Council approves Lutheran Legacy Campus urban renewal plan to push redevelopment of former hospital site
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Summary
Wheat Ridge council unanimously approved Resolution 46-2025 to designate the former Lutheran Hospital campus as an urban renewal area, finding blight and authorizing tax-increment financing to support redevelopment into housing, retail and civic uses.
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — The Wheat Ridge City Council voted unanimously Monday to adopt the Lutheran Legacy Campus Urban Renewal Plan, designating roughly 112 acres that include the former Lutheran Hospital campus as blighted and eligible for urban renewal and tax-increment financing (TIF).
Resolution 46-2025 authorizes Renewal Wheat Ridge to pursue TIF and related improvements on the site, which consultant analysis described as a large infill opportunity with over 50 acres of vacant land and a recently vacated hospital building.
Sarah Dunmeyer of Economic & Planning Systems presented the conditions survey and plan summary, saying the study found six of the 11 statutory blight factors on-site, including poor internal circulation, cracked pavement and walkways, vandalism and litter, deteriorated site improvements and more than 50 acres of vacant land. She said the plan follows recommendations in the Lutheran Legacy Campus master plan, envisioning a mix of residential types (single-family attached, townhomes and multifamily), limited retail, potential civic reuse of existing buildings, trails along the Rocky Mountain Ditch, and improved connectivity to surrounding neighborhoods.
Dunmeyer presented a TIF forecast that assumed a 93% pledge of available mills to TIF and used retail sales assumptions of $300 per sq. ft. for about 8,000 sq. ft. of taxable retail. With significant residential redevelopment and building repurposing, consultants estimated roughly $76 million in property tax increment over 25 years (present value about $3.8 million at 5% discount) and about $2 million in sales tax increment (present value about $1 million). The combined TIF estimate presented was “just under $40 million” over 25 years to fund infrastructure and drainage improvements required for redevelopment.
City staff said the Lutheran church parcel was excluded from the URA boundary and described the site as a developer opportunity following the hospital’s 2024 vacancy. The presentation noted the plan implements the city’s comprehensive plan and the Lutheran Legacy Campus master plan and that TIF would be used to fund significant public infrastructure needs that otherwise would make redevelopment infeasible.
After a public hearing with no speakers, Mayor Pro Tem Corey Stites moved approval; Councilor Ulm seconded. The clerk reported eight ayes and no nays; the motion passed unanimously.
The Urban Renewal Authority will continue to negotiate TIF-sharing agreements with affected taxing entities and assemble funding for the infrastructure projects identified in the plan.
