The church that owns a unique parcel of agricultural land in the middle of the Denver metropolitan area is prepared to sell to a developer that plans to build a mixed-use, master planned community.
John Aguilar reports on the story of the Uplands development, proposed for a "150-acre perfect square of grass, corn and upturned soil" in the city of Westminster, outside of Denver, which boasts "exquisite views of the mountains and the city."
A rare break in the sea of rooftops that stretches uninterrupted from Broomfield to Denver and Thornton to Arvada, the field at the northwest corner of West 84th Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Westminster stands as a vestige of a Front Range agrarian past that’s largely been subsumed by ever-expanding suburbs.
The past owner of the land, Pillar of Fire church, is planning to sell the land to a developer with "plans to build 2,350 homes along with office, retail, civic and recreational areas, according to a recently launched website describing the project," reports Aguilar.
"Some of those homes and a portion of that commercial space is destined for several smaller parcels totaling 85 acres that the church owns adjacent to the farm. But the bulk of the development — dubbed Uplands — would happen on the 150-acre centerpiece plot bounded by Federal and Lowell boulevards and West 84th and 88th avenues."
As the details of the sale and the development proposal have emerged, a group of local residents has organized an effort to preserve some of the farm.
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