would be nothing gained by threatening to take (Metro) to court," Rowlands said.

If Aurora Village's history is any guide, waiting in the wings could pay off for Westgate Chapel.

Several developers have tried and failed to redevelop Aurora Village, and their troubles have stretched into years of continuing deterioration.

Pan Pacific purchased the mall from Northwest Building Corp. in 1989 for a reported $25 million. Pan Pacific's plans called for an upscale, 770,000-square-foot shopping center with 140 tenants.

Under those plans, both F&N and Nordstrom were to remain open during the renovation and would be anchor stores. Instead, F&N closed its store after financial troubles forced the retailer to take dramatic cost-reduction actions.

Then Nordstrom, too, folded its Aurora Village store, citing long renovation delays coupled with the closing of F&N.

After running into its own financial trouble, Pan Pacific Corp. was forced to return the property to Citicorp, its lender, last October. Citicorp turned the development of the project over to its agent, Lynnwood-based First Western Development, which has made the latest plans.

Before Pan Pacific, Northwest Building Corp. had purchased the 1961-vintage center from Cox & Carskadon Financial Corp. Inc. for $20 million. Both of those groups also had redevelopment plans for Aurora Village.