Wheat Ridge staff seek council consensus to acquire Wilmore Davis site, preserve parkland and convey school building to Spectra Centers

City staff asked the council to authorize continued negotiations to acquire the former Wilmore Davis Elementary property and to structure the transaction so that the city permanently preserves about 2.5 acres for a neighborhood park while conveying the school parcel to Spectra Centers for an educational/community use.

Under the two-step approach staff outlined, the city would purchase the full 7-acre property from Jefferson County Public Schools for approximately $2,840,000. The city would then convey the approximately 4.5-acre school parcel (including the existing building) to Spectra Centers for about $2,750,000. After closing costs and commissions, staff estimated the city’s net investment to permanently acquire roughly 2.5 acres of future parkland at about $172,000. Staff noted the acquisition is within the open-space fund budget (about $2 million set aside for Wilmore Davis and College Strand) and that staff are exploring Jefferson County open-space grant possibilities to reduce the city’s net cost.

Staff emphasized the transaction would include contingencies (Spectra financing and development agreements) and a right of first refusal in favor of the city to protect long-term public use. Councilors asked about ballot language (whether the purchase should be included on a potential ballot measure), community engagement and next steps; after questions, council expressed consensus to continue negotiating the purchase and sale agreements and return with final documents for authorization. Staff also committed to a neighborhood information meeting with Spectra later this summer and subsequent engagement on park design if the acquisition proceeds.