Suburb ‘smack dab’ in right place for biz
WESTMINSTER — The website of the northwest Denver suburb states its advantages succinctly:
“Smack dab between Denver and Boulder, Westminster has prime proximity to both the exceptional intellectual capital available in Boulder, as well as the incredible millennial workforce in the Denver metro area. Plus we’re right in the heart of the U.S. 36 Tech Corridor connecting Denver to Boulder.
“We’re taking a different approach to some of our new growth while still maintaining more than 30% of our land for open space, parks and recreation — all while working to preserve and revitalize our historic areas.”
The town, which extends into Jefferson and Adams counties, had fewer than 20,000 residents as late as 1970, but began to boom. It topped 100,000 residents in the 2000 census and now nears 120,000.
Westminster is home to such employers as Ball Corp., Trimble Inc. and Maxar Technologies Inc.
It’s home to such employers as Ball Corp., Trimble Inc. and Maxar Technologies Inc., which delivered the chassis for a NASA mission that launched a satellite to study an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.
A report from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business noted a “clustering effect” that causes firms offering professional and business services to group together. It said Maxar, GeoVision and Aerotek represent that trend in Westminster.
The first permanent white settler, Pleasant DeSpain, built his home in 1870 on 160 acres near what is now West 76th Avenue and Lowell Street, and the area became known as DeSpain Junction. It was variously known as Harris and Darell Park until the town incorporated in 1911 and took the name Westminster in honor of Westminster Castle, the imposing building at West 83rd Avenue and Federal Boulevard that was built starting in 1891 and now is owned by the Pillar of Fire Church.
Major developments include transit-oriented growth at Westminster Station, in the southern core of the city and centered around a stop on the Regional Transportation District’s B-Line commuter rail station.
A “downtown” district south of West 92nd Avenue is bringing a new blend of mixed-use development; the site of the former Westminster Mall is projected to have up to 3 million square feet of office, 4,500 residents, 700,000 square feet of retail, more than 300 hotel rooms, an entertainment district, and LEED Silver buildings. Development of Center Park there began in May and is scheduled to be completed in late 2025; it is designed to be a venue for entertainment and recreation, with flexible, multi-use spaces that support differing functions.
Orchard Town Center, an outdoor “lifestyle center,” provides shopping and dining options at Interstate 25 and 144th Avenue.
The city’s prime tourist attraction is The Butterfly Pavilion, which partnered early this year with Colorado State University to advance entomology, the science and study of insects. A statement from CSU President Amy Parsons said “this partnership will prepare the future workforce, enhance conservation efforts and elevate our research abilities, which is more important than ever given the critical impact of invertebrates on the food web, agriculture and the environment.”