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January 1, 2015 VOLU M E 1 3 | I S SUE 50
LoneTreeVoice.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
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Lone Tree takes steps on bridge Designs will be presented to public in spring By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Mountain Vista senior Bailey Roby is shown during game action in January. Roby’s prosthetic legs led to him temporarily being ruled ineligible. File photo
Colorado Gov. John Hicklenooper embraces Desiree Davis on Aug. 16 at the dedication of Clarity Commons, a peaceful park-like memorial honoring her daughter Claire, who lost her life eight days after being shot by classmate Karl Pierson on Dec. 13, 2013. File photo
Jeff Pearce offers cookies to the more than 500 people waiting in line for the opening of the Park Meadows’ L.L. Bean store Nov. 21. The south metro area’s business community continued to flourish in 2014. File photo
Valor Christian quarterback Dylan McCaffrey runs the ball during the Nov. 29 Class 5A state championship game against Cherry Creek. The Bruins came back late to win the game and end Valor’s state title streak at five. File photo
South metro stories of the year A look at the top 10 of 2014 Staff report In the south metro Denver area, this past year was one of hope and change, inspiration and pain, growth and remembrance. The following are the top 10 stories of 2014, in no particular order, as chosen by Colorado Community Media’s editorial staff.
Business is booming
In November, Colorado’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent, the lowest since early 2008, before the recession slammed the country. The south metro area did its part in job creation in 2014, as businesses continued to find the region an attractive place to set up shop or expand. Some of the major developments of the year: • Sterling Ranch won another legal battle in February and forged ahead in northwest Douglas County. At build-out,
the development is expected to include more than 12,000 homes and spawn a number of businesses around it. • Charles Schwab opened its new Lone Tree campus in early October. As many as 4,000 employees are ultimately expected to work inside the office buildings. • Also in October, plans were unveiled for The Jones District, and early stages of groundwork began on the mixed-use development in Centennial. The project calls for 1.8 million square feet of resi-
Lone Tree’s leaders foresee the proposed Lincoln Avenue pedestrian bridge as much more than just a method for ensuring safe non-motorized passage over a busy throughway. They view it as a way to bridge the city’s two sides, and a potentially postcard-picturesque symbol of the rapidly growing, successful community. “I think we’ve got an opportunity to do something really special with it,” said Lone Tree public works director John Cotten. “We’d like to create something that will become kind of an icon for Lone Tree.” The city council on Dec. 16 approved a $156,000 contract with Fentress Architects — designers of Denver International Airport’s white canopied terminal and the Denver Broncos’ stadium — to create conceptual designs for the bridge. Those will be presented to the public next spring, with construction tentatively set to begin in August. The bridge likely would open in spring 2016. The approximately 170-foot structure would span Lincoln from just west of its intersection with Heritage Hills Circle, between Charles Schwab and the Lincoln Commons shopping center. “One of the things we want this bridge to do is sort of unify the city,” Cotten said. “There are some people who are starting to look at it as the north side and the south side. We need to be one city. We’re hoping this can be not only a physical but symbolic unification of the city. I think it has much greater implication than just getting people across the street.” Lone Tree annexed the six-square-mile RidgeGate development south of Lincoln Avenue in 2000. RidgeGate is home to the Lone Tree Arts Center and recreation center and is the future site of a new Lone Tree library. The north side of Lone Tree includes the post office, Cook Creek pool, current library, movie theater and Park Meadows shopping center. With such widely popular amenities on both sides of Lincoln, demand for easy pedestrian and bicycle access across the increasingly busy Lincoln Avenue is growing fast. Bridge continues on Page 9
dential, commercial and retail establishments. • In November, a $177 million project broke ground in Castle Rock. The Promenade at Castle Rock will feature 1 million square feet of retail and dining establishments. Meanwhile, national retailers continued to pick the south metro area as their first Colorado home. Following in the footsteps of IKEA and Cabela’s in recent years, L.L. Bean chose the area, opening in Lone Tree in November. At the same time, the area continued to grow into something of a hub for the craft beer industry, with breweries popping up, particularly along the C-470 corridor.
Community seeks answers, healing
The Dec. 13, 2013 shooting at Arapahoe High School left two students dead, and painful emotions and questions swirled into 2014. The biggest question seemed to be this: Could the school district have Year end continues on Page 4
A proposed pedestrian bridge would span Lincoln Avenue just west of Heritage Hills Circle between the buildings that house Bank of the West and Chipotle, on the far right in this photo. Photo by Jane Reuter