Overview
Along Commerce City’s southern border with Denver sits a long-vacant former landfill site at E. 48th Avenue and Ivy Street. The 65-acre property has been idle for decades, in need of cleanup and significant investment to become more than a patch of weeds ripe for illegal dumping. Today, thanks to a partnership between the Commerce City Urban Renewal Authority (CCURA) and developer CA Ventures, a plan is in place to bring a new and beneficial use to the site.

Documents

Sand Creek Business Area Urban Renewal Plan - Adopted July 2022

Plan Overview

CA Ventures intends to build six buildings at the location (known as the Triangle Logistics Park) to house industrial distribution companies, using the space to benefit area commerce, add to the city’s employment numbers and tax base, and transform an underused area into a productive space. This gives the site an eligible and safe use that aligns well with other properties in this mostly industrial area (residential or schools are not allowed on the property due to environmental regulations).

Before any of that can occur, the location needs infrastructure upgrades and cleanup and remediation efforts in accordance with requirements from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The developer also plans to work with the EPA on features such as LEED certified buildings, reducing the production of greenhouse gases, outdoor open space with native vegetation, and encouraging low impact transportation for employees through upgraded bus shelters, bike racks, etc.

The CCURA and City Council have voted to designate the site as an official urban renewal area, which allows the use of tax increment financing (TIF) to invest in the cost of cleaning up the site and improving several area roadways. As property values rise due to the redevelopment, TIF captures the extra tax money being generated to help pay back those costs that made the project possible.

Without these efforts, the former Sand Creek Landfill site would likely remain just that. Instead, the developer intends start remediation efforts and construction of the industrial distribution center before the end of this year.

Learn more about other urban renewal projects in the city at c3gov.com/URA.