Super Target to Anchor Saddle Rock Village

Saddle Rock is a joint venture between Forest City and privately held JCI Development, which is based in Los Angeles. Cleveland-based Forest City is developing the former Stapleton International Airport, which has been described as the largest infill development in a major metropolitan area.

Grading and site construction are underway on the first phase of Saddle Rock Village, targeted to open in March.

Saddle Rock Village will span both sides of the E-470 toll road.

Phase I, on the north side, consists of more than 400,000 sf and will include approximately 30 additional retailers. Phase II, on the south side, will consist of three major anchors and 20 additional stores.

"Target is an attractive anchor from both a consumer and a commercial viewpoint," says Brian Jones, president of Forest City Development California.

"Saddle Rock Village is strategically positioned in an area with solid development and the highest average household income in the region as a result of the completion of E-470," says Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer. "It is strategically positioned to benefit from traffic to and from Denver International Airport, the fifth busiest airport in the US."

Aurora is the closest city to Denver International Airport, which is a 15-minute drive from the city's center.

"The combination of easy access and high visibility along E-470 will provide retailers with a tremendous opportunity to serve the needs of this highly affluent and well-educated population," says Jeff Isenstadt, president of JCI Development. "These demographics correlate with high retail spending. More than 83% of the population aged 25 and older attended college, and the 2003 average household income was $87,000."

Residential development is soaring in the trade area.

"More than three dozen residential projects will add an estimated 85,000 new homes and 200,000 residents along the E-470 corridor from I-25 to I-70in the next two decades," Isenstadt notes. "More than 41,000 residential units are under construction or planned to be completed by 2010."

In addition, Aurora is home to more than 10,000 businesses and employs more than 100,000 people, including 35,000 highly educated professionals at the newly developed Fitzsimons Life Sciences facility. "Denver is one of our core markets for development," Jones says. "We are building more than four million sf of retail in the greater Denver area because we believe in the growth pattern we are observing."