ARVADA, CO-Shea Properties has formed a joint venture with Denver-based Peregrine Group Development to develop a 68-acre infill site called Arvada Ridge in this first-ring city just northwest of Denver. The project is at the northwest corner of West 50th Avenue and Kipling Street, just north of Interstate 70 and the Kipling interchange.

Arvada Ridge will include retail space anchored by a Super Target, residential and office units and a transit-oriented site. The completed value in today's dollars is estimated between $125 million and $140 million.

Simultaneous with the land purchase, the venture sold 14.7 acres to Target Corp. for a 176,000-sf Super Target store that is scheduled to open by October. "The Arvada Ridge project has a great balance of commercial and residential uses that allows us to leverage Shea's residential and commercial expertise," says Jeff Willis, vice president of land acquisition for Shea. In addition to Peregrine, Shea will be working with the City of Arvada and the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority on the project.

Arvada Ridge will include 45,000 sf of in-line retail space, five retail pad sites, 48,000 sf of office and industrial space and a 4.9-acre transit-oriented development site. The project will also include 300 to 600 residential units on 25 acres and a Gold Line light-rail station.

Richard Schierburg, president of Peregrine, has been working on the development for years. "Shea's experience in mixed-use developments will be a tremendous asset in building out both the retail and the residential portions of the project," he says. "In addition, Shea's reputation as a first-class developer will support our overall objective of making Arvada Ridge, situated in a strategic location just off a major freeway interchange, an attractive and pedestrian-friendly gateway into the City of Arvada."

Shea and Peregrine will likely develop the entirety of the property--formerly the state-operated Ridge Home Regional Center--including the residential, retail, office and industrial space and transit-oriented development. The Shea Family of Cos. is headquartered in Walnut, CA. Shea is the master developer of Highlands Ranch and Reunion in Colorado, two large master-planned communities. In Colorado, Shea has developed more than two million sf of office, industrial, office/flex and retail space and is the managing member in the development of Commerce City Plaza, a project which includes a grocery-anchored shopping center and two retail pads. Shea was also selected to exclusively negotiate with the University of Colorado Health SciencesCenter for the redevelopment of the University's Ninth Avenue campus.

Peregrine Group Development was launched by Schierburg in 1999. In addition to Arvada Ridge, Peregrine is currently developing projects in Castle Rock and Colorado Springs.