Jefferson County Site Gets $1B Makeover

ARVADA, CO-The Arvada City Council with little fanfare recently completed the rezoning of Vauxmont, name of the largest planned development in Jefferson County, and the smaller Cimarron Park, where a $1-billion mixed-use development is eventually expected to take place. Together, the properties consist of nearly 1,500 acres, with about 1,100 acres of it at Vauxmont. The two developments cover more than four miles from Indian Street to Colorado 93 and a mile from Rocky Flat to Colorado 72.

Planned developments on Vauxmont include 137 acres of commercial use, 562 acres of industrial use, 518 residential units, parks and open space. Several years ago, the developer, Bruce Nickerson, estimated the land could eventually house 8.7 million sf of office and industrial space, which eventually could employ 22,566 people, although he said it would likely never be built to the full density. There’s also room for a maximum of 518 single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums.

Cimarron Park covers 426 acres off Indiana Street and West 96th Avenue. It is zoned for 133 acres of retail and 23 acres for office and industrial uses, Cimarron Park also could have as many as 1,700 single-family homes, townhouses condos and apartments.

The two developments are part of an 18,000-acre spread known as Jefferson Center, which covers 28 square miles and at one point was going to be developed into the Denver Tech Center of the North. Environmentalists called the potential development sprawl. It never got off the ground and a big portion of the land eventually was preserved as open space, after being purchased by Jefferson County, Boulder and Arvada.