For decades, a 100 acre property in the center of Wheat Ridge operated as a medical campus. Now the former Lutheran hospital property is changing.
"We want to get going just as quickly as we can," Chris Elliott Principal of E5X said.
On Tuesday, Intermountain Health announced that E5X, a Colorado based developer, would be taking over as the new owner.
At an event unveiling the future of the site, Elliott shared some personal history about his connection to the site.
"A couple of stories of my own: I let an abdominal pain go for too long and I spent three weeks in this hospital and had my appendix out. My mother worked here for 20 years. So, there's a deep personal connection here," he said.
That's part of the reason Chad Moynahan, real estate Director for IMH, said they stood out among other interested buyers.
"After thoroughly evaluating 10 distinct proposals, we finalized terms and conditions and are under a contract to sell the property to E5X," Moynahan said. "This ensures that redevelopment will be handled by a team dedicated to the community's well-being."
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E5X
The development design will be in line with the city's master plan. Low density housing will fill the outer edge while higher density and taller buildings will be in the center, up to the five-story maximum approved by voters.
Lauren Mikulak, Community Development Director for the City of Wheat Ridge, says it's the next chapter for the community.
"It's essentially a new neighborhood. 100 acres is essentially 12 city blocks. It's not just new homes. It's new sidewalks, it's new bike lanes, new parks," she said.
Included in the master plan are requirements for green space and preservation of two historic buildings on the property: the blue house and the chapel.
Elliott says they are working on how best to incorporate the old with the new.
"Do you have any ideas yet.?" CBS Colorado Reporter Karen Morfitt asked.
"We have a couple of parties interested in doing a restaurant in here and then we've talked to others that maybe will build an event space. The library district. ... we've talked to a lot of people who could make use of it and preserve the integrity of the space," he said.
For everyone, including Elliott, the hope is a future that will last for the next 100 years.
"We want something that stands the test of time," he said.
Moynahan says they are still in the closing process, and both IMH and E5X declined to discuss the sale price of the property.