NORTHGLENN, CO-The City of Northglenn, in a closed, executive session, terminated its development agreement with Opus Northwest and Goldberg Properties for a development on 17 acres of city-owned land at Grant Street and 120th Avenue, just off Interstate 25. When completed, the mixed-use development's value is estimated between $20 million to $30 million. The new development was expected to have about 107,000 sf of space.

"Some of the council members wanted something other than a typical strip mall," city manager Phil Nelson tells GlobeSt.com. "Opus Northwest/Goldeber was offering a couple of 'junior boxes' and a Main Street concept. The tenant list they supplied so far did not meet the basic goals of a unique destination. I think they were really focusing on the quick-service restaurant and not really the upscale, sit-down restaurant."

Nelson tells GlobeSt.com that the council would prefer "locally grown" tenants if possible. "We'd like something people would really drive to and utilize because they couldn't find it anywhere else. Nelson tells GlobeSt.com that the biggest tenants that the Opus/Goldberg team proposed were 24,000 sf and 20,000 sf, respectively. "I don't think the council had any problems with the size. At least they didn't say anything about it," Nelson tells GlobeSt.com.

John Shaw, who heads Opus Northwest's Denver office, says it is a "good opportunity for the city. We wish them well," Shaw says. He declined to give specific comments, noting he wasn't at the executive session where the agreement was terminated. "We had been in negotiations with them for the past three months, and then they decided they and our team were not headed in the same direction."

Nelson, for his part, says: "With their excellent track record, we never doubted Opus Goldberg's. Ultimately, we simply did not share a common vision for the 120th Avenue development." According to Nelson, the City of Northglenn will now move ahead with one of two options under consideration: Either the city will become the master developer, or another large developer will be selected to head up the project.

Century Theaters recently broke ground on a 68,000-sf movie theatre complex on the site that is expected to be complete by mid 2006. "We're excited that Century Theatres is going to anchor this development," Nelson says. "Our plans for the remainder of the site will be decided within the next two or three months."