2003 Public/Private Partnership Awards

The City of Denver and MWH Americas, Parson Corporation and URS Corporation: Stapleton International Airport

Denver's Stapleton International Airport Redevelopment project addresses factors critical to the success of public/private partnerships, including improved delivery of services, innovation and creativity, sustainability, cost savings, impact on the city economy, documented benefits to both partners and measurable results.

In the 1990s, Mayor Wellington E. Webb's Administration faced four huge development/redevelopment challenges in the City and County of Denver (City) with the closure and reuse of Lowry Air Force Base, reuse of the Central Platte Valley, construction and development of the new Denver International Airport, and Stapleton reuse. The redevelopment of the former Stapleton International Airport presented unprecedented challenges and opportunities for the City. The 7.5 square-mile area served Denver's aviation needs for more than 65 years. When redevelopment is complete, it will provide homes for 30,000 Denver residents, jobs for 35,000, and enjoyment for all metropolitan-area residents with additional urban wildlife habitat and parkland.

To date the Stapleton redevelopment project has resulted in the following:

  • Sixty homes are now occupied in Stapleton's first residential neighborhood, with another 400 currently under construction. Housing ownership at Stapleton is so popular that a lottery has been created to parcel out completed housing. Ultimately, 12,000 housing units will be built at Stapleton.
  • A 100-unit affordable senior housing project is currently under construction.
  • More than 750,000 square feet of retail are under construction in the first retail center in this area of Denver, including national retailers Sam's Club, Home Depot, The Office Depot, and Wal-Mart among others.
  • 1,200 new permanent jobs have been created at the new Stapleton retail power center.
  • In the first phases of the infrastructure development, 18 minority or women-owned business enterprise contractors have already received over $7.2 million (22%) of the total contract dollars to date and 210 of the 352 employees (59%) working on that infrastructure are women or minorities. In the first 18 months, 74 minority or women-owned companies have already been involved in some aspect of the redevelopment of the former Stapleton, representing more than $17 million in work.
  • The first charter/public school shared campus is under construction and will open doors to its first students in August 2003.
  • The first three neighborhood parks are completed, and 400 acres of regional open space are currently under construction. Renovations to the existing15-acre Fred Thomas Community Park have been completed.
  • To date 122 structures totaling 7 million square feet of space, over 5 miles of asphalt road and parking lot paving, 60 miles of buried utility construction, 12 major bridge structures carrying runways and taxiways over interstate highways, a main railroad line, and a river have been removed. Over 3.2 million cubic years of concrete and asphalt and more that 200,000 tons of metals have been recycled.

In addition to receiving an Award for Excellence from the Mayors Business Council, the project has received international recognition at the Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities by the King of Sweden in June 2002. For more information, contact Richard Pilgrim, Vice President, URS Corporation, 1225 303.299.7833; Allan Udin, Vice President, Parson Corporation, 303.831-8100; allan.udin.parsons.com; Michael Musgrave; Vice President. Montgomery Watson Harza, 720.865.2957; mmusgrave@harza.com or Laura Elena Aldrete, City of Denver, 720.865.2957; laura.aldrete@ci.denver.us.