DEL MAR — The owners of Flower Hill Promenade are hoping the second time’s a charm as they submit new renovation plans to the city of San Diego for the Del Mar shopping center.

Meanwhile, area residents and community groups will have an opportunity to view the redesign at an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. April 27 at the promenade at 2720 Via de la Valle.

When Protea Properties bought the 14-acre site in 2002, everyone agreed it needed rejuvenation. “We gathered community input, and in 2003 we gave it to the architects. The original plan is what the architects came up with without any major parameters other than zoning requirements. They were given free rein,” said property manager M. Rose Jabin.

Although the original plans met all the city requirements, many community members and some government agencies had concerns about increased traffic and the overall size of the project. It even prompted the formation of an opposition group, Citizens Against Flower Hill’s Expansion.

New architects were hired and more community input was gathered. The result is a redesign the owners believe will be satisfactory to everyone.

“The new plan fixes the problems while making the owners and tenants happy. The center must be competitive,” Jabin said. Rather than bring in large national retail stores, the goal is to retain many of the familiar locally owned shops. “We want to keep it that way. It’s what the community wants,” she said.

As for the redesign, it’s out with the old, in with the new and back in with the old. A major community concern was late-night noise and traffic generated by the movie theater. To alleviate those problems, Protea opted not to renew the UltraStar lease, noting that the theater has a complex a few miles away on Del Mar Heights Road.

In its place will be a Whole Foods Market, which will include second-story boutique office space. That replaces a 56,000-square-foot office building on top of an underground parking structure that was a major objection in the 2005 renovation plans.

Another area of concern was the east entrance to the complex. The existing entrance will be closed off and moved north on San Andres Drive. A left-turn lane will be added to eliminate traffic backing up onto Via de la Valle.

The 2005 plans also called for the removal of the Mobile station. “The community loved to use that gas station,” Jabin said, so it was added back into the new plans. “It’s one of the highest grossing stations in San Diego County.”

Once completed, there will be 938 parking spaces — 185 more than the center currently offers but 472 fewer than the 2005 design. Retail space will expand from the existing 94,851 square feet to 103,226 square feet, a 62,774-square-foot decrease from the 2005 plan. Office space, currently not available at Flower Hill Promenade, will total 26,500 square feet.

The April 27 open house will feature comparison charts and renderings of the new design. Architects, traffic control officials, the property manager and representatives from Protea are expected to be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Community members will also have a chance to provide feedback. In fact, Jabin said there will be several opportunities for public opinion before construction begins.

“There will still be public hearings. There will be plenty of opportunities for community input,” she said. “We’ll be conducting a marketing survey. That will help drive what we do. It has to work for everyone. It’s challenging to bring that all together, but so far the majority of the people are happy with the changes.”

Visit www.flowerhill.com for more renovation details.