CASTLE PINES C O L O R A D O TRANSFORMING FIVE DECADES OF PATIENT CAPITAL INTO COLORADO’S NEXT MAIN STREET MICHAEL PENNY CITY MANAGER WWW.CASTLEPINESCO.GOV
CASTLE PINES, CO TRANSFORMING FIVE PATIENT CAPITAL INT NEXT MAIN STREET AT A GLANCE CITY OF CASTLE PINES WHAT: A home rule municipality in Douglas County with 16,500 residents, building toward 30,000 at full buildout with 2 million square feet of commercial development WHERE: C astle Pines, Colorado WEBSITE: www.castlepinesco.gov 1 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
E DECADES OF TO COLORADO’S WITH INFRASTRUCTURE UNDERWAY AND 2 MILLION SQUARE FEET OF COMMERCIAL SPACE PLANNED, THIS DYNAMIC DENVER SUBURB IS BUILDING THE DOWNTOWN IT ALWAYS WANTED. Twenty miles south of Denver, Castle Pines rises approximately 1,000 feet above the surrounding communities, offering something increasingly rare in metropolitan corridors: breathing room. The city of roughly 16,500 residents occupies a unique position along Interstate 25, sandwiched between the bustle of Park Meadows to the north and the retail density of Castle Rock to the south, yet maintaining a distinctly quieter character. 2 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
“I think we view ourselves as a somewhat unique, engaged, and affluent community,” says Michael Penny, City Manager of Castle Pines. “There’s pretty dense, larger communities on either side of us. But when you drive into Castle Pines, there’s a sense that you can take a breath because there’s not a lot of commercial development. It’s mainly residential. So, you feel like it only took you 10 minutes to leave the mall and now you’re completely away from the city.” The landscape tells the story: forested hills thick with Ponderosa pine and Gambel oak, rock outcroppings framing panoramic views of Pike’s Peak and the Front Range. Fourteen miles of paved trails wind through the community, supporting an active outdoor culture that defines daily life here. A Life Time facility currently rises from the ground, joining another gym set to open soon.“People like to ride their bikes, they like to walk,” Penny notes.“We’re building more trails, improving the signage for those trails, and improving the outdoor experience for the community.” THE $42 MILLION GAME CHANGER Interstate 25 slices Castle Pines nearly in half, creating two distinct worlds within the city’s nine square miles. The west side, developed since the 1980s, hosts established neighborhoods of highend single-family homes where prices start at $750,000 and climb past the millions in select areas. Three investment companies own the commercial properties here, nearly 100 percent leased, generating steady returns but offering little room for the main street atmosphere residents desire. The east side tells a different story. Across 3,500 acres, new development is transforming open land into the city’s commercial and residential future. Currently, access remains limited to Castle Pines Parkway, creating bottlenecks that a $42 million interchange project aims to eliminate.An additional $6 million in potential funding from the Colorado Department of Transportation could support bridge replacement as part of the overall improvement. “This interchange is really going to free up the east side of town,” Penny explains. “Right now, they only have access via Castle Pines Parkway. This interchange is going to allow a much greater free flow of traffic and easier access if you want to go south toward Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, wherever you’re going south on I-25.” The Happy Canyon interchange will employ a diverging diamond design, an innovative traffic pattern that shifts vehicles to the left side of the road, eliminating dangerous left-turn conflicts. 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CASTLE PINES, CO
Colorado Department of Transportation reports show this configuration removes T-bone accidents entirely while reducing signal phases from four or six down to two. Construction is expected to begin in mid to late 2026, funded primarily by Douglas County’s $20 million commitment, with Castle Pines and developers covering the remainder. HOUSING EVOLUTION AND MARKET DYNAMICS Castle Pines has added 6,000 residents in six years, climbing from 10,500 in 2019 to its current population of 16,500.The buildout potential reaches more than 30,000, though the timeline depends 4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
Excellence Meets Opportunity Top-scoring School District in Denver/Metro two years in a row $120 Million in Scholarships Earned by the Class of 2025 92% Graduation Rate Highest in the last 15 years (State average: 84%) 13% Staff Turnover Rate Lowest in Denver/Metro area 76 Career Exploration Pathways DCSD is a national leader in workforce development and is blurring the lines between PreK-12, higher education and industry.
INVESTING IN TOMORROW’S WORKFORCE: THE DCSD ADVANTAGE The Douglas County School District strategically prepares students to become the skilled, futureready citizens demanded by today’s rapidly evolving workplaces. Our commitment to academic rigor and career readiness provides a direct competitive advantage for Castle Pines, the greater Denver metro area, and the nation. UNMATCHED ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE DCSD is the top-scoring district in the Denver/Metro area for the second year in a row. As the thirdlargest school district in Colorado, with 62,000 students across 92 schools, we have one of the nation’s most effective educational models, having met or exceeded our 2019 (pre-pandemic) scores in every subject and every grade for two consecutive years. Our commitment to student success is proven by our: • 92% graduation rate, which is the highest in the last 15 years, significantly surpassing the state average of 84%. • $120 million in scholarships earned by the Class of 2025. • Shrinking achievement gap: DCSD is the only district in the Denver/Metro area that narrowed the achievement gap for all federally recognized sub-populations. LEADING IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT As a national leader, DCSD is blurring the lines between PreK-12, higher education, and industry through 76 robust Career Exploration Pathways. Our state-of-the-art Legacy Campus provides a critical advantage, where high school students earn industry certifications and college credit in high-demand fields such as: • Advanced Robotics • Aviation • Nursing • Secure Network Technology • New pathways coming in Fall 2026: aerospace manufacturing, construction trades, electrical technology, and EV/hybrid auto repair. Douglas County sees the value of these results. In 2023, voters passed a tax measure to increase faculty salaries and bolster security at each of our 92 schools. That community support directly affected staff morale, as DCSD reported the lowest staff turnover rate in Denver/Metro last year – 13% – much of which was retirements and exits because of spouses’ job changes. The community support continued in 2024, with 60% of the voting public supporting a record $490 million bond measure to build two new elementary schools, add to a middle school, expand Legacy Campus, and carry out deferred maintenance and security upgrades at every school. Already one of the most admired counties in the nation, Douglas County’s commitment to high quality schools ensures a continuous supply of top-tier talent ready to contribute to 21st Century growth. Learn more at dcsdk12.org/why-dcsd.
heavily on economic conditions that have slowed what was once breakneck growth. “In 2019 we were at about 10,500 residents,” Penny says. “To give you an idea, when the economy was really good, I think Shea was running a six-month wait list to get the lot that you wanted to build your home on. Castle Pines is definitely a desirable place to be.” Interest rates and construction costs now govern the pace. When rates drop into the high fours or low fives, Penny expects home builders to accelerate rapidly. Until then, the units wait, platted and ready but unbuilt. The city’s housing stock is diversifying from its origins as an exclusively high-end single-family community. Three to four years ago, council began approving apartments, townhomes, and for-rent single-family products alongside traditional for-sale homes. One development introduced a model where single-family homes function as rental properties, a concept that has since spread across Colorado. “Council realized that not everybody can afford a single-family home that at the time started at $750,000,” Penny notes.“We needed a diversification to the housing stock.” The next step involves workforce housing. Council is amending codes to fast-track proposals for attainable units, recognizing that restaurant staff, educators, and medical office workers need places to live within the community they serve. No projects have emerged yet, but the framework now exists to welcome them. UTILITIES, SCHOOLS, AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES Two water districts serve Castle Pines, divided predictably by Interstate 25. The Castle Pines North Metropolitan District handles the built-out west side, while Parker Water and Sanitation District has committed to the entire 3,500-acre eastern expansion. Long-term water plans are in place, removing a constraint that hampers many Colorado communities. 7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CASTLE PINES, CO
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Internet connectivity reaches one gigabit speeds throughout town, with Comcast working toward 10-gigabit capacity within existing infrastructure. “Metronet is entering the west side as an additional competitor,” Penny confirms.“Both 5G and fiber optic networks continue expanding, supported by law enforcement and fire protection services that are strong.” Meanwhile, Douglas County School District ranks among Colorado’s top systems, operating on an open enrollment. Castle Pines currently has three elementary schools, with middle and high schools located minutes north in unincorporated county land. “We have land over on the east side right now for an elementary school and then a middle and a high school, which are in the future design,” Penny says. “We are next on the list for additional schools on the east side to accommodate the growth.” The city was excluded from the most recent bond measure, a disappointment tempered by expectations of inclusion in the next round. The school district focuses resources where the bulk of school-aged children live. Castle Pines’ housing costs, while attractive to many buyers, skew demographics away from families with multiple children compared to communities with more modest price points. Over 61 percent of Douglas County residents hold bachelor’s degrees or higher, and nearly 99 percent have completed high school. A 50-YEAR DOWNTOWN VISION REALIZED A landowner and his brothers purchased 3,500 acres in 1975 for cash, then waited. For decades, the timeline remained uncertain. Five years out, perhaps ten, maybe a project for grandchildren to complete. That ambiguity has ended. “A couple years ago, if somebody called us up, there was no real timeframe around this,” Penny says. “It could have been five years or 10 years or maybe the landowner was going to leave it to his grandkids to develop, and it was going to be 20 years out. Now we’re starting to see the owner’s vision. That vision 9 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CASTLE PINES, CO
RETHINKING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: ENCOURAGING ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION AND BIOPHILIA, THE CONNECTION TO NATURE In the heart of Castle Pines, The Canyons reimagines what a single-family development can be, placing ecological preservation at the center of community design. Here, expansive open space and a connected trail network link water-wise parks that echo Colorado’s natural landscape. Restoring these native grasslands requires guidance. Each species is placed intentionally, directed by engineering that minimizes long-term water use.The landscape receives supplemental water only during its establishment period, after which it sustains itself naturally. With water scarcity shaping the future of the region, Sage Design Group works closely with the municipalities to ensure a resilient supply for generations.The goal is simple: create a landscape as abundant as possible while using as little water as necessary. The Canyons stands alone as the region’s only new community built directly into Colorado’s untamed landscape, close to metropolitan Denver. Bringing this vision to life required a tightly coordinated effort between the master developer, Shea Homes, Sage Design Group and numerous consultants working in tandem to shape a place where modern living meets the raw character of the terrain.
complies with the desires of the community and they’re moving forward on this.” Heavy trucks now move dirt across the site. Drainage systems are being installed. Water, sewer, and electrical infrastructure advances ahead of vertical construction. The scale is substantial: 2 million square feet of commercial space, 2,000 residential units within the commercial core, and an additional 3,500 residential units extending east, predominantly single-family homes. DPZ Design, a nationally recognized firm, has created two concept variations for approximately 150 acres of the total site. Both feature central plazas, walkable main streets lined with boutique retail, and largerformat stores positioned on the perimeter. Office space will line the Interstate 25 corridor, buffering residential areas from highway noise. South of the main development, another 100-plus acres are designated for light industrial uses and medical facilities. “He’s really one of those types of landowners that wants to hear what we want from the community, which again, is this main street,” Penny explains. TARGET INDUSTRIES FROM AEROSPACE TO MAIN STREET RETAIL Castle Pines currently employs people in community services: grocery stores, restaurants, medical offices, nail salons, dry cleaners, veterinarians. The standard retail and professional mix of a residential suburb. Residents want more, specifically boutiques, additional dining options.“Right now, it’s residential based, but they want to drive somewhere and say, oh, this is mine. “This is Castle Pines,” he says. Medical uses rank high on the target list, potentially including a hospital. Recreational amenities align with both Douglas County priorities and community preferences: parks, ice rinks, regional sports facilities. The aerospace sector presents a particular opportunity. Douglas County hosts over 27,000 aerospace workers across major employers including 11 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CASTLE PINES, CO
Founded in October 1998, Elite Surface Infrastructure (ESI) is a diversified civil construction company headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. Serving commercial, municipal, and government clients, ESI delivers reliable infrastructure solutions across Colorado and the western United States. ESI is Colorado’s largest contractor to self-perform asphalt, earthwork, utilities, and concrete, giving the company direct control over quality, safety, schedule, and cost. This self-performance model allows ESI to execute both new construction and maintenance projects efficiently while maintaining consistently high standards. The company operates as a general contractor, construction manager, design-build partner, and subcontractor, supporting local, state, and federal agencies with flexible delivery methods tailored to project needs. Core Capabilities • Asphalt Milling and Paving • Earthwork & Utilities • • Concrete • Surveying • Traffic Control • Potholing • Driven by experience, technical expertise, and a commitment to performance, Elite Surface Infrastructure continues to build durable, safe, and efficient infrastructure that supports growing communities throughout the region. CONCRETE SERVICES EARTH & UTILITY ASPHALT PAVING & MILLING ESI is the largest company in Colorado that self-performs asphalt, earthwork, utilities and concrete for new and maintenance commercial, municipal and government projects. We are uniquely resourced to deliver quality service on your timeline and within your budget. Leverage over a century of expertise to increase the lifespan of your projects. ELITE SURFACE INFRASTRUCTURE Over 140 years of combined experience in heavy civil construction ELITESI.COM > INFO@ELITESI.COM | 303-841-0292 115 | INVERNESS DRIVE EAST, SUITE 100 | ENGLEWOOD, CO
Lockheed Martin’s 2,300-employee Waterton Canyon campus, Blue Origin, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance. Colorado claims the nation’s secondlargest aerospace economy, and Douglas County continues expanding its footprint. Safran Defense & Space recently chose neighboring Parker for its U.S. expansion, adding to a supply chain serving the North American small satellite market projected to reach $5 billion by 2030. “We’ve got Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin. Both of these companies are in Douglas County,” Penny notes. “A lot of the companies that work with the federal government under the subsidiaries under Lockheed Martin, we’ve got a lot of greenfield development. It’s really hard to retrofit an existing building for all the security requirements.” Department of Defense and NASA compliance demands purpose-built facilities, making greenfield sites particularly valuable for aerospace tenants seeking to meet stringent federal specifications. THE INVITATION AND COMPETITIVE EDGE Eighteen months will tell the story.“We want to get people excited about what’s coming,” Penny says. “Look at this great thing that’s happening over the next 18 months. I would fully expect that the utilities are installed and the roadway system is platted. We welcome phone calls and curiosity around who wants to be part of this unique vision.” 13 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CASTLE PINES, CO
PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Douglas County School District www.dcsdk12.org The Douglas County School District is the topscoring district in the Denver/Metro area and has a 92% graduation rate. Spanning 850 square miles, DCSD is the third-largest school district in Colorado, with 62,000 students across 92 neighborhood and charter schools, supported by 7,600 teachers and staff members. n Sage Design Group www.sagedesigngroup.com Sage Design Group listens first, and uses intuitive design to shape environments that meet real community needs and enrich everyday experiences. We design with intention and collaboration, creating places that leave a lasting positive impact. n Elite Surface Infrastructure (ESI) www.elitesi.com Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, Elite Surface Infrastructure (ESI) is a diversified civil construction company serving commercial, municipal, and government clients. ESI is Colorado’s largest self-performing contractor of asphalt, earthwork, utilities, and concrete, delivering efficient, high-quality infrastructure solutions across the western United States. The log jam has broken. What was uncertain five years ago, possibly a decade away or longer, now has infrastructure work underway and a clear timeline. Castle Pines,incorporated onlyin 2008 and still among Colorado’s youngest municipalities, is building the commercial center it lacked at formation.The patient capital invested in 1975 is finally coming to market, and the city is ready to connect interested parties with the landowner, guide them through municipal processes, and deliver the council support needed to transform dirt and drainage into the community gathering place residents have long desired. The city positions itself deliberately between Park Meadows and Lone Tree’s density to the north and Castle Rock’s outlet stores and traffic congestion to the south. Easy Interstate 25 access without the complications. Greenfield land without competing development crowding the market. Residential support is already in place, with median household incomes of $189,918 and average home values approaching $918,000. “This is truly easy access in and out,” Penny explains. “There’s nothing else that’s really going to be in this area. You’ve got quality residential surrounding the commercial. Come be part of this incredible community and help us make it real.” 14 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
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