Colorado-Real-Estate-Journal_496437

70 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / DECEMBER 2025 Peña Station: Mixed-use in the path to Denver International Airport W hen the Denver Inter- national Airport opened 30 years ago, unlike its predecessor, the in-town Stapleton International Airport, it was much larger. And it was situ- ated on the outskirts of the Denver metro area, with nothing but ranches and farms. Thirty years later, Denver’s growth is galloping to the northeast, resulting in the conversion of those ranches and farms into mixed-use centers, office buildings and residential communities. DIA is in the midst of a $1.3 billion renova- tion to serve its growing passenger count, making it the third-busiest airport in North America in 2024, with 82.3 million passengers. At the same time, family-owned real estate company L.C. Fulenwider Inc. is developing Peña Station, a mixed- use, multipurpose, corporate-friendly transit-oriented development located at the first commuter rail stop from DIA. Peña Station differs from the typical live-work-play concept. It’s on private land and in a controlled environ- ment. Because it’s near the airport, the location is ideal for office users and corporations. n A brief history. The Fulenwider family is a Denver institution with roots going back more than a century. Lloyd Caleb “L.C.” Fulenwider launched Globe Investment Co. in 1904, assembling ranch and farm properties in the region’s northeast quadrant. Fulenwider also helped write the first Colorado real estate laws (many of which are still in the books). He also received Colorado Real Es- tate License No. 1, which his grandson holds to this day. In the early 1900s, the company, now named L.C. Fu- lenwider Inc., assembled 40,000 acres. For years, the land was farmed. Subsequently, the land was partitioned, in part to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge and to DIA. Fulenwider retained the land now known as Peña Station, in addition to its other land. The first Regional Transportation District commuter rail station from the airport – 61st and Peña Station – was in the middle of land that L.C. Fulenwider Inc. had set aside for a residential and mixed-use community. This prompted the company to design a 490-acre, mixed-use Bill Guthrie Senior Vice President, Land Development, KCD Peña Station is located within the aerotropolis and offers corpo- rate users proximity to the airport, access to a skilled workforce, global market availability and supply chain efficiencies.