Over the last five years, the redevelopment of Stapleton has generated $5.7 billion in economic impact, an amount that’s expected to grow to $36.3 billion by the time construction is complete in 2020, according to a study released Wednesday.
More people than expected – and fewer businesses – have located in Stapleton, said Dick Anderson, president and chief executive of the Stapleton Development Corp.
At the end of 2005, about 6,100 people lived in 2,300 homes on the former site of Denver’s Stapleton International Airport. About 13,300 employees worked in 6.4 million square feet of commercial space.
Nobel/Sysco Food Services built a $40 million facility at Stapleton and moved into it last year, but so far it is the only large company to locate there.
“We expected two or three by now,” Anderson said.
When finished, the 4,700-acre development will include 12,000 homes and apartments, 13 million square feet of commercial space and more than 1,100 acres of parks and open space. It will have about 30,000 residents.
“Many of us envisioned Stapleton developing in little chunks,” said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Council. “But (Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises) came in with this aggressive master plan, and the impact became exponential.”
Other highlights of the study include:
Construction investment of $1.5 billion.
Construction-worker payroll of $455.1 million.
At buildout, the project will employ about 39,770 people earning an average annual wage of $49,894.
Separately, Forest City Enterprises won approval Wednesday from the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority to take the lead in developing a biotech park at the campus, adjacent to Stapleton.
As Forest City recruits companies to the bioscience park, it stands to attract businesses offering complementary goods and services to Stapleton, said Jill Farnham, the authority’s chief executive.
“Fitzsimons is an employment center, and Stapleton is a residential center, so the live-work connection between the two is fairly obvious,” she said. “But Forest City’s (work at the park) does provide an opportunity for light industrial and manufacturing types of uses in the life-sciences arena to relocate in Stapleton. It’s another link to explore.”
Staff writer Christine Tatum contributed to this report.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
More online: The study is available at www.stapletondenver.com
