Golden – Construction on the new Alameda Parkway interchange at C-470, opening the door for residential and commercial development in the Rooney Valley, will begin Oct. 18.
“The new interchange helps get 2 million square feet of office space built, and that’s a lot of office space,” said John Mullins, a planner on numerous area developments.
The interchange is expected to be completed by June 30.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 employees eventually may work in the 2,200-acre valley, Mullins said, “although it will take 20 years to get there.”
Jefferson County and Lakewood are bearing about half the cost. Officials say the Rooney Valley has the potential to provide office space for much-desired, high-paying jobs and homes for those workers.
Lakewood city manager Mike Rock calls the area “Tech Center West,” a term Jefferson County Commissioner Kevin McCasky uses in touting the economic development prospects.
The interchange will cost about $18 million, with Lakewood paying $3 million; Jefferson County paying $6 million; and Carma Inc., which has begun building a 1,300-unit housing development in the valley, paying the rest.
More than half of the interchange right of way has been donated by the Rooney family, which Mullins called “extraordinary.”
Payback on the interchange cost will come from fees associated with commercial and retail development.
The first area to be developed will be 32 acres southeast of the interchange. Mullins said it probably will be a retail center anchored by a grocery store, although no tenants have been signed yet.
In an April rezoning, Jefferson County commissioners put a 35-foot lid on building heights and created guidelines that discourage big-box stores.
Ann Schrader: 303-278-3217 or aschrader@denverpost.com
NUMBERS
$18 million
Cost of the interchange
2 million
Square feet of office space planned
15,000-20,000
Employees will eventually work in that office space
1,300
Housing units to be constructed
