The Arvada Ridge Marketplace is an outdoor retail center redeveloped by AURA home to 15 different shops and restaurants anchored by a Super Target. The Marketplace is a half mile north of I-70 on Kipling, a key gateway to the City of Arvada. The Marketplace is a short walk from the Arvada Ridge Rail Station, an important public transportation hub for the city.
Before redevelopment, this stretch of Kipling was the site of the abandoned and dilapidated Colorado State Home and Training School, also known as Ridge Home. Ridge Home was founded in 1909 and grew to a campus of more than 50 buildings on 68 acres. The institution was abandoned abruptly in 1992 due to budget constraints. The facility closed so quickly that beds, medical equipment, toys, and classroom materials were left behind.
The vacant buildings posed many difficulties to redevelopment due to expensive environmental abatement needs. The high costs to remove asbestos and other environmental contaminants, and expensive new infrastructure requirements, made it untenable for private developers to tackle the project. AURA stepped in to help create and fund a path forward to remove the unsafe, crumbling buildings that were a magnet for crime.
AURA helped orchestrate the Ridge Home redevelopment in three phases:
Phase 1 was the completion of Arvada Ridge Marketplace.
Phase 2 was the construction of Arvada Station at Arvada Ridge, a $55 million, 380-unit market-rate, multi-family development across the street from the commuter rail station.
Phase 3 was the development of the Gateway at Arvada Ridge, a 298-unit market-rate housing complex, approximately 11 acres north of the Arvada Ridge Station.
This long-term project transformed a grossly underutilized and unsafe property into a new thriving center for activity, services, and residences.
