Is the Aerotropol is Finally Taking Flight?

Pena Station, Panasonic, and Gaylord Rockies Bring Next-Level Living to the Gateway

I recently bought a place (great deal) out “by DIA,” as friends like to put it. It’s actually a hair north of Green Valley Ranch among the skittering of prairie dog families being introduced to earth movers. (Poor little guys.) Its little-known neighborhood name is actually The Gateway, for all you Capitol Hipsters and that “omg, you live in west Kansas?!” business.

Before I purchased, the only thing I really noticed was how much I was getting for (with Denver prices in mind) so little. Then the cranes started rolling in. Apparently, developers saw the same thing we Gatewayers did: opportunity.

Underway at present is the Gaylord Rockies, which will take up a formidable swath of land near 64th and Dunkirk. It’s a luxury resort and convention center that’ll have 1501 guest rooms, including 114 suites. That’s just the beginning. There’s a 20,000-square-foot outdoor patio with an 800-foot lazy river, a pool bar, tennis courts, a putting course, a lap pool, a basketball court, and an indoor/outdoor recreational park complete with slides. The expansive lawn will be replete with native vegetation and walking paths. Additionally, as many as eight dining outlets are slated including steakhouses, authentic Italian cuisine, an Asian fusion restaurant, a sports bar, and other retail shops. Honestly, I could go on but I think you get the picture. The total 1.9-million-square-mile behemoth is expected to create more than 10,000 construction jobs and 1500 permanent careers inside its rustic, Alpine walls.

Just on the other side of The Gateway’s Tower Road, Panasonic is recreating their highly successful “Sustainable Smart Town” that kicked off in Fujisawa, Japan back in 2012. Occupying about 400 acres of The Gateway’s prairie — and practically attaching itself to the new University of Colorado A-Line rail station at 61st and Pena — the smart city is a neighborhood that essentially powers itself on solar energy. High-capacity batteries will save the energy collected from our notoriously sunny days. On solar alone, the smart city can power itself for three full days.

Panasonic is partnering with Xcel to implement a 1.3-megawatt solar storage system — often laid out into microgrids, but some that will serve as carpark canopies and rooftops — that can sustain all 400 acres of the new city. In addition to the many homes planned — Fujisawa aims to have 1000 families living in its smart city by 2018 — are retail spaces and electric cars and bikes available on loan. Smart, indeed.

“[Denver International Airport] has more opportunity for commercial development than any other airport in the United States,” says DIA CEO Kim Day. “With a new commuter rail between the airport and downtown Denver, it’s time to capitalize on this tremendous asset.”

Berlin opens its own Panasonic Sustainable Smart Town in 2018, as does Lyon, France. We’re not sure yet if Denver’s iteration will be exactly like what the Germans are anticipating but if so, this place is about to change a situation for elderly folks in need of assistance. Panasonic will be introducing refrigerators that can automatically reorder items to be delivered, and a system integrated into the home can monitor the temperature and heart rate of the individual(s) living inside. For someone who can’t get around easily and/or doesn’t often get visitors, this could literally save a life.

Tack all this onto the fact that the new Amazon.com warehouse and sorting center is a mere five miles from DIA, and with the light rail that goes from the airport to Union Station in eight stops, you’ve got just about everything you need to infuse easy travel and entry-level job sustainability into the area. 

Whether or not you’re aiming to buy, Gateway is quickly proving to be Denver’s new land of opportunity. “West Kansas” or bust.