South Havana Street and East Mississippi Avenue
Aurora, Colorado
The first 1970s-era shopping mall in -or around- the Mile High City was built on a 60-acre site, located 8 miles southeast of the Colorado State House, in suburban Aurora. Plans for a Joslin's department store and adjacent 500,000 square foot shopping center were announced in December 1964.
It would take until October 1970 for work to get underway on the BUCKINGHAM SQUARE project. The fully-enclosed complex was designed by Kenneth R. Boyle and William H. Wilson, of Overland Park, Kansas. It was developed by the Kansas City-based MD Management Company.
Situated on a single-level, BUCKINGHAM SQUARE encompassed approximately 737,000 leasable square feet when officially dedicated, on August 5, 1971. There were initially fifty stores. When fully-leased, the mall contained seventy-eight. Original anchors were a 2-level (135,000 square foot), Denver-based Joslins and 2-level (161,000 square foot) Montgomery Ward.
Although promoted with a "Merry Olde England" motif, the original BUCKINGHAM SQUARE was ultra-modern in design and decor. There were, however, several allusions to British culture, such as the Camelot I and Camelot II office Towers, Sir Lancelot Restaurant, Dickens Village play area, London Liquor store and adjacent Canterbury Park.
Competition for BUCKINGHAM SQUARE came early on. SOUTHGLENN MALL {8.4 miles southwest, in Arapahoe County} was dedicated in August 1974. AURORA MALL {2 miles northeast, in Aurora} opened its doors in August 1975. The two Aurora malls coexisted for a time, despite their close proximity.
Construction began on a Buckingham II addition in 1977. This 12 million dollar wing spanned 65,000 square feet and added twenty-five-stores to the mall's directory. 9 years later, the wing was extended with inline stores and a 1-level (76,000 square foot) Mervyn's. This store welcomed its first shoppers on October 17, 1986. BUCKINGHAM SQUARE now encompassed over 900,000 leasable square feet.
Unfortunately, competition from nearby shopping centers, especially AURORA MALL, had sent BUCKINGHAM SQUARE into a downward spiral by the late 1990s. Junior anchors, such as Safeway, Woolworth and Gart Sports, vacated the premises. The Joslins chain was absorbed by Dillard's in 1998, with the BUCKINGHAM SQUARE store rebranded soon after.
Montgomery Ward closed for good on April 21, 2001. The building was demolished, with a 1-level (142,500 square foot) Target Greatland opening on October 9, 2002. Mervyn's was shuttered on January 21, 2006, with Dillard's closing on July 28th of the same year.
Charter inline stores included Bustein-Applebee home electronics, Up Your Alley unisex clothing, Lerner Shops, Dave Cook Sporting Goods, Bronco Burger, Beckett's Pub, a (16,000 square foot) Fashion Bar, (15,000 square foot) Walgreen Drug, (29,000 square foot) Safeway supermarket and F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. The American Multi-Cinema Buckingham Square IV opened on August 5, 1971. A smaller venue, known as the Outhouse Theatre, opened in adjacent store space in July 1972.
Although promoted with a "Merry Olde England" motif, the original BUCKINGHAM SQUARE was ultra-modern in design and decor. There were, however, several allusions to British culture, such as the Camelot I and Camelot II office Towers, Sir Lancelot Restaurant, Dickens Village play area, London Liquor store and adjacent Canterbury Park.
Competition for BUCKINGHAM SQUARE came early on. SOUTHGLENN MALL {8.4 miles southwest, in Arapahoe County} was dedicated in August 1974. AURORA MALL {2 miles northeast, in Aurora} opened its doors in August 1975. The two Aurora malls coexisted for a time, despite their close proximity.
Construction began on a Buckingham II addition in 1977. This 12 million dollar wing spanned 65,000 square feet and added twenty-five-stores to the mall's directory. 9 years later, the wing was extended with inline stores and a 1-level (76,000 square foot) Mervyn's. This store welcomed its first shoppers on October 17, 1986. BUCKINGHAM SQUARE now encompassed over 900,000 leasable square feet.
Unfortunately, competition from nearby shopping centers, especially AURORA MALL, had sent BUCKINGHAM SQUARE into a downward spiral by the late 1990s. Junior anchors, such as Safeway, Woolworth and Gart Sports, vacated the premises. The Joslins chain was absorbed by Dillard's in 1998, with the BUCKINGHAM SQUARE store rebranded soon after.
Montgomery Ward closed for good on April 21, 2001. The building was demolished, with a 1-level (142,500 square foot) Target Greatland opening on October 9, 2002. Mervyn's was shuttered on January 21, 2006, with Dillard's closing on July 28th of the same year.
In the mid-1990s, BUCKINGHAM SQUARE had contained ninety-five operational stores and services. By late 2005, this number had dropped to fifty-four. Most of these were local mom & pop-type tenants, such as Forbidden City Buffet, Igor's T-Shirts & More, Kim's Wig Botik and Picture Perfect.
Englewood, Colorado's Miller Weingarten Realty was recruited to redevelop the moribund mall in late 2003. They acquired the vacant Mervyn's building in August 2006. The land beneath the complex was owned by Aurora's Hayutin family, under the auspices of the Weststar Management Corporation. The mall proper, not including its anchor stores, was owned by Kansas City, Missouri's Sherman Dreiseszun (of the MDH Management Company).
By early 2007, there were just eighteen BUCKINGHAM SQUARE stores in business. Tenants were given eviction notices, effective February 28th. Miller Weingarten bought the vacant Joslins-Dillard's in July 2007 and secured the land and mall structure soon after. The complex was razed between November 2007 and March 2008. Everything was leveled, except for Target Greatland, two office towers and a few outparcels.
These were incorporated into an open-air power center. Going under the provisional name of BUCKINGHAM MALL, the shopping center-to-be was eventually named THE GARDENS ON HAVANA. Home Depot, which was to occupy the northeast corner of the site, backed out of the project.
A 1-level (92,100 square foot) Kohl's became the first new store to open, on March 3, 2009. This was followed by a 1-level (50,400 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which began business on June 1st. A (26,300 square foot), Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market opened on October 2nd, followed by a (15,000 square foot) Petco, which began business on October 23rd.
Target Greatland was converted to a new prototype store, known as PFresh, in 2010. The eventual plan was to expand the building by 45,000 square feet, making it into a SuperT-format store. Further development of THE GARDENS ON HAVANA included a (15,300 square foot) Office Depot, which opened in the fall of 2012, and (46,700 square foot) Toys "R" Us / Babies "R" Us, dedicated in September 2013. The complex now encompassed approximately 940,100 leasable square feet and contained thirty-one stores and services.
Sources:
A 1-level (92,100 square foot) Kohl's became the first new store to open, on March 3, 2009. This was followed by a 1-level (50,400 square foot) Dick's Sporting Goods, which began business on June 1st. A (26,300 square foot), Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market opened on October 2nd, followed by a (15,000 square foot) Petco, which began business on October 23rd.
Target Greatland was converted to a new prototype store, known as PFresh, in 2010. The eventual plan was to expand the building by 45,000 square feet, making it into a SuperT-format store. Further development of THE GARDENS ON HAVANA included a (15,300 square foot) Office Depot, which opened in the fall of 2012, and (46,700 square foot) Toys "R" Us / Babies "R" Us, dedicated in September 2013. The complex now encompassed approximately 940,100 leasable square feet and contained thirty-one stores and services.
Sources:
The Denver Post
The Aurora Star Sentinel (Aurora, Colorado)
The Aurora Advocate (Aurora, Colorado)
https://onhavanastreet.com / research paper by Jeffrey Browning
Arapahoe County, Colorado tax assessor website
https://turkeysandwich.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/farewell-buckingham-square-mall
http://www.millerre.com/index.php/projects/denver/the-gardens-on-havana / Miller Weingarten Realty
https://www.bizjournals.com
