Mile High Greyhound Park
The former Mile High Greyhound Park site is currently being redeveloped into a vibrant, mixed-use area in the heart of Commerce City. With land devoted to residential, retail/commercial, open space and multi-cultural/educational uses, the property is poised to help revitalize the area and regain its place as an important community hub. The vision for the 65-acre site was developed after thoughtful consideration of resident feedback throughout the process.
Purchased by the Commerce City Urban Renewal Authority (CCURA) in 2011, the site is an officially designated urban renewal area, which allows tax increment financing (TIF) to be used as a funding source for the redevelopment. The CCURA and city council adopted an updated Master Developer Agreement for the site in July 2019, and the project broke ground in October 2020. Construction is now well underway, with new and ongoing progress visible on the site.
Learn more about residential opportunities on the site and and an updated vision of the redevelopment at MyGreyhoundPark.com. (Website hosted by the site master developer, Delwest Development Corp.)
Development Overview and Updates
December 2021 Update
If you've driven past the former Mile High Greyhound Park property recently, you have likely already noticed the continuing progress being made on the redevelopment project. Different types of residential units are popping up across the site, while efforts to secure retail and other commercial partners to join this exciting mixed-use development are ongoing.
The Commerce City Urban Renewal Authority (CCURA) has executed a letter of intent with a hotel developer to build a Woodspring Suites Extended Stay Hotel on the west side of the property near Highway 2. Negotiations on a purchase and sale agreement for that portion of the property are underway with the goal of starting construction in 2022. Once underway, the four-story, 122-room hotel should be complete within a year of construction starting. A handful of single-family homes have already been completed on the northern edge of the property along E. 64th Avenue. The first residents moved into their new homes on the property in November, with more expected in the coming months as additional homes are completed.
A park in the center of the property along Glencoe Street has also been built, and a series of duplexes on the northern part of the property are set to start construction next year. On the southern edge of the property along E. 62nd Avenue, progress continues on “The Landing,” a four-story, 233-unit, income-restricted apartment building. The building will feature everything from studio apartments to three-bedroom units, along with a ground-level community art/event gallery, a coffee shop, and more. The building is expected to be ready to open in fall 2022.
Additional planning continues on commercial, retail, and institutional parcels on the west side of the property. In the years to come, the site will also feature townhomes and affordable housing units, along with a $2.5 million expansion of the regional drainage pond on the eastern edge to benefit surrounding neighborhoods.
July 2021 Update
Construction on the Mile High Greyhound Park redevelopment project is in full swing, with site infrastructure installed and multiple housing types currently under construction. Pictured here is progress on “The Landing,” a four-story, 233-unit, income-restricted apartment building set to open in 2022 along E. 62nd Avenue at the property’s southern edge. Further north on the site, single-family homes are also under construction and building on duplexes is scheduled to start in the fall.
Land Sale and Start of Construction
The CCURA and master developer Delwest Development Corp. closed on the sale of nearly 40 acres of the 65-acre site on September 1, 2020. In a milestone years in the making for the public-private partnership, the agreement cleared the way for infrastructure construction. A groundbreaking ceremony on October 6, 2020 officially celebrated the highly anticipated start of construction on the project.
Water and sewer lines, roads, and a regional drainage facility at the northeast edge of the property are among the first aspects of site infrastructure being constructed. The first vertical construction to occur on the property (starting in late 2020 or early 2021) will be residential units, including single-family homes on the north side and affordable housing units near E. 62nd Avenue and Parkway Drive. These units, along with townhomes and market-rate apartments, will be built over the next 3-5 years to serve a spectrum of housing needs. Delwest is also actively seeking partners for commercial and educational portions of the site.
Background
For more than 60 years, the former Mile High Greyhound Park was a vibrant entertainment destination, drawing thousands of people from across Colorado. An economic engine for the city, the park employed hundreds of residents and sales tax revenues were reinvested in community projects. When greyhound racing ended in 2008, visitors and activity in the historic heart of Commerce City slowed. The Commerce City Urban Renewal Authority purchased the property in August 2011, intent on redeveloping the site as an economic engine for a new generation. Demolition of existing structures was completed in 2013 to prepare the property for development. The Suncor Boys & Girls Club opened in 2015 on 2.5 acres of land donated by the CCURA to anchor the southeast corner of the redevelopment.
Project Vision
The community-supported vision for the site is a diverse mixed-use development that at full build out could create 1,454 permanent employees, generating $65.4 million in income on an annual basis.
Development Goals
- Create a flexible, master framework plan
- Create a mixed-use and multi-use neighborhood
- Provide a variety of retail and commercial development options
- Create a community destination and sense of place
- Provide space for the Boys & Girls Club and other service organizations
- Hold a portion of the property for an institutional anchor while pursing development on the remainder of the property.
The CCURA has invested more than $6 million in the property to date, including the abatement and demolition of 157,947 square feet of structures. Located in a Colorado Enterprise Zone and Urban Renewal Area, with access to several interstates and highways, the 65-acre site is a blank canvas to turn the vision into a reality that benefits the city and region for years to come.
Master Developer Agreement
An updated Master Developer Agreement (MDA) was approved by city council and the CCURA in August 2020, replacing previous iterations of the MDA. The MDA had previously been updated in 2019 to make Delwest the master developer for the site. Highlights of the amended MDA and other associated agreements include:
- $9.5 million Purchase & Sale Agreement for Delwest to buy all residential land on the property (approximately 40 of the 65 acres) by Spring 2020 (timelines extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Deadline for infrastructure construction to break ground by Summer 2020 (timelines extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- A 5-year period for Delwest to exclusively market commercial areas of the site and receive half the proceeds from all commercial land sales
- CCURA commitment to start construction on $2.5 million expansion of the regional drainage pond within 18 months of the sale of the residential land
- CCURA to keep all tax revenues obtained over the 25-year TIF period to repay the city’s investment in the project
As Delwest took over as the master developer in 2019, REGen, LLC (master developer from the original 2016 MDA) transitioned to become an owner’s representative. REGen is assisting the CCURA and city staff with the development process until infrastructure construction is complete.
Important Documents
Urban Renewal Plan
The Mile High Greyhound Park Urban Renewal Plan is designed to help provide important services, attract private investment, utilize underdeveloped land and leverage public investment and funding options to provide necessary public infrastructure. As required by law, the plan includes agreements with other agencies who collect taxes from the property (Adams 14 School District, Adams County and the South Adams County Fire District) in order to allow the use of TIF to fund infrastructure construction on the site. The plan was approved by the CCURA board in the city council in June 2018.
Zoning Approval
Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning unique to the Mile High Greyhound Park site was approved in January 2017 to guide development on the site. The proposed zoning plan was presented to residents at a public meeting in September 2016 at Central Elementary. Learn more about PUD zoning.
Design Standards and Guidelines for the project were approved by the CCURA on Nov. 18, 2019.
Contact Us
Delwest - Master Developer
info@delwest.com