Broomfield, CO: Community Information

Broomfield began as a stagecoach and train station stop and farming community know as Zang’s Spur in 1877 and the name changes around 1900 to Broomfield in reference to all the “broom corn” being grown.  In the 1950s Broomfield’s sparse population of about 100 saw the first neighborhood developments, prompting gradual growth into the 1980s and a faster pace in the 1990s with a population today of approximately 53,000.

Over the decades as the city grew, its neighborhoods extended into four different counties, adding confusion for resident and city official alike as taxes, jurisdictions and other legal issues were often different in various parts of the town.  In 2001, the city of Broomfield became its own county. With a clean slate of options for determining its’ future, officials and city planners began an aggressive effort to take full advantage of its location between US 36 and I-25. Annexations, developments and a savvy plan to tap the potential of the Hwy 7 corridor have put Broomfield on pace to become one of the most influential communities north of Denver. 

While Boulder County emphasized buffers and open space, and east Boulder County communities struggled to define “appropriate” growth rates for themselves through building moratoriums and stifling approval processes, Broomfield embraced a vision to expand its borders through deliberate, large scale annexations that would fund the city’s lifestyle and programs. (The city has over 34 square miles in its planning area.)

Broomfield’s location 15 miles northwest of Denver may be the regions’ sweet spot for business growth. The completion in 1999 of the Northwest parkway created a toll way link between Hwy 36 and I-25, plus the Parkway continues on directly to Denver International Airport. The accessibility Broomfield offers residents and businesses to the urban lifestyles of Denver and recreational attractions of Boulder and the foothills has combined with relatively affordable prices and brand new construction to lure thousands of people to the community.

Besides roadways, the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport offers corporate jet service for executives wanting to avoid DIA. Broomfield’s accessibility will continue to expand as the regional FasTracks development brings bus rapid transit and commuter rail through the city beginning around 2012.

Broomfield’s leaders saw how its future would depend on the creation of successful sales tax generators. One of the most significant developments of the last ten years is Flatiron Crossing Mall and Interlocken Business Park. The income from the 1.5 million square feet of retail there provides over $15 million/year to the city’s budget. The mall draws shoppers from the rest of Boulder County, and was a critical factor in the demise of Boulder’s Crossroads Mall, causing a financial drain of sales tax that city still struggles to recapture. Likewise Interlocken’s Class A commercial space lured high-tech companies such as Level 3 and Sun MicroSystems in the 1990s and others even after the tech bubble downturn of 2001.

On the other side of the city, one of the most dramatic recent additions to Broomfield’s growth began in 2004. Located on the south side of Highway 7 (Baseline Road) between the Broomfield/Lafayette border on the west and I-25 on the east, Anthem is a 2700-acre complex of houses, parks, trails and commercial space. Over 3000 homes will be built, adding 20,000 residents to Broomfield. At build out this one neighborhood will include 2 million square feet of commercial space and approximately 25% of Broomfield’s residents. In addition, northeast of Anthem, the 132-acre Northlands project will add about 2 million square feet of village and big box retail. (Don’t forget on the southeast side of Hwy 7 and I-25 is Thornton’s 1.1 million-square-foot Larkridge retail development.)

Broomfield’s commercial base ranges from high-tech and corporate headquarters to a vast array of professional services, light industrial manufacturing and hospitality centers. In the last few years, companies such as Noodles, a national chain restaurant started in Boulder, and Vail Associates have relocated their headquarters to Broomfield. The companies all found the modern Class A commercial space to be more affordable than Boulder and the location is convenient for the executives who live in Boulder as well as the employees who live throughout the north metro area.

Additionally, the Broomfield Events Center is a new 6000-seat arena built along US 36 with a new 200-acre commercial and residential neighborhood being constructed now. The Arista Development will include a boutique hotel and space for a future corporate campus along with big box shopping, restaurants and approximately 1500 new town homes and condominiums.

The recent November 2007 city election results imply citizens are comfortable with the pace of growth, although not as indifferent or outright supportive as before. The concerns expressed by supporters of new Mayor Pat Quinn revolve around the pace of growth, and the sustainability of that pace. Controversies surrounding commercial growth, such as a recent agreement to give Wal-Mart incentives to locate a store here instead of in Westminster, show the citizens are not always pleased with certain development decisions.

The city has long held an appreciation for parks and open space coupled with a realistic, even aggressive recognition of how such quality of life amenities are funded. Mayor Quinn was previously on the city’s Open Space & Trails Advisory Committee, and he has a clear understanding of how open land and open space is desirable and also how to pay for it.  The city as a whole champions the “Greening of Broomfield”: an official, systematic analysis by each City/County Department of ways to incorporate recycling, energy efficiency, etc. to become more sustainable.

Community leaders bristle at the assumption that Broomfield is an example of unchecked sprawl. As developments have been approved, mandates for “open land” are required, and numerous developments have allocated more than required for open land, parks and trails, as such characteristics are recognized as increasing the marketability of neighborhoods or corporate campuses. Broomfield has over 3,000 acres of open space, parks and other land with development restrictions, plus it owns over 2,400 acres of open space in cooperation with Boulder County.

Broomfield’s savvy embrace of its growth opportunities over the last several years has positioned the city to remain a vibrant, sustainable community. With a planned build out of about 65,000 residents, Broomfield’s growth will be focused on the huge Anthem development and the I-25 corridor, plus a few areas of development on the south western edge along US 36 such as Arista and the new FasTracks rail station. Broomfield also recognizes the demographic shift that will increase demand for senior housing, and “active adult lifestyle” neighborhood developments will be popular.

Additional details:

The Broomfield City Council consists of twelve members; with 2 representatives each from 5 Wards, plus the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem. To see Broomfield’s Comprehensive Plan click here; to see Broomfield’s Open Space and Trails Map click here.