Lakewood – An agreement that will transform 65 acres of the Denver Federal Center into a major hospital and a transit center has been signed by Lakewood officials.
After a decade of working out details and documents, the agreement was reached Monday and will be forwarded to the U.S. General Services Administration for review and approval.
Lakewood will turn over the land to Catholic Health Initiatives, which will move St. Anthony Central Hospital to the site, and the Regional Transportation District, which will build a transit center including a park-n-Ride, bus turnaround and light-rail station.
“It’s pretty exciting about what’s going to happen on the site in the next five, 10, 15 years,” Lakewood Mayor Steve Burkholder said Tuesday in announcing the agreement. “This will be a huge job center – primary jobs.”
The price tag of the land, which has been declared surplus by the GSA, is $25 million, or $384,615.40 per acre.
Lakewood is acting as a broker on the deal, which does not involve taxpayer dollars. Footing the bill will be Catholic Health Initiatives, whose share is $19.25 million, and RTD, whose share is $5.7 million.
The amount is primarily cash, although Lakewood City Manager Mike Rock said there are credits or offsets for infrastructure work badly needed by the Federal Center, such as updating water and sewer lines and roads, and environmental cleanup.
Rock estimated a late August or early September closing on the purchase. Improvements will cost $6.7 million, with Catholic Health Initiatives and RTD bringing $17.8 million to closing.
The deal involves three parcels of land on the Federal Center’s west side out of nearly 700 acres occupied between West Sixth and West Alameda avenues and Kipling Street and Union Boulevard.
Hospital construction is expected to begin soon after closing on 30 acres, with room to expand on another 20 acres.
The $500 million seven-story hospital with 300 beds – the first hospital for the city of 144,000 – is expected to open in late 2009 or early 2010.
The hospital, rechristened as St. Anthony West, is moving from its cramped home of 115 years at 4231 W. 16th Ave.
“This is a critical milestone, the kicker in moving forward,” said George Zara, chief executive officer of St. Anthony.
RTD will close its 646-space Cold Spring park-n-Ride and have 1,000 spaces on the 15 acres it is acquiring about the same time St. Anthony opens.
FasTracks’ west line is set to open in early 2013, with light rail passing through the site.
“The agreement doesn’t really change our schedule, since we’re pretty much on track,” said FasTracks spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas.
The Lakewood City Council will take up the Federal Center annexation and rezoning Monday with a public hearing scheduled for July 9.
Staff writer Ann Schrader can be reached at 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com.
