Flex and light industrial buildings on redeveloped airfield land have to answer to a master plan before they answer to a tenant. We build and fit out that kind of space at Stapleton and Central Park, where the owner, the neighborhood and the city all have a say in how a building looks, loads and operates, and where a delivery truck backing up behind a storefront row is a design problem, not an afterthought.
The former Stapleton International Airport site covers about 4,700 acres (7.5 square miles) and closed in 1995 when Denver International Airport opened. Denver City Council approved the Stapleton Development Plan, known as the Green Book, in 1995, and it still guides the mixed-use redevelopment. For a builder, that means the pace of work is set by design review, phasing and the order in which streets, utilities and parks come online.
Buyers here tend to be operators who want a small production, lab, showroom or service footprint close to the urban core, plus owners fitting out existing shells. We bring the same estimating discipline and site logistics we use on large industrial pads to these tighter, quieter jobs.
A Master-Planned Setting With Its Own Rhythm
The Stapleton redevelopment is projected to create about 13,000 jobs and about 1,100 acres of new parks and open space at build-out. That mix explains most of what we see on projects: workers and residents share the same blocks, so noise windows, construction parking and haul routes are negotiated rather than assumed. A contractor who treats the site like an open industrial pad will lose goodwill quickly.
We plan deliveries for off-peak hours, keep laydown inside the building envelope whenever possible, and sweep and wash the street at the end of each shift. Where a project borders a park or a school, we walk the neighbors through the schedule before the first truck rolls, and we give the owner a single contact for complaints.
Buildings That Fit the Plan
The program that works here is rarely a big-box warehouse. It is a flex and light industrial building with an office front and a few overhead doors, or an office building with a service bay, or a medical office with a clean loading court. Each has different floor loads, ceiling heights and ventilation demands, and we price them against those needs and not against a single dollars-per-foot number.
For existing space, our industrial tenant improvements work turns a shell into a working floor: slab saw-cutting for trenches, electrical service upgrades, compressed air and process piping, and the fire protection changes that follow. We coordinate with property management on freight elevators, dock schedules and quiet hours so the tenant next door is not interrupted.
Fit-Out, Expansion and New Shells
Our scope on this side of town splits three ways. New shells and small additions are built with tilt-wall or steel framing depending on height and clear span. Interior buildouts include production rooms, lab-adjacent clean zones, mezzanines and offices. Site work covers access drives, truck aprons, accessible routes and storm drainage that must tie into the existing system without surcharging it. Where a building stays occupied, phased construction on occupied sites lets the tenant keep working while we move through the footprint in stages.
Accessibility is a first-order concern in a neighborhood that serves the public. We schedule and inspect the routes, ramps and landings that connect doors to sidewalks and transit, and we check slopes and cross-slopes before forms are stripped, using the methods in site concrete and ADA compliance.
Denver Review and the New Code Cycle
Stapleton and Central Park sit in Denver, and Denver adopted new building and fire codes on June 13, 2025, based on the 2024 International Building Code, with a transition period of about six months during which the 2022 or 2025 Denver Building Code could be used. We confirm which edition a given permit set must follow, because a drawing started under one cycle and submitted under another is a common source of rework.
The master plan adds a layer on top of the city. Many parcels require design review, signage and landscape approvals, and utility connections that serve the whole district. We build review time into the schedule, prepare the submittals alongside the owner's architect and track comments in one log so nothing is answered twice or missed.
Getting Work Done Next to Neighbors
Because I-70 serves the redevelopment on the former airport site as it leaves Denver toward Aurora, trucks reach the area quickly, but the last few blocks decide the day. We schedule concrete pours, steel deliveries and roofing around peak commuter and school hours, and we stage materials in the building when we can.
Small footprints reward detail. We lock down long-lead items such as rooftop units, overhead doors and electrical gear early, sequence interior trades so the floor is protected, and hold a short weekly meeting with the owner that covers only look-ahead and open decisions. Tenants with a hard opening date know where they stand every Friday.
Nearby Industrial Pockets We Also Serve
Owners who like the Stapleton setting often compare it with the working industrial districts to the north, which we cover on our north Denver industrial areas page, and with the Green Valley Ranch edge described on Gateway and Green Valley Ranch.
Food and beverage makers in particular tend to ask us about this corridor, and our work for the food and beverage industry shows how a production kitchen or bottling room is planned for sanitation and washdown. Whatever the submarket, the first meeting is a walk of the building or the lot and a conversation about what your operation needs in the next five years, not only on opening day.
Walk the Space With Us
Tell us what you plan to make, store or service at Stapleton or Central Park. We will walk the building or the lot and give you a scope, a schedule and a price you can plan around.
Common Questions
Can a light industrial use fit within the Stapleton plan?
Often yes, but it depends on the district and the parcel zoning under the redevelopment framework. Uses that are quiet, clean and well screened are easier to approve than ones with heavy truck traffic or outdoor storage. We read the zoning and design standards with your architect before design starts so you know what the neighborhood will accept.
How long does a tenant improvement take here?
A straightforward buildout of a few thousand square feet can finish in a couple of months once permits are in hand. Electrical service upgrades, special ventilation and fire protection changes stretch that out. We order long-lead equipment as soon as the scope is firm, since switchgear and rooftop units are what usually set the finish date.
Which Denver code edition will my plans follow?
Denver adopted new building and fire codes on June 13, 2025, based on the 2024 International Building Code, with a transition period of about six months during which the 2022 or 2025 Denver Building Code could be used. The edition depends on when your application was submitted. We check with the city before the permit set is finalized.
Can you work while our building is occupied?
Yes. We separate construction from operations with temporary walls, dust barriers, separate entries and agreed work hours, and we keep life safety paths open at all times. Noisy or disruptive tasks such as saw-cutting or core drilling are scheduled for evenings or weekends if your operation requires it.
Do you handle parking and site work as part of a building project?
We do, and it is often cheaper to do it in one contract. Drive aisles, accessible parking, truck aprons and storm tie-ins are built under our schedule, which keeps the sequence tight and avoids a gap between the building and the site closing out.
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