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City outlines Midtown Centennial vision and launches East Midtown study funded by DRCOG grant
Summary
Senior planner David King updated the commission on Midtown Centennial and an East Midtown small‑area plan funded by a DRCOG livable‑centers grant, reporting roughly 300 acres with redevelopment potential, airport influence constraints, and a planning timeline that aims to wrap in June.
City planners told the Planning & Zoning Commission on April 8 that Midtown Centennial remains the city’s priority for coordinated reinvestment and that a fast‑track East Midtown small‑area study — paid for by a Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) grant — is under way.
David King, senior planner in Centennial’s economic development department, summarized the Midtown Centennial subarea vision adopted last year and then focused on East Midtown, the area east of Interstate 25. King said staff and consultants OV Consulting (lead) with Civitas as a subconsultant have been working on a short timeline to complete an East Midtown plan this spring; the contract is managed by DRCOG and requires no city match.
“We began work on this in the fall, and we are going to wrap up this project in June,” King told commissioners. He said the planning team’s existing‑conditions and market analysis identified nearly 300 acres across Midtown’s roughly 800 acres with redevelopment or reinvestment potential, but cautioned that “does not mean 300 acres are about to get bulldozed.”
King described East Midtown as a largely commercial and light‑industrial area with large block sizes, aging buildings and a distinct airport‑influence overlay. He noted the land‑development code contains an airport influence area (AIA) with noise contours and regulatory zones based on a 2016 study; the city is coordinating with Centennial Airport as the airport undertakes a Part 150 study that could revise contours.
The staff presentation emphasized balancing uses rather than wholesale conversion: planners want a mixture of employment, light industrial and targeted residential where appropriate, combined with improved public realm, pedestrian connections and circulation to the Dry Creek light‑rail station. King outlined priority tasks including multimodal connections, public‑space concepts, sewer and stormwater coordination, and targeted outreach to property owners and agencies in Greenwood Village and Arapahoe County.
Commissioners questioned the speed of the schedule (King said it is driven by grant deadlines), how staff assesses highest‑and‑best‑use for parcels, and fiscal implications of converting low‑value office properties to multifamily housing. King said an initial fiscal analysis found current office valuations are low enough that new multifamily investment can be accretive to the city’s finances today, though that could change over time.
King said the East Midtown plan will return to the commission and city council this year; staff will continue engagement with utilities, sanitation districts, RTD and the airport and will present implementation steps for translating the vision into code and budget items.
The commission’s discussion underscored tension between preserving employment and promoting reinvestment; staff said the plan seeks targeted opportunities rather than broad displacement of light industrial uses.
