UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) — The developer who acquired Upper Arlington’s Golden Bear Center has tentatively set a demolition date to make way for its new vision in the space.

Dubbing the new property The Residence At Golden Bear, Arcadia Development told NBC4 it will start tearing down the existing shopping center as early as Sept. 1. It added that it had already demolished a free-standing empty bank building near the Golden Bear Center in April.

In the main property’s place, Arcadia will build a five-story mixed-used space with the following features:

• 76 for-sale luxury condominiums
• 26,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space
• 25,000 square feet of second-floor office space

While the first approved plans for a Golden Bear Center redevelopment surfaced in August 2019, it has taken nearly four years for the wheels to be set in motion on the project; Arcadia Development just completed the acquisition of the land at Golden Bear Center on July 6. Scott Patton, managing partner for Arcadia Development, gave insight into the time leading up to the demolition.

“The project was positioned to begin in early 2022 when we became aware of the Ohio Department of Development Demolition and Site Restoration Grant,” Patton said. “The grant guidelines clearly forbid moving forward with any eligible work covered under the grant. We received news at the end of March that the project was awarded $3.15 million from the grant. This has given way for us to lock in our schedule.”

Arcadia’s rapidly developing plan also meant that the remaining tenants of the old property had to quickly make decisions on their next move. Colin’s Coffee, who called Golden Bear Center its home for more than 20 years, announced in early July it would be shutting down. Other businesses, like Figlio Pizza, followed suit and either made plans to close or relocate to other locations.

The managing partner of the firm also gave a forecast on how long the Residence’s development could last.

“We have a 24-month building cycle,” Patton said. “Residential and commercial space will be delivered in the late summer of 2025.”

During the four-year interval between when the City of Upper Arlington approved Arcadia’s initial project plan and leading up to the demolition, the real estate developer tried twice to submit a modified plan, which reduced the amount of office space and increased the number of residential units. The city denied its requests both times.

Patton noted that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced Arcadia’s desire to reduce or remove the office space component of the Residence at Golden Bear, because demand for it was much lower and because the city had also refused to provide a tax incentive he said normally came with properties including office space.

“This set of circumstances was why our partnership with ODOD and the county is so important to the project, and we are very grateful to both the State of Ohio and the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation,” Patton said.

Marketing materials for the Residence at Golden Bear from Arcadia Development’s partner, Keller Williams Realty, also shed light on prices that the 76 condominiums there will go up for sale at. The range goes from one-bedroom homes starting at $329,770, two-bedroom homes starting at $551,000 and three-bedroom condos starting at $907,970. A spokeswoman for Keller Williams Realty confirmed that eight of the units are already under contract.

While the demolition is set for September, customers who enjoy the historic Golden Bear Center will have less time to visit their favorite stores again. Colin’s Coffee will remain open until Aug. 20 and, as of Tuesday, does not have plans to relocate. While Figlio Pizza will close even sooner on July 29, it will remain in business at its Grandview Heights and Dayton locations. Another long-time tenant, Zia Salon, will shutter without relocating but said some of its stylists would move on to other shops and continue seeing clients.