Four teams are vying for the opportunity to develop an area of Arapahoe County roughly the size of Stapleton. It will be used for housing, offices, stores and open space.
A year ago, the state Board of Land Commissioners asked developers for proposals for 3,000 acres on the former Lowry bombing range west of Watkins Road, between East Quincy and Yale avenues.
It also asked for conservation proposals for an additional 23,000 acres.
“The overall goal is they want to see something different, not just another development project,” said Melissa Yoder, Lowry Range project manager.
Sustainability and environmentally friendly building will be important components.
The land board’s mission is to produce revenue from state- owned lands held in trust for the benefit of kindergarten- through-12th-grade public education.
All but one of the teams submitted proposals for both the development and the conservation work. Arapahoe Grasslands Conservation is interested only in the conservation acreage. Its team members include the Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land, the city of Aurora and the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Teams submitting proposals for both sites are:
LRPG LLC, headed by Denver banker Donald Sturm. Sturm is working with Lee Alpert, Larry Canarelli, Pat Hamill and Ted Alpert.
Sturm said his team would prefer that the project not be split into two parts.
“It would behoove everybody to have one company do the whole thing,” he said.
Carma Colorado Inc., a Canadian development firm with local projects such as Tallyn’s Reach in Aurora, Brighton Crossing in Brighton, Solterra in Lakewood and Bayshore in Weld County.
Lend Lease Communities, an Australian company planning a $185 million development on 500 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate 70 and the E-470 toll road in Aurora.
“Lowry would be a synthesis of all the experience the global Lend Lease brings to the table,” said Tara McAdam, a Lend Lease spokeswoman. “We build master-planned communities that are fully sustainable from an economic and social perspective.”
The teams will appear before the Land Board on Nov. 7 and 8 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Boettcher Auditorium of the Colorado Historical Society Museum, 1300 Broadway in Denver.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
Lowry project
Arapahoe Grasslands Conservation: Team includes Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, city of Aurora and Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
LRPG LLC: Headed by Denver banker Donald Sturm
Carma Colorado Inc.: Canadian developer with projects around suburban Denver
Lend Lease Communities: Australian company planning a development at Interstate 70 and E-470
