Developer floats 2,900-acre project south of DIA
A 2,900-acre development has been proposed for a portion of the 21,000-acre Aerotropolis area south of Denver International Airport, according to a release Monday sent by the development group, Aurora Highlands LLC.
The Aurora Highlands is a mixed-use development that could eventually grow to 5,000 acres, according to the release, home to 23,000 families as well as office, retail and industrial space and parks and recreation. Homes are anticipated to range in price from $200,000 to $1 million.
Aurora Highlands did not provide specific location of the development.
The project’s developer is listed as Aurora Highlands LLC, which was first registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office in early 2015.
The principals of the “have a combined proven track record of successful development of nearly 100,000 homes throughout the southwestern United States,” according to the release, including a project called Shadow Creek Ranch near Houston.
According to that development’s website, it is a 3,500-acre master-planned community led by principals Gary Cook and Carlo Ferriera, but only Ferriera is involved in the Highlands Aurora project, a representative for the developer said.
The city of Aurora had received no plans for the development as of midday Monday, according to a city spokeswoman, but the plan needs approval from the Aurora City Council before it can move forward.
“We told them that we weren’t going to engage in speculative negotiation,” Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan told the Aurora Sentinel. “We needed to know what they were proposing before we were going to sit down and seriously talk about it, so it’s taken some time.”
Officials with Adams County could not be reached for comment Monday.
Discussions have been going on with Aurora city staff and elected officials since 2016, according to a representative for the development team. Some discussions took place in executive sessions, which are closed-door meetings.
