Denver International Airport served more than 80 million passengers in 2024, generates more than $47 billion for the region annually and owns more land than any other airport in the world except for one, Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport. DIA is the site of dozens of ongoing developme nts, including new hotels, a state-of-the-art flight training center and significant industrial growth. Airport representatives and municipalities are working together to transform surrounding undeveloped areas into an “airport city,” positioning DIA as a key hub for commerce in the region. “Anytime that our team looks at real estate development on our land, we do so with the lens of making sure that it’s good to the airport and the region as a whole,” said Ken Cope, senior vice president of real estate development at DIA’s real estate team. DIA has about 53 square miles of land area annexed from Adams County, and still has more than 16,000 acres of non-aviation land available for compatible commercial development. The airport’s strategic development plan has seven districts: 40th and Airport Commuter Rail Station, 61st and Peña Station, Second Creek Campus, 72nd and Himalaya, West Approach, East Approach and the Aeroindustrial District. These districts will feature a variety of mixed-use developments and transit-oriented designs, accommodating businesses like retail, hospitality, restaurants, entertainment, professional services, technology, agribusiness, research and development, light industrial and advanced manufacturing. Cope said the intergovernmental agreement with Adams County, which they entered in 1988, allows them to develop 1,500 acres for long-term ground lease and development. If Denver plans to develop any more than 1,500 acres, it will need to amend the agreement with Adams County and with the consent of the Airport Coordinating Committee. No further voter approval will be needed, according to the agreement. In terms of those first 1,500 acres, Cope said his team is focused on certain districts along the Pena Boulevard corridor, including the Second Creek Campus, where Utah-based manufacturer and distributor Swire Coca-Cola plans to build a more than 570,000-square-foot bottling plant at the northeast corner of Tower Road and Peña. Construction at the Swire Coca-Cola facility is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year, with a planned grand opening in 2027, according to the project’s website. The Denver City Council approved a $270.7 million, 75-year ground lease agreement with Swire. Work is ongoing on a new Pepsi bottling plant being built near Denver International Airport in Denver on April 2, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post) PepsiCo is also developing a 1.2-million-square-foot Pepsi bottling plant south of the Coca-Cola plant, near the intersection of East 72nd Avenue and Argonne. PepsiCo’s facility is expected to open this summer. The West Approach district, where a cellphone lot and Phillips 66 gas station are located, will also begin to see more retail development, with plans for another large gas station, a restaurant, a coffee shop with a rooftop deck and additional cellphone lots and ride-share parking services. “There aren’t a lot of places, candidly, that you can take a look at 16,000 acres and say, you know, how can we build an aerotropolis, or a city around an airport? It’s a phenomenal opportunity for our region to do in the right way,” Cope said. “We want to make sure that what happens on our land is compatible and also a benefit to the region. You know, we are a public agency, and we have a duty to make sure that we are providing a public benefit, and so we don’t take that lightly.” A future airport city Before Denver was home to one of the busiest airports in the U.S., it had Stapleton International Airport, a 4,700-acre site bordered by Quebec Street, Montview Boulevard, Peoria Street and 56th Avenue. Originally starting as a small airfield, it became the city’s main airport in 1929. However, by the late 1980s, the airport had become too small and outdated to meet Denver’s expanding aviation needs, according to Bill Aiken, deputy director of the Community & Economic Development Department at Adams County. “If you look at where the Denver airport was, and before it moved to its current location, it was completely boxed in. It was surrounded,” he said. “There was no opportunity for expansion.” Besides the inability to expand, Stapleton faced problems like delays, traffic jams, inadequate runways and concerns about aircraft noise from residents in nearby neighborhoods. DIA opened in February 1995, driven by the efforts of former Denver Mayors Federico Peña and Wellington Webb. A long line of people make their way through security at Denver International Airport on Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Denver. (Photo by Zachary Spindler-Krage/The Denver Post) Stapleton airport was decommissioned that same year. Today, the area is still being redeveloped with residential, retail, office, industrial and warehouse distribution space. The concept of a “Colorado Aerotropolis” was announced last year with DIA at the center of plans, though the area of impact extends well beyond the airport and its borders. The aerotropolis project website says the future city is an ideal location for organizations that need immediate access to global transport networks and supply chains, including proximity to the airport. Aiken said his team is working through a process to help with a groundbreaking in unincorporated Adams County for a large Fortune 500 company. Because of confidentiality, he was unable to share information about the specific location or the user at this time. Another focus for development is finding opportunities in existing infrastructure, such as roads, site access and the availability of power, water and sewer connections, Aiken said. “One of the big initiatives that we’ve been working on internally with staff is a strategy to start to do our land use coordination in the same room together in this area,” he said. “So, that we’re not planning sewer lines that maybe someone else is unaware of or maybe planning on a duplicative type of sewer line or other utility or infrastructure.” However, areas where there is no existing infrastructure and no access are decades away from seeing any development, Aiken said. In addition, some portions of the land cannot be used to build housing. The project is a shared vision and collaboration among eight partners, including Adams County, DIA, Aurora, the City and County of Denver and Adams County cities Federal Heights, Thornton, Brighton and Commerce City. “If you want to go fast, you go by yourself, and if you want to go far, you go with others,” said chair of the Adams County Board of Commissioners Lynn Baca, who is also a board director for the Aerotropolis Regional Transit Authority and serves on the Airport Coordinating Committee. “We want to do really good work in the region and be really thoughtful when it comes to economic development, when it comes to attracting residents, when it comes to having employees call Adams County home. We want to make sure all of our municipalities are on board with this concept of it really is the people at the center of this.” Key updates to watch out for in the area • A contract to construct the Peña Boulevard Phase 1B work was executed in the second quarter of last year with Flatiron Constructors for $50.8 million, according to DIA’s website. The project’s purpose is to improve traffic safety, create efficient shuttle bus operations and rehabilitate pavement on outbound Peña from the terminal to Jackson Gap and will construct a diverging diamond interchange. Construction is underway and will continue through 2026. Denver City Council members are also reviewing a $15 million contract to study and start designing a potential widening of Peña Boulevard as they look for solutions to ease traffic congestion. DIA and the council are looking primarily at Peña west of E-470. Outbound and inbound traffic along Peña Boulevard at Denver International Airport in Denver on Friday, March 28, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) If approved, a five-year contract with Lakewood-based Peak Consulting would be paid for out of DIA accounts. It would include an environmental review to meet federal requirements and some design work for the project. • In recent years, the area surrounding the airport has experienced significant industrial growth, including the completion of Phase I of Aurora’s Sun Empire development, a 3.9 million-square-foot industrial park at East 56th Avenue and Harvest Road. To date, two buildings totaling just more than 800,000 square feet have been constructed, with several prospective tenants interested, Todd Witty, senior vice president with CBRE, told The Post. Last year, Witty said 150 acres of land in the park were sold to Philip Morris International for a new manufacturing plant to produce its popular ZYN nicotine pouches, which are marketed to those looking to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. The global tobacco company plans to invest $600 million in the facility, which is under construction and expected to be completed later this year, according to the CoStar Group. The facility is expected to be fully operational by next year, employing at least 500 full-time workers and generating upward of $550 million annually in economic benefits statewide. Witty said they do not expect the Sun Empire’s Phase II, which includes two additional buildings, to break ground until after Phase I is fully leased. • Additional activity can be found in the HighPoint Elevated industrial park, where Dollar General has a 919,000-square-foot distribution facility that is now operational. Whole Foods Market has also signed a lease for a 137,000-square-foot distribution center in the same park and a brewery and amphitheater are set to open next year. The 400-acre industrial and logistics park, which is being developed by Hyde Development and Mortenson, plans to have 15 buildings on its site. • Other nearby developments around the airport include Southwest Airlines, which has opened a new 23,000-square-foot learning center at 6611 N. Powhaton Road in Aurora, located within the JAG Logistics Center at DIA. The space also offers an opportunity to expand by 12,000 additional square feet. “We appreciate this partnership and our new training center, which allows us to invest in our people by offering the latest tools, enhanced training environments, and functional spaces to maintain a focus on safety as we continue growing and serving the Denver community,” said Bobby Loeb, vice president of Southwest Airlines University at Southwest Airlines. Most employees supporting the airline’s Denver operation will use the new facility as part of a training curriculum. The airline’s pilots will continue to train at its corporate campus in Dallas. • United Airlines is also building a flight center at 64th Avenue and Yampa Street, designed to complement its main training facility in northeast Denver. An aerial image of property parcels A an B. United’s 113.7-Acre Denver Development Site has the potential for development to support up to 60 additional full-flight-simulator bays, markedly increasing United’s pilot training capabilities. (Aerial image from United’s Infrastructure Master Plan) United announced in 2023 that it had paid $33 million to acquire the undeveloped 113.7 acres of land from L.C. Fulenwider Inc., a Denver-based company. The airline is expanding its fleet and plans to add 700 new planes by 2033. Its Quebec Campus, in the Central Park neighborhood along Quebec Street, functions as the only pilot training facility for United’s 16,000 pilots, according to an infrastructure master plan prepared by the architecture firm ZGF. However, the current Quebec Campus has reached its limit in both space and the number of trainees it can support. United is aiming to have flight training capabilities at the new flight center by 2028. Related Articles Denver International Airport will be “constantly changing” with $12.8 billion projects for new runways, gates Whole Foods Market leases space in new industrial park near DIA for distribution center Dollar General to build massive distribution center near Denver airport New industrial park under construction near DIA racing against economic pressures Xcel Energy announces $45B investment plan, with about half for Colorado As United builds out the new training center, the area will also require additional support services such as a support storage warehouse, an operations and/or data center and central energy center. • Just up the road from the center, visitors can expect new lodging to be built in the area, including a stayAPT Suites, which has been proposed to be built on a vacant lot at 18311 E 71st Ave. Denver property records reveal the four-story hotel will have 111 rooms and 113 parking spaces. • Right next door, a four-story Extended Stay America Hotel with 124 rooms is also proposed for development at 18331 E. 71st Ave. • In addition, New York-based hotelier Highgate purchased a 5.4-acre lot at 18503 E. 57th Ave. for $4.4 million to build a four-story, 126-room hotel. The undeveloped land at 18331 East 71st Avenue has plans for a four-story Extended Stay America Hotel to be built near Denver International Airport, as seen on April 2, 2025, in Denver. Get more business news by signing up for our On The Block newsletter. ...read more read less