ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- It took several years, but now things will move quickly just south of Denver International Airport, as more than 20,000 homes are planned and possibly tens of thousands of jobs expected as part of the Aerotropolis development.
City and county leaders have taken the next steps so that building for the housing component of the project can begin as soon as next month.
Aurora City Council, The Board of County Commissioners of Adams County and the Aerotropolis Area Coordinating Metropolitan District executed an intergovernmental agreement establishing the Aerotroplis Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The RTA will oversee the budget and phasing plans for critical improvements to the infrastructure.
The 21,000-acre site will be a community of new homes and businesses centered around the airport.
With the implementation of the RTA, Aurora Highlands, LLC can break ground on the construction and development of The Aurora Highlands, a 5,000-acre mixed-use, 23,000-unit master-planned community. According to Cohn Marketing’s press release, the housing options offered will fill the needs of the market’s current demand, from attached product starting in the $200,000s to single-family detached homes priced to $1 million and up.
Amy Larson with Cohn Marketing, the group working on the Aurora Highlands development, spoke to Denver7 about the project.
"Our goal is to help fill in some of the housing shortage that Colorado -- and Denver especially -- is facing right now, and across a wide variety of economic opportunities so that it can be home to everyone."
Denver7 asked about the noise concerns for future residents living so close to DIA or in and near the flight paths. Adams County Commissioner Chaz Tedesco explained that as per an agreement with DIA, reached in 1988, there are restrictions for building residences in “noise corridors”.
"We've already designated the areas for the flight paths from the airlines and so there are restrictions in height, whether it can be commercial, whether it can be retail and there are restrictions on where you can put residential," said Tedesco.
All said and done, Aerotropolis could rival the size of the Denver Tech Center, bringing tens of thousands of jobs. Of course, that size of project begs for new roads like new interchanges on E-470 and I-70 and extending major roads. Plans also include public parks, rec centers and medical campuses.
"Create an area of work, live, play. (The idea) is to keep everyone in the area while accessing the advantages of the DIA,” said Tedesco.