By Hank Baker and Greg Yoko

Denver, Colorado is the home of one of the largest mixed-use urban redevelopment sites in the world. Over the next 15 years, this 4,700-acre site (7.5 square-miles) will be redeveloped for 12,000 homes and apartments, three million square-feet of retail, ten million square-feet of office, research, and industrial space, and more than 1,100 acres of regional parks and open space.

The location used to house Denver’s Stapleton International Airport. It is centrally located ten minutes east of Downtown Denver and 20 minutes from the new Denver International Airport. When completed, Stapleton will be home to 30,000 residents and 35,000 workers.

While many developers today talk about sustainability, Stapleton has taken a practical approach, creating a clearly defined strategy. Included in this effort was the recycling of 1,100 acres of runways resulting in over six million tons of aggregate being used as base for Stapleton roads and sidewalks. In addition, the recycling of buildings for new uses, as well as demolition of the remaining terminal buildings has resulted in 50% of the concrete, rebar, and sheet metal being recycled.

To top it off, all homes at Stapleton are required to meet or exceed the standards of the Built Green Colorado program, making Stapleton the largest Built Green community in the state.

These sustainable features, as well as the innovative implementation of technology, have already resulted in a major award for the development. In June of 2002, Stapleton was selected from more than 250 entries, representing over 50 countries worldwide, as winner of the prestigious Stockholm Partnerships for Sustainable Cities Award. The award, which was presented to top Denver and Forest City officials by the King of Sweden, honors innovative solutions for sustainable development in metropolitan areas worldwide.

Technology Initiatives
Although Stapleton’s design is patterned after the best elements of historic Denver neighborhoods, it is anything but a nostalgia-driven project. Technology is critical to the vision of Stapleton as a strong and diverse urban neighborhood. A major part of Stapleton’s social glueis the Technology Master Plan that combines the latest high-speed Internet communications with a community Intranet and the next generation of wireless voice and data technology.

Stapleton’s design encourages good old-fashioned low-tech socializing. The sidewalks, pedestrian-oriented streets, greenways, new public schools, parks and East 29th Avenue Town Center are places where people get out and walk to meet their neighbors. These “chance encounters” help people get to know each other.

These days you also need the high-tech way of meeting neighbors. Every home and business in Stapleton enjoys not only high-speed access to the Internet but a community Intranet accessible through www.StapletonOnline.com. On this electronic bulletin board, neighbors announce yard sales, scan the community calendar, and form clubs and chat rooms.

Working with Milestone Networks, Forest City Stapleton has now created a wireless beachhead at Stapleton. This promises to expand dramatically as the technology becomes more available and reliable. An antennae installed on top of a building in Stapleton’s East 29th Avenue Town Center provides wireless voice-over IP and data access for the site’s construction trailers.

This already looks like a good business decision. Construction trailers often move as Stapleton expands. Wiring new trailer locations can cost about $25,000 to $40,000 a year. The first phase of our new wireless system cost about $25,000, but each time a trailer moves, a simple repointing of the antennae provide service at the new location. 

Stapleton will soon be experimenting with “hot spot” technology for wireless Internet access using the reliable 802 11B technology pioneered and road-tested at countless Starbucks.

Soon Forest City Stapleton will also test wireless data service in new homes. This wireless network will spread through the neighborhood with mini-antennas installed on public buildings, on the former airport control tower, and perhaps discreetly placed on homes.

Residents and businesses will retain the conventional options of wired data services through DSL or cable modems available through incumbent telecommunications providers.

Stapleton’s businesses could also prosper from the wireless future. Wireless laptops and PDAs should soon explode in the marketplace. Though a concept known as permission marketing, Stapleton’s 45 retailers, eateries, and services at the 740,000 square-foot Quebec Square Regional Retail Center and another 18 at the 140,000 square-foot East 29th Avenue Town Center may be able to instantly reach residents on a customer-approved contact list with news of discounts or special events.

Green Space is Important
Nearly 30 percent of Stapleton is reserved for parks and open space. The centerpiece of Stapleton's 1,116-acre regional park system will be the 80-acre "Central Park.” Bikeways and paths will grace Stapleton's Sand Creek and Westerly Creek Greenways. On Stapleton's northern border, the community's extensive bike and trail system will link into the 17,000-acre Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

Portions of Stapleton's open space system already exist. The 123-acre Bluff Lake Nature Center and the 23-acre Urban Farm at Stapleton regularly host urban school children yearning for knowledge about nature and the country life. The 30-acre Fred Thomas Park always finds local residents picnicking or playing soccer. The Bladium Sports Club, formerly one of the Stapleton Airport hangers, offers two in-line skating rinks as well as extensive exercise opportunities.

Even the urban layout of the residential housing took open space into consideration. Drive down a typical street in any suburban community and the typical scene includes homes with garage doors as the dominant house facade, large lots with private (or not so private) open space in the rear yard, generally no sidewalks (nothing close to walk to), strip shopping centers with a sea of parking as its front entry, and workplaces that are miles (and sometimes hours) away.

Stapleton offers house facades that feature a front porch (the garage is accessed from the rear alley), smaller lots with public open space (parks) as gathering places, sidewalks with tree lawns to encourage pedestrian activity, village shops and restaurants within walking distance of most residences (higher density and sidewalks make these easy to get to), workplaces and cultural venues close to housing (no need to get on the interstate).

The conventional suburban model promotes sprawl, the traditional neighborhood design (TND) being utilized in this project promotes community. Stapleton addresses the implementation challenges of building walkable neighborhoods and maintaining healthy regions. It integrates community and economic development policies with design and development strategies while incorporating emerging technology. SLDT