From 21,000 Acres to 1,451 Acres: the Greening of Candelas

In the mid- to late 1980s, when Colorado’s economy was not only stagnating but declining, Arvada was seeking ways to assure a brighter economic future.

Thus it was that in the same year (1989) national headlines such as Denver’s Rocky Road Mile-High Heap of Economic Problems Jars New West Hub Out of ‘Golden Age’ (San Jose Mercury News) described the economic woes of Colorado, the Arvada City Council approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Jefferson County and the Jefferson Center Metropolitan District to move forward with a 21,000-acre development plan called the Jefferson Center.

Described as a 50-year project which would blend into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Jefferson Center was widely supported by Arvada residents who were experiencing declining property values and the out-migration of jobs and residents.

But sometime during the last two decades, as the Colorado economy re-bounded in the 1990s and preservation of open space became a priority, as managing growth and environmental sustainability became not just “buzz words” but sound policy, an amazing thing happened. 

What was a 21,000 acre development that extended well into the foothills and up Coal Creek Canyon transformed into a 1,451 acre mixed-use community that is 99% east of State Highway 93, surrounded by thousands of acres of publicly owned open space and wildlife preserves.

Over the years, the name of the development changed, from Jefferson Center to Vauxmont/Cimarron and finally to Candelas.  As the name changed, so did the vision.  In 1999 the City of Arvada, Jefferson County Open Space, and the Denver Water Board purchased the 2,825 Leyden Gulch property at the southwest corner of State Highways 93 and 72; the City of Boulder and the Conservation Fund purchased the 1,500 acre Jewel Mountain property at the northwest corner.  Other properties originally within the boundaries of the 21,000 acre Jefferson Center, including the present-day Long Lake Ranch recreation facility and over 800 acres to the north of the Arvada Reservoir, were added to the open space inventory.   By the year 2000, the City of Arvada had rezoned and downsized the original Jefferson Center.  In 2005 the City’s Comprehensive Plan was amended to reflect the changed vision for the Jefferson Center and an outline development plan was approved.  In April of 2008, the development plan was revised to make modifications to the commercial/office and residential mix.

The 1,451-acre Candelas development will focus on emerging high technology industries to generate new primary jobs, produce substantial sales tax revenue streams for the City of Arvada, and improve the jobs/housing balance for the community.  Developers plan to leverage progressive technology such as fiber-optic broadband and renewable energy solutions.  An advanced network infrastructure will provide accelerated communication, data connectivity, and telecommuting capabilities.

From a 1989 plan that would have doubled the size of Arvada to a dramatically more sustainable 2008 vision that allows for a jobs/housing balance and enhanced revenue stream for our community surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of permanent open space, Candelas is a development about which Arvadans can be proud.