A 74-acre patch of dirt in Green Valley Ranch could eventually host nearly 700 apartments, commercial space and more.
However, the Denver City Council delayed an approval for the project by two months due to one member’s concerns about park space.
The Denver Spur project has been in the works since 2022 and would transform a long-vacant field. The project sits just east of Peña Boulevard and north of Green Valley Ranch Boulevard in Denver’s most northeastern neighborhood.
While previous proposals once promised up to 1,800 rental units and tens of thousands of square feet of commercial development, the current development plan is much smaller.
Wall Development Group and Equity Ventures Commercial Development now plan to build 684 apartment units. About a quarter of that would be restricted to households making up to 60% of the area median income — about $67,000 for a two-person household — or up to 30% percent of the AMI, which is about $33,000.
Additionally, the developer has agreed to sell 17 acres of the land to Denver Public Schools for a future K-8 school. There are also plans for a community-serving space and a new park.
The rezoning will create a “greater mix of uses at greater density promoting more walkability and pedestrian friendliness” compared to the land’s previous zoning district, according to Libbie Glick with Denver’s Community Planning and Development department. The new zoning district also allows for drive-throughs, a staple in Green Valley Ranch.
Public comment was light, but the rezoning was delayed.
From the public’s perspective, this was a relatively uncontroversial rezoning. Three people spoke during the hearing, all in support. The local neighborhood organization also expressed support for the rezoning.
However, Councilmember Stacie Gilmore was concerned about the development’s plans for parks. The developers are giving about 6 acres of land to the city for a new park, as well as maintaining about 5 acres of private green space.
Gilmore — who in recent months has been a staunch critic of Denver Parks and Recreation after her husband was laid off from the department amid Denver’s budget crunch — said the department didn’t do its “proper homework” on the agreement. A parks and recreation representative was not present to answer Gilmore's questions.
For months, Gilmore has been critiquing a separate department decision to provide less funding for a Green Valley Ranch parks maintenance facility compared to a similar building downtown. On Monday, Gilmore questioned how the parks department would maintain a new park without a full maintenance facility.
“I would like to postpone this to a date certain so that there can be more i's dotted and t's crossed so that District 11 doesn't get shortchanged park land,” she said.
The rezoning vote was rescheduled to June 8. A representative of the developers said the change won’t interfere with the project.
Development has boomed in Green Valley Ranch, due in part to the city’s continued investment in Denver International Airport. The neighborhood is now home to sprawling single-family cul-de-sacs, as well as a good mix of apartments and condos.
The neighborhood has experienced growing pains. Residents have complained of a lack of investment from the city and neighbors have pushed the airport to study changes to Peña Boulevard, which is increasingly jammed with traffic.
