Highlands’ Garden Village

The former Elitch’s Zoological Gardens and Amusement Park was relocated to the Central Platte Valley (see Elitch Gardens) and the 28-acre site was shuttered in 1994. Vacant, contaminated, and completely without urban infrastructure, the site’s redevelopment potential was limited and the community was concerned.  DURA was asked to step in to assist in its remediation and ensure that the resulting redevelopment fit soundly within the existing neighborhoods.

Acquired by HGV Land Company in 1999 and redeveloped by the Perry Rose Company, the redeveloped site now consists of 306 mixed-income residential units, approximately 70,000 square feet of commercial space, a 43,000-square-foot public school, 38,000 square-feet of civic uses (including the restored Historic Elitch Theatre), and 140,000 square-feet of open space. The residential product types span from single-family detached houses to commercial live-work units to affordable co-housing opportunities. Widely recognized as one of Denver’s first and most successful new urbanist developments, the project is a model of green building practices. All of the homes exceed Colorado’s Built Green and Energy Star programs and the developer made use of recycled construction materials for the horizontal infrastructure as well – most notably 30 tons of recycled concrete from the demolition of the amusement park were reused for neighborhood roadbeds.

Through the efforts of HGV Land Company, and with the support of the City and County of Denver, the Denver City Council, the adjacent neighborhood organizations, and DURA, this redevelopment creates a walkable, transit-linked, mixed-use, mixed-income village that provides a socially, environmentally, and financially viable model for revitalizing underutilized sites across America.