Aurora's Centrepoint

Ambitious master plan will put a new face onto an old name

City officials and the design team of City Point Aurora, Gensler, and Norris Design are working on a plan that will transform a vacant 65-acre parcel of land into a vibrant new downtown for Aurora.

By Diana Rael
Diana Rael is a principal with Denver-based Norris Design.

Mixed-use lifestyle centers have become the word du jour among planning projects in municipalities across the country, and the city of Aurora is no exception.

Centerpoint's Plaza will be a lively public place like many in Europe, with the potential to house an outdoor amphitheater, restaurants with outdoor seating area and vendor spaces.

Centrepoint, located in the heart of the City Center Zone District at Alameda and Sable, is a new "downtown" that Aurora master-planned years ago with a vision for the future. Development did not happen quickly, but the project's progression is already proving to rejuvenate the city.

That is because this 65-acre opportunity for success is located in an area that has recently blossomed with redevelopment and revitalization projects. The site - long known as "Centrepoint" - has remained vacant over the years, with only open fields and a skeleton street system to signify the project landscape.

Today, the city has high expectations for Centrepoint, hoping it will continue supporting Aurora's revitalization and, when complete, that Centrepoint will prove to be one of the finest new mixed-use developments in metro Denver.

At the center of this project is the Regional Transportation District's FasTracks transit plan, approved by voters in November 2004. The plan will brings public transit to the area with the alignment of a light rail transit station hub to the site along Sable Boulevard.

Working with the city to make Centrepoint a reality is the design team of City Point Aurora LLC, Gensler, and Norris Design, both of Denver.

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Distinct Districts

With the benefits of light rail transit - as well as residential, office, civic, retail and commercial mixed-uses - Centrepoint embodies qualities the city is looking for, including density, intensity and design in a mixed-used development to make it a vibrant and vital part of Aurora.

A project of this size commonly incorporates an overarching vision or theme to identify the area as it grows. For Centrepoint, five distinct districts have been created, each themed and master planned to express the individuality of that area while remaining true to the greater whole. The districts are linked together by a curving Main Street, which morphs in design to mirror the district it lies in at any given point.

The five districts include:

• Main Street - the most urban district of the project, characterized by multiple-story buildings, mixed-uses, entertainment and plazas. The light rail transit hub will be located within this district.
• The Village - Centrepoint's residential district, comprised of a variety of higher-density housing types that have direct access to transit, as well as personal services shops for convenience.
• The Market - the neighborhood commercial center, which will include a grocery store and a variety of personal-services shops and quick-serve restaurants.
• The Park - it will contain the existing Arapahoe County Municipal building and additional small office and/or hotel-type uses.
• The Shops - an area for medium-format retail located inside the project, providing services for more than the everyday convenience needs of the surrounding community.

The districts have been carefully located throughout the project to create a cohesive development that naturally functions so every use is within a close, connected and walkable distance to each other.

The primary importance of theming for a project of this type is not only to attract consumers and residents through high-quality architecture and services but also to create a harmonious development through its growth over time. Eventually, the project's success will depend on its ability to age well, like the Cherry Creek North neighborhood has done.

Project phasing will be another determinant of success. One challenge is that in the initial phase, RTD will have a bus transfer site many years ahead of the ultimate light rail transit hub and station, which is not likely to occur for another seven to 10 years.

The design must now address how to plan a project that is a transit-oriented development without the transit - a TOD without the T. The design team and the city are continuing to study examples both nationally and abroad and will adapt plans when necessary to incorporate elements of other successful projects.

Curves Ahead

One of Centrepoint's unique characteristic is its curved Main Street, which was been created to become the thread that weaves the project together. The street is a significant project element because of the atypical site configuration as an infill project attempting to work around existing uses while also allowing pedestrian and vehicular connectivity.

The underlying concept for the Centrepoint master plan was to connect the various uses along a long, curving street with dual street sides funneling visitors to a central gathering place that will be full of activity and energy. This central gathering place is a large plaza, located at the "center point" of the project.

The plaza will be a lively public place like those of European descent, with the potential to house an outdoor amphitheater, restaurants with outdoor seating areas and outdoor vendor spaces. An array of activities in cooperation with the city could include winter ice skating with the development of a rink, a seasonal farmer's market and art, food, craft and children's fairs. The plaza may be also accentuated with public works of art and/or a water feature.

In addition to the plaza center point, the curved Main Street allows visitors to experience a continuously changing perspective each step of the way, discovering new building façades as they walk the "thread." The terminus view is ever-changing and provides for interesting spatial opportunities for gathering spaces that may be niches or larger plazas, all with their own distinct personalities.

Area Under Transformation

New visitors to this area can already expect to find many projects of rebirth, such as a library, a new interchange at I-225 and Alameda Avenue and a new five-story City Hall facility planned within a municipal campus that encompasses a City Police and Courts building.

The Aurora Mall has had a face-lift, along with a name change, and a retail main-street development anchored by Target further revitalizes the area.

The Centrepoint area is bustling with activity and other new projects, one of which may include a cultural art component. Current site users include the Arapahoe County Municipal office campus, the first phase of a Kaiser Permanente Medical facility and higher-density, multifamily housing.

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